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Anyone ever load for the 357 Maximum. The Dan Wesson M40 specifically

I haven't fooled much with a Maximum, but I had a buddy who loaded for a 10" Contender. He bought it for the giggles, we worked at an indoor range together, and he'd load massive amounts of H-110 and 110 JHPs, just to make the range windows rattle, when we had an obnoxious customer in a bay. It made my elbows hurt whenever I shot it, so I didn't shoot it much.

Sorry I can't be of any real help, but someone else on another forum brought up a reminder of my late friend, and he's on my mind right now.

I have had several handguns in various flavors in the max. Also 3 rifles. As I recall 13 NYS deer have fallen to the handguns. My wife shot a nice Wyoming antelope at 171 yards with her pistol. I prefer heavyweight bullets like 170 or 180. For close up work a 200 round nose will also work. My favored powders are H110/296 or 1680.

I use the 180 gr XTP over 20 grs of 4227 sparked by CCI 400's in my Ruger.

Maybe we can talk Mackay_Sagebrush into offering a .357 Maximum cartridge?

The boutique cartridge companies that do offer .357 Maximum are always sold out.

https://www.starlinebrass.com/357-maximum

When Starline moves brass into their "available for back order " status it generally isn't very long before it ships.

Do you not handload?

My Dan Wesson was at its most accurate with with 180 Hornadys and IMR4227. H110/296 was faster but less accurate.

Ordered my first 357 Super Mag gun when I saw David Bradshaw with the prototype Ruger gun for testing.

You did not mention the barrel length, most DW Super Mag gun fames were sold with an 8" barrel. The very first production 357 SM DW guns had two 8" barrels, a 16 twist and and a 14 twist. Owned a few, like an even dozen, 357 SM DWs along with the Ruger SRM guns, Savilles and Eldorados. I have two single shot rifles in 357 SM. The 357 SM s an excellent hunting cartridge with cast or jacketed bullets and offers excellent terminal ballistics at ranges out to and past 200 meters.

The the powder is H-110/296 same, same, I will just call it H-110 at near 20 gains with a 200 gain Rem RN, taper crimped, with rifle primers. OAL is simply set to clear the cylinder face. 4227 works at near 20 grains as does 4198, but H-110 is the performance powder with a 14" twist barrel. The SM cruises at or near 50k PSI, thus the rifle primers. New loading manuals have it loaded down to about 45k.

Elgin Gates designed the cartridge to be used with heavy bullets and stick powders in a Contender test bed. It was Remington that tried to set speed records with light bullets and ball powder in the cartridge. David White offered NEF 357 Super Mag single shot rifles re-chambered/re-barreled, running close to 65k.

If you do not reload ammo, the 357 Super Mag (Max if you must) is not the gun for you. Brass is scarce and loaded factory ammo near nonexistent, except as a collector's item. Right next to the 256 WM for a modern US factory loaded pistol cartridge availability. It is not hard to reload for, as it is ostensibly a long 357 Mag. I have reloaded thousands 357 SM rounds just using 357 Mag dies, just turned out.

The 357 SM has the same case capacity as the 7 BR. So can us the same powders, but the slower burning stuff is not good for top end performance in a revolver.

Great funny story. I use a couple of soft.sandbags, one under each elbow, to help.mitigate to
he elbow pain.

Well I usually keep every load for every cartridge in my ledger.

I have the 445 and the 375 SuperMags in there, but no 357 for some reason.

I do know I used the dual crimp LBT FN gas check 180 grain seated out into the throats on the lower crimp groove and (some gasping) a case full of Lil'Gun, but I don't remember the charge. Also used AA 1680, both used Remington 7.5s in Remington cases. Jamison cases needed the loads reduced due to less capacity.

It went down the road along with the ammo; I wont be much help I guess.

The 357 Maximum was produced for IHMSA and was excellent for that sport.
I think that handgun hunters have missed the boat fir hunting deer or even elk. The cartridge is capable of pushing the 194 grain Bradshaw/Martin powder coated and gas checked as fast as 1796 to 1799 FPS. . The same for the powder coated 200 grain LBT hollow point.
I'm purchasing 200 ea. from Sixshot as he graciously consented to make me some.

I disagree. I have shot both, the BR uses slower rifle powders like H335, 2015BR and 4198. I would not load H110 in the BR, not more than 2015BR in the 357..........

Bore size/diameter, bullet weight, twist rates - all a variable..........

Only in a contender. I was fool enough .. or broke enough .. to let the only Ruger I've ever seen get away from me. I'd like to have one with the 7-1/2" barrel. I've got some 180 grain partitions still and I think that'd make a plumb feisty deer shooter. In the contender I shoot bullets as light as 88 grain .355" hollowpoints up to some 180 grain Hornady SSPs and 180 grain Speer FPs. I think the 88 grain JHPs were the most fun over a slightly compressed load of H110. Not super accurate but if y' get close enough to hit a squirrel with one it's impressive.

Anyway, first was a 14" super-14 barrel, then later I had a custom shop 18 or 20 inch carbine barrel.

This is my DW 357 SM convrsion to a 10" 30cal using a 445 SM cylinder, designed to shoot 200 grain 30 cal cast. With 2015 BR powder. They say a picture is worth 1,000 words.



This is my 445 SM first year production gun with the wide headspace for 30-40 Kraig converted brass. Later guns had recessed chambers for Starline brass.




This is one of two 357 Super Mag rifles I built, this is the maple, the other is a walnut, both are BSA Martini actions. When I built them they all said it could not be done, so I built two.


Ths is a 10 shot group with H-110 at 50 meters using my Ruger SRM 10" 357 Super Mag revolver with the 200 RCBS cast and open sights, off my leg in the Creed-more position. Yep, only shoots, so-so. But then I am in the International Class Revolver.

Maybe Magnum Research could do up some BFR revolvers for 360 Buckhammer? Kinda makes the 357 maximum obsolete now that the new 360 ammo is commercially available.

S&W is listing the X-frame in the .360 I believe.

Rapier, that is some dandy shooting on that 50 meter chicken, yikes!

Dick

I loaded the 357 maximum for a 12” custom barrel in a contender. Great cartridge. I killed one antelope with it and sold it years ago.

For 357 Maximum aficionados, here's some Dan Wesson SuperMag porn. 😁

I picked up this DW M40 8" this week, and while I haven't shot it yet, it's a nice addition alongside my 2 Ruger Maximums.

I'd thought I had pretty much settled on a FA97 in .45 Colt for deer hunting this year, depending on how this SuperMag shoots, it's a contender to join me in the deer woods too.