.357 Maxi down loading???

[Dinny]

Hello everyone,
  I'm trying to convince my somewhat hard-headed father to have my mom's .357 Handi reamed out to the venerable .357 Maxi. We have never had great accuracy from this rifle, most likely due to it's long throat. He's concerned that the extra recoil and noise will discomfort her and cause her to be apprehensive about shooting it.  Can the Maxi be loaded down to Mag speeds and recoil and remain effective for deer at reasonable (within 60 yds) ranges?  What about .38 Spec speeds for plinking?  Any specific loads come to mind?
Thanks guys, I know someone out there will have the answer.

[Badnews Bob]

I just shoot .38s and .357s out of mine they shoot just fine. As for shooting the max other than being louder the recoil is almost unnoticable, It really is not much more than the mag and that is with 180gr bullets, I am sure she wouldn't mind shooting 158 grainers at all.

My eight year old nephew and a nine year old son of my good friends both shoot my Max with full house loads with no problem and can hit a pie plate everytime offhand at 75 yards, I think that is pretty good for a couple young fellers.

They both like to shoot my .44 also but the .38-55 was a bit much for them.

[Dinny]

So you don't see much of a drop in accuracy when shooting the shorter Specials and Magnums from the longer Maxi chamber?  Still minute-of-deer?

Thanks,

[ButlerFord45]

Hello everyone,
  I'm trying to convince my somewhat hard-headed father to have my mom's .357 Handi reamed out to the venerable .357 Maxi. We have never had great accuracy from this rifle, most likely due to it's long throat. He's concerned that the extra recoil and noise will discomfort her and cause her to be apprehensive about shooting it.  Can the Maxi be loaded down to Mag speeds and recoil and remain effective for deer at reasonable (within 60 yds) ranges?  What about .38 Spec speeds for plinking?  Any specific loads come to mind?
Thanks guys, I know someone out there will have the answer.

Lemme see if I understand you correctly:  You're experiencing poor accuracy from a 357 mag and you believe it to be from a long throat?  and you believe the fix is to cut it longer and use 38 specials?  I think maybe Dad's not so hard headed after all.   

[GatCat]

Sure, no reason you can't download the .357 Max, and if you download it to Mag velocity, it will be just as good on deer as a standard Mag ( bullet weight and velocity begin equal, after all ). No reason why you couldn't download it to special velocity, also. I don't have any loading data, but for "plinkers" maybe "Trailboss"??
Mark

[jlwilliams]

  Have you tried some different loadings to get accuracy out of your 357 mag?  Maybe it's not the throat, maybe it just wantsa diffeent projo.

[Badnews Bob]

Yep MOD easy.  My max will shoot .38s into a 3 or four inch group easy at 50 yards maybe better if I knew how to shoot. The mags don't vary much at all from the max and will shoot close to 2"s at 100 yards from the bench, The max shoots 1.5" or better at a hunnered yards.

Several guys have reported improved groups with .38s and .357s after taking thiers to  the max. Mine shot well to begin with with no diffrence after the ream job.

I have three .357 Maximums, one rifle and two revolvers. I shoot them all with .38s and .357 mags for plinking loads, They are so much fun and easy to shoot that they get shot way more than any of the other forty plus firearms I own. I prolly shoot ten times as much .38 and .357mag as the max but I really like hunting with the max.

BTW one other option, And check this very carefully, My Handi .357 mag will chamber and shoot .360 Dan Wesson cartridges just fine. You get close to the Max performance without reaming the chamber, Do a search and you may find alot on it here.

[PHATINJUN]

I also say Trail Boss even for super soft .38 plinkers in the mag. Kurt

[Lefty Dude]

If you wanted a super-soft plinker, try a 38 Short Colt.

[Dinny]

Thanks guys!
  I appreciate your replies. Feel free to keep the suggestions coming. I will let you know how things turn out.

Thanks, Dinny

[yukondog]

Dinny like Badnews Bob said you might want to check and see if your chamber is long enough for the .360 Dan Wesson I know mine is and thats what I hunt with.As far as .357mag I would try different loads it took a littel reloding to find what load mine liked, it seems to like hornady 158 xtp's and alliant's 2400 powder the best. Good luck.

[dpe.ahoy]

If you want to try another 357 mag load, try 158gr jacketed with LilGun.  Hodgdon lists 18.0gr as the max charge, have seen reference to a little more.  DP

[Dinny]

Thanks,
  I am a big fan of H Lil Gun and have used it for close to 50% of my loads.  I have to admit that I haven't tried but a few 158gr bullets. Nor have I used any A 2400 powder.  I feel somewhat undergunned with the Mag and always wanted to go with a heavier bullet for deer hunting.  My "go to" load is actually a factory 158gr load from Buffalo Bore. It shoots at just over 2000fps from the 22" barrel and shoots the best with 2"-3" 50 yd groups. I have loaded the 360 DW but was quickly halted when I realized that even though the empty brass would chamber, the loaded round would not chamber. I believe it was due to the empty brass "giving" a little when pushed into the forcing cone type throat. Tim(quickdoo) suggested trimming the brass in increments of 0.010" until it fits better. Unfortunately I didn't own a .358" trimmer pilot and once ordered, it arrived after I deployed. Lesson learned. It will be 6 more months before I can trim it and try again.   Keep the good ideas/suggestions coming, I'm learning and taking notes!

Thanks,