I'm looking into another barrel for my G-2. I want to be able to shoot .357 magnum, which is my favorite pistol caliber so far. I have dies, brass, etc. I'm interested in a .357 Max, as this seems to be a popular choice for posters who have them. I'd like to have the extra power of the Max, when needed, but I would probably shoot magnum ammo most of the time. My question is this: is it OK to shoot the shorter magnum in the Max chamber? Is it bad for the barrel? How does this combination perform? Seems like the extra free bore before the projectile engages the rifling might be detrimental to accuracy. I can knock out 200-250 rounds an hour of .357 magnum ammo on my Dillon. I believe that I would have to use my single stage press for the Max.

I got my 21" barrel for just this versatility. It works fine but as with .22 Shorts in the LR chamber, it is best to clean the chamber before switching to the longer case.



Accuracy is adequate. I have posted pics of groups I've shot from .38 Special cases that are less than 2" at 50 yards.

What Hobie said regarding cleaning the chamber after shooting mags.



I will add that i had a Max in the Competitor and it would hold 1" or less for 5 shots at 25 yards shooting offhand with a 2x Leupold and my 357mag 158 Nosler loads.



I am currently having a contender barrel chopped and punched out to a max. I am very curious as to what it will be capable of with that short 6.5" tube.

Why do you think your Dillon won't work on the max? It's only about .3 inch longer than the mag......most 357 mag dies will work to reload the max.......so, what's the problem?

Good point about the Dillon. I just assumed that the longer case would not work with it. Now that I look, there is plenty of opening height to accomodate the Max. There's nothing like cranking out hundreds of rounds per hour. My average on a single stage isn't nearly as high, even when producing long runs. Good point. Thanks.

I am having a .357 Max carbine barrel made up for me by VVCG just for doing exactly the same thing. Hoping that it will shoot .38s and mag and of course the MAX. Am wondering what kinds of performance I will get out of a carbine barrel.

Why don't you just make reduced loads for your 357 Maximum. I consulted Yohan, the powder specialist for Accurate Arms, and he provided me with sub-sonic loads using 150, 180 and 200 grain cast lead bullets. He gave a load using Solo 1250. Can't wait to try it out. Hope the snow melts by May.

Gents,
I shoot 38 special wadcutters out of my 357 max contender carbine barrel all the time. They group very well, my only issue is that they hit about a foot and a half or so high at 100 yards when i'm sighted in for the Max....easy answer is 2 scopes...i have one sighted for 38s and one sighted for max's...i use luepie QD mount and rings and it works like a champ. I also used to use weavers with burris zee rings and that also worked ok, but you needed a little fine tuning sometimes changing out the scope, but the leupie Qds work great.
You will have fun!

regards,
Graycg

Well, after thinking it over a bit, perhaps a .357 Mag is the best choice. Brass will be cheaper, as will be the smaller powder charges. I have a 7mm TCU that I can use for appoications where more terminal performance is required. Thanks for the responses.

I know my wife would really be put off if I had 2 scopes for every barrel!
But that would work. I suspect that it would be the perfect answer to my sight problem on my .25-35 barrel... Thanks!