Did the 357 Maximum ever have any following? I never hear of it but I thought the combination of 38 Special-357 Magnum-357 Maximum was interesting. How much more MV-ME did it have over the Magnum?

It was killed because of the extreme gas cutting of the top strap. How much more velocity? It is a quantum jump; has about twice the powder capacity and several hundred FPS more.
In a single shot, a nice round, but guys who wanted that went directly to the 35 Rem.

I have a 357 max barrel on TC contender frame at 16.25 inches I use it as a carbine.

Tried using 38 and 357 mag brass shot like crap the TC rep who I talked to believed the bullet jump was two far.

Using 357max brass she well shoot into 2 inches at 150 yards.

It is a great gun for kids light weight low recoil kills well.

I think the 357 max is awesome in a TC. With some of the new mono bullets it will be a super little rifle.
I have heard that some of the twist rates are bit too slow for heavier bullets and lower velocities. That may apply to some of the longer mono bullets too. No problem, there are lots of nice bullets that will work perfectly.
Years ago my sons competed with the 357 max in a contender. I have ordered a 21" barrel for my Encore and look forward to trying some CEB Raptors in it. My grandson will likely take it over.
Great cartridge for the TC. I think it will work on everything from gophers to black bear with the right bullets if you keep in under 100 yds. for the bears.
I wouldn't be surprised if it is kills better that the 30-30 win. I have to tell you, however, that I have never shot at anything with it other than steel targets. brian

Check out these links about the Maxi,

https://dandtcustomgunworks.we...olbox.com/categories

https://www.bellmtcs.com/

I have an MGM Encore rifle (20inch barrel) and absolutely love it, it really shines with the 180 gr. Hornady XTP HP's.

Steve.........

Yes, those are great links.

We have shot a couple of dozen deer with the one we have.

Using 158rem soft point at 2150. If I has going to use it on larger game I would want a tougher bullet.

I made up a little martini cadet with an 18" barrel. Used the reg issue stock trimmed down. I doubt if it weighs much over 4 4-1/2 pounds.
It will push a 200 grn bullet out at over 2000 fps.

Thanks everyone.

theback40, That would be cool little rifle with a ton of class.

theback40

The Cadet is one of the classic rifles that deserves to be chambered in the Maxi, a small light rifle that handles a whole hand full of power in the 357 Maximum.

Steve......

The problem with the 357 Max or more correctly the 357 Super Magnum was Ruger and Remington. Ruger didn't want to extend the cylinder and frame on their revolvers enough to accommodate heavier bullets (like 180gr) and Remington loaded 158 gr bullets. The result was that bullet jump occurred at the precise point when gas temperature and pressure were at maximum. The result was that the top strap on the revolvers cut significantly.
Dan Wesson solved that by lengthening the cylinder and making their revolvers out to 17-4PH stainless steel which is flame hardening. I have a Dan Wesson that has thousands of rounds of 180 and 200 gr bullets through it that is still going strong. My brother had a Ruger No3 in 357 Mag that he reamed to 357 Super Mag that was a neat little gun.
Nothing wrong with the cartridge as long as the bean counters don't get involved.

Blacktailer. That's interesting and impressive.

p dog shooter.
I'll bet it works well on deer with most bullets. I just looked at the Swift A-Frame in .357. Pretty nice. It could handle any job that the 357 max could give it.

I did have to grind a little out of the martini loading trough to get it to load/eject properly. No big deal, but it is a very long straight case for a martini.

quote:

OrMy brother had a Ruger No3 in 375 Mag that he reamed to 357 Super Mag that was a neat little gun.
Nothing wrong with the cartridge as long as the bean counters don't get involved.

375? roger

quote:

I'll bet it works well on deer with most bullets

I can tell that a .357 125rem JHP at 2500 well not make through a milk jug.

Hell on rabbits if you don't want to eat them.

That 125 JHP would be a great "play" bullet for gophers, to mud puddles.

I have on of the 7.5 inch Ruger Blackhawks. Mine has a Bisley grip on it and is a joy to shoot. I only use heavy cast bullets in mine, 170-200 grain. I've not used mine on game yet but love shooting it. There is a good website dedicated to the 357 Maximum

357 Max

quote:

Originally posted by bartsche:

quote:

OrMy brother had a Ruger No3 in 375 Mag that he reamed to 357 Super Mag that was a neat little gun.
Nothing wrong with the cartridge as long as the bean counters don't get involved.

375? roger

Oops, typo
Fixed it. Didn't realize anybody actually reads my posts!

I have a Max similar to P dog shooter, 16", Contender carbine. I like short rifles.
Within its limitations it is a good rifle. I have only used Cast Preformace 180 gas checked with Lil gun. Haven't shot any big game, I have taken it out but the critters didn't cooperate.

M

Some experience people like David at D&T Custom gun works says the 357 max is good for longer ranges than 100 yds.
I have been studying it more. Why would't it work well on deer right out to 200 yds?

I can make reliable hits at 200 yds with mine from the bench, I can get minute of Bambi accuracy standing braced on a limb or tree fairly easy.

Steve...........

There are thousands of these around. I have never heard of a case where the flame cutting of the top strap ever went deep enough to cause any issue. Ruger just got frightened of the cutting and ended production.

Still about the best you can do for high velocity in a revolver. And you can still shoot regular 357's and 38's.

I have a buddy that has one of the Ruger 357 Maxi pistols and he know two more guys that has them and his experience with those three pistols mirrors what I have read on Forums that the top straps were flame cut a small amount and then stopped and went no farther and I know he has a few thousand rounds through his. Wish I had one.

Steve........

I'm a fan. Have a super 14 and one that can be used as a carbine. The carbine was chambered by OTT when he was doing that stuff. Very accurate with the shorter cartridges too.

Mark
I have a 15 inch 357 Maximum bull barrel for the Encore built by OTT that is as they say 'scary accurate'. It really loves the Hornady 180 gr XTP's.

Steve.......

quote:

Did the 357 Maximum ever have any following? I never hear of it but I thought the combination of 38 Special-357 Magnum-357 Maximum was interesting...

Back to the OP’s actual question - yes, it had a relatively large following among IHMSA silhouette shooters. At the height of the silhouette game in the 1980s it was probably the most popular revolver cartridge, and plenty shot it in standing, production and unlimited classes too. Virtually no one shot the Ruger in competition, and not because of the hand-wringing over flame cutting. Ruger only made 5000-7500 of them so they were hard to find. The Dan Wesson and Contenders were better target handguns anyway.

.

I think the main following now is probably Deer hunters.

Steve............

quote:

Did the 357 Maximum ever have any following?

Well, yes, it had TWO followings.

That of the 20th Century but also about one hundred years plus ago when it was called the .38-44 and Smith & Wesson chambered "Ira Paine Special" revolvers for it!

No, not the, the .38-44 that begat the .357 Magnum but an extended case on a straight through bore cylinder so the bullet fed directly into the barrel through.

A friend had one so when the .357 Maximum arrived he dusted the revolver off and I trimmed down .357 Maximum cases for him and load them. He shot well enough.

But it does show that there is nothing new in this game! I did briefly think about doing the same with a modern revolver for 1500 Competitions....to resurrect the .38-44 by boring through a Model 13 cylinder and using that on a suitable revolver. The nearest I got was instead have a PPC revolver built on a Model 65 and shooting .357 Magnum loaded as a full wadcutter.

But I've always though that there was potential in the idea of resurrecting the .38-44 in a modern target revolver.

A 10 in.Contender in 357 Max loaded with Hornady 180 gr XTP bullets was my deer gun when I lived in Illinois. It worked fine.