Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Single Shots No 1 357 Max.

Do not intend to blow up this forum or get beat up but have to ask...anyone rebarrel or bore a #1 to the 357 Max? If any, are there some things to know?

So you know, been hovering for a time, just not into thread trips.

If I could find a reasonably priced #1 in 357 Mag, I would have the chamber lengthened to 357 Max.

So would I .

It's about the only cartridge that would cause me to purchase a new #1.

F

My father bought a #1 in 357 only to discover the previous own had lengthened the chamber to 357 maximum and did it with a chucking reamer. At that point the damage was already done so he had a gunsmith clean up bubba job with a proper chambering reamer.

It was a neat rifle but not what he thought he was buying - and later sold off.

An under rated cartridge in my view.
And in my experience, (I’ve owned four #1s) a rifle that is not very accurate.
As others have said, the least expensive alternative is ream out an existing 357 mag.

A current .357 Henry SS rechambered is the quick, dirty and cheap way to a Max. Encores and Contenders a bit more, if you're starting fresh. None as classy as the Ruger, but they'll get it done.

Mike Bellm's website has a bunch of Max info.

If you're willing to fork over the bucks, you can of course, have exactly what you want.

It always comes down to the money. If you're willing to part with enough of it, you can have anything you want.

I've toyed with the notion of a Max a time or two, but have always come back down to earth, realizing that the standard one does all I need. We can use any CF here for deer, so the Max, the Legend, the BM, etc. aren't as compelling as they might be to someone in the Midwest.

I'd love to find a #3 donor for a .357 Max build.

I have a couple Martini Cadets that are crying out for conversion, but everything I've heard is that it's hard for the Max to make the turn down and into the chamber in a Cadet.

I'd rather go .35 rem in a #1A.
Thought about a non roll marked CHP reamed.
Hell I can have less in just a #1 rebarrel.

357 MAXimum?... boy, now your talking! This has been on my brain for years now, even more since finding a few hundred MAXimum brass and 4 boxes of Remington (green and yellow) ammo at a yard sale of all places! Sold the four boxes of ammo to a friend that has four Ruger MAXimum pistols NIB for the price I paid for the whole batch of brass & ammo, making the brass ‘free’.
Now, I’m a bit of a Ruger No.1 collector. I’ve looked for an ‘affordable’ CHP No.1 with the idea of reaming it to MAXimum. The closest I’ve gotten to acquiring one was one just under 1K, but I had just spent a bit more than that for another No.1 in another caliber and was underfunded in gun money. In retrospect I should have bought it anyway!
I just purchased a Henry Single Shot in 357 Mag with the notion of running a MAXimum reamer in it. It would be easier to make reamer chips in a four hundred dollar gun than a rare No.1 that might run fifteen hundred and kill the collectability....
In the past I had a Contender Carbine with an MGM 18” stainless barrel in 357 MAXimum and was pleased with it. I’m not sure why I sold it(!).
I agree with a post above - the standard 357 Magnum probably does well enough.
I have a decision to make on the Henry SS, -sell the MAXimum brass,.. or rent a MAXimum reamer!

I didn't know the #1 was ever offered in .357 magnum. When were they made?

Tom

Manufactured in 1984, Ruger produced 1800 Model #1's in 357 magnum (single shot) specifically for the California Highway Patrol Officer's Association. With wood stock, factory installed sling swivels, scope mount, 22" barrel and the CHP insignia stamped on the side of the receiver, this is a very limited edition item.

There were also some unmarked ones as well that are considered rare.

F

LGS had one of the non-CHP 357’s. They rechambered it to 358 Winchester. They let me shoot it in their little underground range. One shot was enough to convince me it wasn’t something I wanted.

Interesting. A #1 or a #3 would be a good platform for a single shot .357 mag or maxi.

When I was a kid I owned a Winchester High Wall that was supposedly used at the factory during the development of the .357 magnum. Very nice wood, and in good shape, but it had been modified such that the half cock notch was almost imaginary and it was only safe to carry with the action open, just close the lever when it was time to fire.

A #1 in either cartridge could be a ton of fun.

Check me on this, but after studying specs it looks like a 223 Rem could be rebored and chambered to 357 MAXimum. Should clean up the 223 chamber and then an extractor from the 357 Mag would be fitted. I have a 223 Ruger No.1 Varmint 24” barrel I’ve considered doing. Interesting if for bench & target shooting, but a No.1A with open sights might be more ‘usable’. Thoughts?

I knew a Hoosier, Steve Cutter, that had a No. 1 rechambered for 357 Maximum. He did later sell it due to the amount of work it took to keep it shooting well. I've had no less than 10 rifles chambered or rechambered in 357 Maximum. My all-time favorite is my current one, a Traditions G2 Outfitter with factory Lothar Walther barrel. That barrel is very smooth inside and cleans easily. Groups are holes touching at 50yds using AA1680 and Fury's 180gr TCFN bullets.

I killed a 190lb black bear with that rifle this year. 270gr Accurate Molds LFP and AA1680 produced 1755fps and 1.25 MOA accuracy.

Thanks, Dinny

I think any of the .357 mags, CHP or not, are going to be fairly valuable collector items. Especially if you kept the box and have it in excellent condition. Also, in that era Ruger's barrels could be suspect. I wouldn't spend the money to rechamber without looking at the rifling to see is it well formed, smooth, etc.

I'd really like to see a #1A in .35 Remington. I've killed a couple hogs with it and it's very impressive, without much recoil. Brass is also much easier to obtain, than a .357 Maximum.

Starline makes 357 Max brass and several companies sell it.

Thanks, Dinny

Or use star line .223 basic brass and cut the chamber up to 1.8” and rebore to .358 to make a .357 Rimless. I had MGM chamber me an Encore and Remington 700 in the .357 Rimless. It’s pushing 180 gr SSP at 2600 FPS. With 35 gr AA 1680.
Another option is same concept but cut to 1.6” and make 357 AR straight which clones the 357 Max in .223 brass. Either way you would save the retro of the extractor and Brass availability’s.