I'm currently looking at 2 contender barrels, both 10 inchers, one in 35 rem and one in 357 max. Both are pretty close in price. I was wondering if I would see that much of a gain out of the 35 rem in the 10 inch barrel.

Nope,not much if any.. Go for the .357 Max in a 10" tube the Max is hard to beat!!!!!! Easy to load and oh sooo easy to shoot.Plus muzzle blast won't be as bad as the .35Rem

In 10", definetly go with the .357 Max. T/C Nut is right about the muzzle blast, it is pretty bad on my 14 " .35 Rem.

Dennis

[ 08-17-2003, 15:44: Message edited by: DennisF ]

In a 10 incher I would also go with the 357 Max you might get a bit more out of the 35 rem but will have to play around with faster burning powders to find one that will not give you awful muzzle blast. In the 14 incher I would go with the 35 Rem, actually I did. To tell you the truth I was not aware that the 35 Rem was made in a 10 inch barrel - I have never seen one.

In a 10 or a 14, I'd choose the Max first. I have a 14 inch 35 rem and it doesn't beat my 12 inch 357 max by enough to matter on deer or pigs. If you are going bigger than those, get the 35, it handles the 225 grain and heavier bullets better, but with 180s for deer and pigs, max is hard to beat. Also, max means carbide dies for loading :} and rarely do you have headspace/ingnition issues like the 35 sometimes does. I have a 35 and love it, but it will get sold long before the max barrels.

regards,
Graycg

[ 08-17-2003, 20:38: Message edited by: graycg ]

I was kinda leaning toward the 357max, I have an unexplainable attraction for straight walls. Plus, I can use my 357mag dies for reloading. The 35 does have a muzzle tamer, but I've never cared for those, just seem to annoy more than help.

While I have a 14 inch in .35 and while I love it, I'd go for the Max in the 10 incher. I have a regular 10" .357 and it is one of the most fun barrels I have.

I would pick that Max of those two also. I have a 14" Max barrel for my Competitor and like it a lot. It seemed to like 180's quite a bit, would make a nice big game load.

I have a 35 Rem 14" and 357 max 10" both are good rounds but in a 10" tube i would go with the max for sure.

If this is a poll, I'll vote .357 Max in 10" and .35 Rem in 14" or longer. The Max is much better for the short tube. In the longer tubes it will do just about what the FACTORY .35 Rem does in those same length barrels.

Besides, the 357 Max bbl comes with a free extension ladder or scaffold so the bullet can be carried across the cavernous throat in the factory barrel and on into the rifling.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

My vote goes for the Max in a (Bellm Rechambered) 10" bbl.

Regards

Okie C.

You may be in for a big surprise the first time you seat a pointed soft point bullet with the 357 Mag dies.

Had me confused for a second or two til I realized what was happening!

Luckily for me, a few minutes later after a trip to the lathe and my "problem" was solved!

LouisB

Tools are an investment!

OH, and my vote is for the MAX, probably the most underated cartridge in the Contender!

[ 08-20-2003, 10:37: Message edited by: TCLouis ]

If you have problems seating pointed bullets in 357 mag or max dies, just put your wadcutter seating stem in the dies and place an upside down jacketed hollowpoint into the die, works fine until you can make or buy a better one.

regards,
Graycg

I use a seating stem that came in my .35 Rem dies to seat the 180 SSP in the Max. I wasn't surprised by the deformation using one of the provided stems, but by the amount of deformation... Had me a FP without trying. But I do like those bullets in the Max.

Hobie
Are you saying you like the 180 SSP FPed or just the 180 SSP in the Max?
Is this a hunting load or paper punch?

10" or 14" Max.

LouisB

LouisB,

I made the mistake of loading my very first 180 gr. SSP in a .357 Max case using the seating stem that came with the die. The result was a flat point (FP). I had thought that I could get away with using the "issue" stem but it had flattened the point so much it was clear that would be unacceptable. So, I pulled the bullet (I like all mine to at least start out the same) and got the seating stem from my .35 Rem die, screwed it into the .357 Max die and seated a Hornady 180 gr. SSP just as pretty as pie. Too cheap to buy another seating stem, I just swap it back and forth.

My .357 Max is a factory, 21", blue, Contender. I like it. All my loads are for hunting, I practice with those same loads.

I suppose that I should mention how much I like this barrel. I got it from the old TC Arms obsolete barrel list for $113.50 plus shipping. My thanks to all on the old TC-List for that tip.