357 Maximum relaoding

[KTM 200]

I have been reloading with H110 powder and using 180 grain bullets from sierra bullets. It seems the powder and bullets are so hard to get. Question is there any other powder or bullets that I can get much easier. I have been told to stay with a 180 grain bullet because of bridge cutting. Or am I just stuck with these two products , which are great , But so hard to get. The gun I'm shooting them in is a Ruger 357 Maximum Blackhawk , single action 10 and a half inch. Barrel. Thanks Lynn

[mark501w]

I'd shoot the stds. 296 ,AA9,2400 what ever you can find. If I remember right the cutting stopped after a bit, not affecting the integrity of the revolver.

[Witch Hunter]

Yes, H110 and W296 are the same. I use a 170 Sierra in my contender. I love the maximum. You can use 2400 etc. make sure you use small rifle primers though.

[mark501w]

I don't know why you couldn't load any weight bullet you wanted or rifle primers if you worked the load up.

[KTM 200]

357 reloading

Most people told me the reason for using the heavier bullet. Is because it came out of the barrel so fast with the lighter grain bullets. And it wouldn't damage the flute entrance using the heavier bullets. I use the small rifle match tip primers. Its fun to shoot. I Love the gun .

[Capt.Dunsel]

For powders I have used 2400 , AA168 , AA2205 , Blue dot , H4227 ,
Lil Gun ( stay away if your worried about top strap cutting ), N 105 , N110 , N 120 , RL 7 , W296 , W680 .

I like the 180 gr cast/moly coated/powder coated I cast .

And your top strap will only cut so far , then it stops with no further cutting .

And Lil Gun just plain burns hot.

[KTM 200]

thanks for your help

Thanks to all of you for the information . this will help

[dhagerty]

ok, first there are a lot of theories running around about the 357 Maximum.

I actually helped develop some load data for the cartridge back in the '80s

1. the top strap cutting in revolvers happens with all bullets. But the cutting was found to stop after about 300-500 rounds.

2. throat erosion (the area at the end of the barrel next to the cylinder)was the main concern! this was found to be accelerated with the lighter bullets, thus the reason for the heavier bullets. All revolvers will eventually develop throat erosion though but develops faster in the 357 Max.

Now, if you do not already know, the 357 SuperMag is the exact same cartridge.

the reason for the small rifle primers is due to the pressures developed in this caliber. it is rated at 50,000 CUP by SAAMI which is actually rifle pressures.

now, Take care of that Ruger! it is a highly sought after gun and I know of 5 people looking for one. actually have one guy willing to trade 2 ruger 357 Max guns for 1 gun with serial number ending with 588.

with 180 gr bullets, H110, 1680 and H4227 has produced the best results

with 200 gr bullets, I use 4227 or AA 5744, but these will not work in your ruger as they are too long.

for bullets, the Sierra 180 Gr is probably the best. But, it is hard to find and Sierra said they will not do a production run till around Aug-Sept time.

for Cast bullets, the RCBS 357-180-sil works great.

if you do not cast yourself the 180 gr bullets from Leadheads bullets (part number PR357-180) works great.

https://secure25.securewebsession.com/proshootpro.com/order.htm

and Last, Remington just did a large production run last month of Brass. MidwayUSA has a Bunch of it in stock right now and it should show up at other places soon.

[Spyder]

Dhagerty, did you happen to work with the 375 or 445 load development also? I've got one of each and am playing around with different loads right now.

[Wrangler John]

ok, first there are a lot of theories running around about the 357 Maximum.

I actually helped develop some load data for the cartridge back in the '80s

1. the top strap cutting in revolvers happens with all bullets. But the cutting was found to stop after about 300-500 rounds.

2. throat erosion (the area at the end of the barrel next to the cylinder)was the main concern! this was found to be accelerated with the lighter bullets, thus the reason for the heavier bullets. All revolvers will eventually develop throat erosion though but develops faster in the 357 Max.

Now, if you do not already know, the 357 SuperMag is the exact same cartridge.

the reason for the small rifle primers is due to the pressures developed in this caliber. it is rated at 50,000 CUP by SAAMI which is actually rifle pressures.

now, Take care of that Ruger! it is a highly sought after gun and I know of 5 people looking for one. actually have one guy willing to trade 2 ruger 357 Max guns for 1 gun with serial number ending with 588.

with 180 gr bullets, H110, 1680 and H4227 has produced the best results

with 200 gr bullets, I use 4227 or AA 5744, but these will not work in your ruger as they are too long.

for bullets, the Sierra 180 Gr is probably the best. But, it is hard to find and Sierra said they will not do a production run till around Aug-Sept time.

for Cast bullets, the RCBS 357-180-sil works great.

if you do not cast yourself the 180 gr bullets from Leadheads bullets (part number PR357-180) works great.

https://secure25.securewebsession.com/proshootpro.com/order.htm

and Last, Remington just did a large production run last month of Brass. MidwayUSA has a Bunch of it in stock right now and it should show up at other places soon.

^^^ This is spot on.

Back in the 1970's and onward when I was into this sport, I purchased a Ruger .357 Maximum 10" Silhouette Model. It was the only Ruger I every purchased that had a test firing label attached. It was magnificently accurate, with the Sierra 170 grain FMJ Silhouette bullet labeled "For Handguns Only". This bullet driven by WW-680 shooting 10 shots into .75 inch at 50 yards with the factory sights. AA-1680 would be my powder of choice today, as nothing approached the accuracy of WW-680 with 170 and heavier bullets.

