Difference between 357-44 B&D and 357-44 Bobcat?

03 October 2003, 16:44

Can't find the 357-44 Bobcat magnum in my books, can anyone educate me what the difference is between it and the 357-44 Bain & Davis

Thanks!

04 October 2003, 01:52

Lee Martin

I have an article on my website concerning the .357 B&D.....the write-up does contain some information on the .357 Bobcat however to include a schematic.

Lee Martin
www.singleactions.com

04 October 2003, 16:08

captnemo

quote:
Originally posted by MartytW:
Can't find the 357-44 Bobcat magnum in my books,....

Marty

the 357-44 Bobcat Mag has a plastic (nylon) collar that makes the brass w/ collar the same size as the 44 Mag case. It is used in a 44 mag revolver that has had the barrel replaced with a 357 cal one BUT with the original 44 mag cylinder!!

This is an ACCIDENT waiting to happen!

A picture of the case and collar, and a short explanation, is in AMERICAN HANDGUNNER for July/Aug 1989, page 64-65.

Less common is the 30-357 Bobcat magnum-- a 357 mag necked down to 30 cal and with the collar.

the_captn

04 October 2003, 16:26

MartytW

OK, so the Bobcat version uses the plastic sleeve. But what are the dimensions of the case (or does it use the B&D dies?) Looking for a 44 Mag wildcat to 357 with a sharper shoulder angle, more like the 357 Auto Mag ... was hoping the Bobcat might fit that bill ...

05 October 2003, 04:00

Chuck White

Captnemo is "sort of" correct!

I used to have a 357/44 Bobcat Magnum!
Back in the late '70s I ordered a gun conversion and the gun converted was "not" a 44 Magnum, it was the 9mm cylinder for my 357/9mm convertible Ruger Blackhawk! They bored the 9mm cylinder out to where an "EMPTY" 44 Mag shell would fit in it!
Along with the conversion, was a set of reloading dies and reloading data! The dies converted the straight wall 44 Mag brass to a bottle-neck design, very similar to the .357 Baines & Davis! Then you would reload the newly formed brass with a .357 bullet, and the final step was to install the black plastic sleeve onto the neck area of the brass!
With that done, the cartridge looks like a 44 Mag brass with a .357 bullet sticking out of it, with the exception of the color of the plastic sleeve!

NOTE: The velocity of these, when loaded with 125 grain SP or HP was 2100fps out of a 6 inch revolver!
I should have held onto it! [Confused]

Chuck

[ 10-04-2003, 21:11: Message edited by: Chuck White ]

05 October 2003, 04:56

bigboredan

Marty,

I don't know much about the 357/44 bobcat. I do know the one problem with the 357-44 B&D was the case backing out in the cylinder. One cure might be to keep the neck short and shoulder sharp.

i've done a 357/454 casull. It has a 20 degree shoulder. I have dies for this.

Dan

05 October 2003, 06:17

Chuck White

The 357/44 Bobcat Magnum was developed to eliminate the problem of the case backing out with the 357 B&D! It really worked well.
Chuck

05 October 2003, 15:15

MartytW

Chuck -

Any idea what the shoulder angle and neck length were? The 10 degree slope (shoulder isn't the right word) on the B&D just leaves much to be desired when used in a T/C - a sharper shoulder would increase volume and work fine in the single shot. Not looking to put this in a wheel gun.

05 October 2003, 15:55

captnemo

quote:
Originally posted by Chuck White:
...bored the 9mm cylinder out to where an "EMPTY" 44 Mag shell would fit in it!

Chuck

Thanks for the information. By only boring the cylinder to fit the case, an unwary person would have to REALLY work to get a normal 44 Mag cartridge to fit !!

This method would also allow the normal 357 Mag cylinder to be fitted to the frame--allowing 357 Mags AND (with cylinder change) 357 MAG+MAG (the 357-44mag bobcat case) to be used in the revolver.

the_captn

05 October 2003, 16:04

captnemo

quote:
Originally posted by MartytW:
Any idea what the shoulder angle and neck length were?

Marty

I have two samples of the 357-44 Bobcat; Ed (HockyPuck on this site) has one while he takes measurements for his database. The one in my hand has the shoulder starting at .97 inches from the base and is .448 inches in diameter there. The shoulder ends at 1.05 inches and is .38 inches in diameter. I don't have my pocket calculator handy to compute the angle. The measurements were taken with a plastic LYMAN dial caliper, so I won't guarantee them. You might wheck with Ed to see what he got for the dimensions. Both cases are reloads after having been shot a couple of times as 357-44 Bobcats, so they should be 'fire-formed'.

the_captn