My Ruger #3 .357 Max project

[Good Cheer]

My Ruger #1 that I sent JES for reboring .
12 day turnaround.
Twist is 1 - 15. 3 groove rifling.
Rebored from a .222 Rem to 357 Max by JES.
The bore in this rifle is smooth , bright, and free of any tight spots with a tight patch.
It is a super accurate rifle !

Now by golly that there's what a boolit needs to look like.

[pertnear]

"Ruger #2", I had to look that one up. Apparently a #3 restocked with #1 wood.
..

Yes, it's a #3 with #1 wood. Years ago I bought a Ruger #3 at a gun show for $350. It had been rebarreled with a fly-rod diameter Apex barrel in .270 Win. The scope bases were kinda "bubba-ed" on but it shot pretty fair & was solid. My only complaints were that the 6.5 lb (w/scope) had hideous recoil & the little light weight rifle chambered in such a high intensity cartridge was very particular about how you held it or where you rested the forend. Just recently I had it rebarreled & I restocked it in #1 wood. It shoots fantastic! Even with a 22" varmint weight barrel it is as handy a WT deer rifle as ever in 6.8mm SPC.
Attachment 232713

[murf205]

I wonder if JES could rebore a number 3?

CamoWhamo, that is one neat little rifle. Post the pics of the finished product. cabezaverde, JES is a real journeyman at reboring. He rebored a 30-06 Browning BAR to 338-06 when I couldn't get anyone else to touch it. The inside of the barrel looks like a mirror and it shoots better than it ever did as a factory '06.

[Ben]

I wonder if this would work on a .223 #3. Would 357 Max clean up the chamber?

Yes, I believe it would clean up the 223 just fine.

[Drm50]

I've got four #3s and scope situation is driving me nuts. I've got a Weaver K10 on the 223. It has a
long enough tube to position for eye relief. On one 375w I have a Burris 2x8 Signature/ posi lock, the
only other scope I have that has enough tube for eye relief. All I have is Weaver bases and had to use extended rings on Burris. I would like to have low power scopes on 375s & 45/70. If I use a K3
the scope end up flush with front ring. I'm afraid recoil will bust the lens bushing mounted that way.
I have Leupold & Weaver 4x & 6x but don't want that much scope on them. I had a Burris compact 6x and traded it off because I didn't like the field of view. I have a Redfield 4x sitting on the 45/70 but it's not been shot. One thing that does help on the 3s are the stock extenders that look like recoil
pads, adds 1" to the pull. Really helps with having to hunch up on the scope.

[CamoWhamo]

Yes, it's a #3 with #1 wood. Years ago I bought a Ruger #3 at a gun show for $350. It had been rebarreled with a fly-rod diameter Apex barrel in .270 Win. The scope bases were kinda "bubba-ed" on ......
Attachment 232713

pertnear, that just about sums up why this project started. I bought the rifle used. It had been re-barrelled with a pencil weight barrel in 6mm-222 and had a scope mount that was allegedly done by a gunsmith with a good reputation here in Aus but it was terrible and way out of alignment.

I like the way your scope mount fits the custom barrel. This is always a point of contention on a Ruger SS re-barrel. You choices are Ruger barrel blocks or the Ruger bridge base, both of which require the new barrel to match the original contour. The S&K mount looks like a great solution!

Lothar Walther offer barrels in various contours including a few different rugers. I got the No1B contour so i can be drilled and tapped to match the factory. Now i can use the S&K mount, a EGW rail or even a No1 Rib if i desired one.

[pertnear]

There is a big problem with rebarreling a Ruger #3. If you have an intact condition rifle, they are too valuable to alter! LOL

Great project & good shooting!

[curioushooter]

Hey, does that JES rebore 357 MAX rifle eject or just extract the case?

[CamoWhamo]

Time for an update on the rifle.

So far I've shot 125 cast loads through the rifle and the results have been less than i hoped.
I have tried 180gn gas checked molds from Saeco and NOE, both using 2400 powder. 14.5gn & 15gn loads chronographed at 1630fps and 1734fps.
Both of these didn't shoot very well at all. Groups were averaging 4" at 55yd with one group at 2".

I went home and did a cerrosafe cast of the bore and checked the twist rate. The barrel is .357 with a 1:18.7" twist.

Curious to see if the twist was too slow for the 180gn bullets I loaded some Lee .358-158-RF in front of 8gn Unique and tried them.
Groups were more consistent but still no better than 2" at 55yd. Chronographed velocity was 1463fps which is probably too fast for those (slightly) bevel-based bullets.

So then i loaded some Speer 158gn JHP in front of 18gn 2400. These were travelling at 1970fps and produced many sub 1" groups. One group was a ragged one-holer that was just 5/16".

So the rifle shoots fantastic with jacketed bullets but cast has been disappointing so far.

I'm mulling over whether to purchase a 158gn gas check mold to see if i can improve things.

[rfd]

interesting! maybe try paper patching?

[Skipper]

What alloy are you using? I had a 357 Max on the H&R Handi Rifle platform that loved .358" Lyman #2 alloy bullets lubed with liquid alox.

[NSB]

Your twist rate is too slow for bullets weighing over 158g. The ideal twist rate would be 1:16 or a 1:14 for this cartridge. I've owned many .357 guns over the years in both rifle and handgun. I've had several custom built for me and in each case the gunsmith who built them used both of those twist rates. I have an 1:20 MGM barrel that shoots lights out with about any bullet 158g and under. When I get up to the "heavy" bullets, the groups begin to open up. Sometimes quite a bit, like you're seeing. I have found a few heavy jacketed loads that were "decent", but very few....and they weren't stellar. I'm talking at best sub 2" at one hundred yards. My 158g will shoot sub moa at that distance with a several select jacketed loads. You're also going to have to cut the speed down to get tighter groups with cast bullets in this cartridge. You may get some anecdotal reports of getting great accuracy at high velocity with this cartridge using cast bullets, but I've never seen it. If you'd like a wealth of info on this cartridge, go visit Dave Whites forum on this subject. He's spent more time with this cartridge than about anyone other than Bellm. He'll also answer any questions you might have if you call him.

[rfd]

yes, 1:20 is slow. with my .357mag henry s/s and with its 1:16 i can shoot moa with a 160 grain BBI hi-tec.

[TCLouis]

See if you can find a small supply of 358156 and see what it will do for ya.

[CamoWhamo]

See if you can find a small supply of 358156 and see what it will do for ya.

I've got an RCBS 38-158-SWC on order which is very similar. I hope to have it in a couple of days.

What alloy are you using? I had a 357 Max on the H&R Handi Rifle platform that loved .358" Lyman #2 alloy bullets lubed with liquid alox.

My alloy is 94% lead, 3% tin an 3% antimony.
Lube is a blend of 80% LBT Blue Soft and 20% Lyman Orange Magic. I add the OM to firm up the Blue Soft in the hot weather here.

I've got some 45-45-10 an both Powder and Hi-Tek coatings to try as well.

I've put 50 jacketed through it so far. It has shown the potential to be very accurate.

I have since tried the Saeco 180's again and the groups were tighter but not as good as jacketed.

[parisite]

I have a 13" MGM 357 Max barrel on my Contender handgun. Great shooter at 100yds.