I shot one in a T/c quite a few years ago. I was a teenager, and this was my first experience with a trigger measured in ounces, and such a large caliber handgun. It scared the crap out of me, and I nearly got scoped. Anyway, I was recently reminded of this cartridge while flipping through a reloading manual. That guy hunted with it seldom, but shot silhouettes with her a fair bit. I generally don't like the outside the box handguns (non-revolvers), but a T/c in 357 herrett, and an xp-100 in 7mm08 have always been on my wish list. Anyone have experience with the 357 herrett? What type of range is realistic for it? Thanks in advance.

I dont have a 357 Herret,but do have a 35 Rem.Ballistics are about the same.I took a Mule Deer last year at 200 Yds with it.Its a good cartridge,but a pain in the butt to make the brass.Thats why I use the 35 Rem.

I really like mine and have killed a handful of deer with it. I hated to see Remington discontinue the 150 PSP.

Several years ago I was on an antelope hunt with a buddy.

He had a TC Contender with 30 and 35 Herret bbls.

I killed one with the 30 Herrett at @90 yards, and he killed 2 of them with the 35 Herrett.

They both worked great.

Both were very accurate.

If you enjoy stuff like "making your own brass"
And doing precision loading they are good hunting cartridges.

I find making my own brass to be therapeutic and the cartridges were designed for the Contender platform. The Hornady 180SSP is another good bullet in this caliber.

quote:

Originally posted by MS Hitman:
I find making my own brass to be therapeutic and the cartridges were designed for the Contender platform. The Hornady 180SSP is another good bullet in this caliber.

Do you need therapy, Hitman?

Hey Hitman, I have therapy in a bottle! You need to stop in.

With four kids in the house, what do you think Whitworth? Thanks bfr, next time I get up to WV I'll try and look you up.

We can meet at bfrshooter's and all partake in the therapy-in-a-bottle!

The .30 Herrett barrel I have needs to go back to T/C to be fitted to my frames; just have not done so. It is quite adequate for deer sized game.

My .357 works great out to 200 yards. I have the 10" barrel and this makes an easy packing woods gun. I am considering setting it up in a similar manner to the .338 Woodswalker.

I think 200 yds on deer size game is doable but I would cut it off at that.

I shot a small carabou at 154 yds with my .357 herrett and it dropped in it's tracks one shot.
I don't remember ever shooting anythin else with mine but I did miss a nice Indiana buck with it.
I can tell you the .357 Herrett is totally inofective if the bullet never touches the deer.

I had both a 357 Herret and a 357 maximum in 10" contender barrels. Both of them would push a 200 gr cast bullet in 1900+ fps range.

The thing is the 357 max does it with less powder, and in a case that doesn't tend to sepperate at the head when you push it. Not to mention no case forming or trimming.

If you get a good deal on a used 357 herret barrel and a set of dies, it's a neat round to load for, and nostalgic.

If you want the same level of performance in a better package for the contender, get a 357 maximum and don't look back.

Paul H

How do you think the two would measure up each with 14" barrels?

I would think both would do better but I'm only geting 1850 from my 200 gr. Hornady load from my 14" barrel but then my bullets are jacketed.

The .357 max should be capable of 2000 fps for a 200 gr cast in a 14" barrel. In the 357 max I couldn't put enough AA 1680 into the case to get into trouble. I also found 1680 shot best when a compressed load.

If I was shooting jacketed bullets I'd drop down to 180 gr. Also if I was shooting the herret I'd have a gunsmith lengthen the chamber to make what Mike Bellm calls the lazy man's herrett. It takes the full length 30-30 case, and the longer neck makes it friendlier for the cast shooter.

I found 1680 to be the powder for the both the 357 max and the 357 Herret. I heard that 680 is even better, but it was discontinued quite some time ago and seems to be horded by those that have it.

I took this black wildebeest and a couple of other animals with a T/C Contender with a 10 inch barrel in 357 Herrett shooting Hornady 158 gr. XTP HP bullets. Off the bench, mine will put 3 bullets into 1 to 1.5 inches at 100 yards.

I don't plan on getting rid of mine but there are some cartridges for the Contender and a bunch of cartridges for the Encore that would give as good range with power sufficient for deer without the hassle of forming your own brass or buying expensive preformed stuff. Cartridges such as the 357 Maximum and 30/30 Winchester come to mind.