Here is the load page from the IHMSA Reloading Guide for Handgun Accuracy by G. Riley, J.Shaver and B. (Bert) Stringfellow, July 1982. The Maximum was listed as the .357 Super Mag and later changed to maximum as S&W owned the copyright to the Magnum or Mag appellation.



I recall that the Sierra 170 grain FMJ Silhouette bullet was made specifically for the Maximum, and had the cannelure moved forward .050" to accommodate the Ruger's short cylinder (.125" shorter than the Dan Wesson). Elgin Gates, the cartridge's designer argued with Bill Ruger about that inadequate cylinder length, Gates lost. Dan Wesson made their cylinders to Gates specifications. A separate cannelure tool can be employed to add one at the proper location if needed. Accuracy with this cartridge requires trimming all brass to a baseline dimension and placing a heavy crimp to aid uniform ignition.

Federal made the original brass, including a run of IHMSA branded and head stamped cases:





The Ruger Maximum was quite a handful, but the weight made for a steady hold from the prone position, recoil was moderate. I modified the trigger to a crisp 2lb pull and came within one turkey of shooting a 40x40 when my right thigh cramped. Great gun and cartridge. Good fun shooting. Too bad the IHMSA is a dying swan, but all things change and these shooting sports are expensive. Because my membership number is so low (dating back to about 1976) I keep my membership current out of sentiment more than anything else. If you have a chance to try a match do so, its fun if you don't take it too seriously. Of course there is something about cleaning a course of 10 rams at 200 meters with a handgun, or even better, winning a tiebreaker by cleaning off ten chickens at the same range, but knocking off ten "turkey eggs" - six inch circles of steel with a 10" Contender is the ultimate. Once upon a time people would call preposterous such claims, but it's still being done.

[dhagerty]

Dhagerty, did you happen to work with the 375 or 445 load development also? I've got one of each and am playing around with different loads right now.

I did not do much with these, but remember the 2 powders that worked well in both were H4227 and WW 680. Too bad both of these powders have been discontinued

IMR4227 and AA 1680 should be close to them though.

I will PM you some of the load data I have

[Wrangler John]

Here is a scan of the the original IHMAS data sheet prior to Dan Wesson releasing the .375 Super Mag, oil stain and all.



The front sheet did not scan sufficiently well enough to read. However it also mentions that Hornady made the first batch of their 220 grain round nose bullets with the cannelure moved forward .050" to allow use of the full length 1.600"case. The cartridge OAL should be 2.100".

If the standard Hornady bullet was used then the cases had to be trimmed back another .020"-.025" setting the case length between 1.575" to 1.580". That would allow the bullet tip to be .035" shorter than the cylinder. The trim dimension was critical as too much would prevent the crimping die from placing the needed heavy crimp. Without the crimp bullets would move forward and tie up the cylinder.

The data above was developed in an IHMSA pressure barrel by the Hornady lab as the Dan Wesson revolver was still in production and not available for testing. Dan Wesson rated its revolver at 43,500 CUP MAXIMUM, and all the loads are MAXIMUM as listed.

I ordered my Dan Wesson ahead of the release from IHMSA (The Silhouette) because I just had to have one. When it arrived I was astounded by the size and mass of the thing. Wow!

I found that, again, WW 680 was the most accurate powder. IHMSA sold production cases for the original, but I forget what brand it was. Cases could also be formed from .30-30 Win or .375 Winchester, with the .375 Winchester being heavier requiring reducing loads and working back up. (I also formed .30-30 Winchester brass out of .375 Winchester cases for use in the .30-30 Contender, they were a bit short necked, but able to withstand the pressure better, and superbly accurate). I purchased 200 .375 Winchester cases to cut down and keep my old Dan Wesson running if needed.

The Dan Wesson .375 Super Mag revolver is still a beast, not as accurate as the Ruger Maximum, but still a novelty to shoot when a fit of nostalgia hits. I shot it a couple of years ago just for chuckles with AA 1680 and cast bullets. I use bullets from Beartooth Bullets: http://beartoothbullets.com/ their .375 Caliber 250 LFNGC sized .376" is about right. Photo below from their website.



I can't find the loading data or the Redding die box with forming and load data just now, it's among an archive jumble of over a hundred die sets, but careful work up gets it shooting.

The .375 Super Mag never proved to be a great cartridge, maybe that's why it wasn't as popular as the .357 Maximum. As for the .445 Super Mag, well that cartridge was a stunt in my opinion. There is a practical limit to recoil that can be withstood by the human anatomy, and these hand cannons exceed that into the realm of accumulative injury. For those that want to test the limits of handgun power check this site out http://www.reedercustomguns.com/ I had him make me up a custom 5 shot in .480 Ruger. That was a two Band Aid test session. Good luck and have fun.

[Spyder]

This excites me. I've got a handful of 375 Win brass, and 2 boxes of original headstamped ammo or the 375. Will need to play with it a bunch. The 445 I've got a couple hundred pieces of brass from Starline, and have shot it some, but not enough to know exactly what it likes yet.

I've got the Sierra 2nd Edition manual that has load data for all of them. I'll try and remember to dig it out and post a picture for you folks too, if you want it.

Thanks for the info!!!

[KTM 200]

I Love this gun

I got this ruger 357 max about 6 years ago. It was amost new. I paid around 800.00 dollars for it. I wanted to get one 25 years ago. I want it to last . its a *****en gun . Thanks so much for all your help. After I shoot the 357 max threw it the 357 magnum bullets don't even feel like anything.I have thought about getting another one. I know they made a 7and a half barrel in it. that must really kick. I do my own reloading as you can't find any loaded bullets for sale

[KTM 200]

357 max Brass

Question how many times can you reload the new brass and still be safe. Thanks Lynn