357 Handi Rifle

[Ben]

I have a H & R Handi rifle in 357 Mag.

As many of you may know the end of the chamber and the beginning of the rifling are about 1/4 mile from each other.

This may sound crazy, but I have a long NEI , 245 gr. .360 gas check , HP, bullet that I'd like to try in the rifle. ( using 357 Mag. brass )

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/005-4.jpg

Hopefully, at least I could reach out and imprint the lands with the bullet, catch is, ..... there is no reloading data that I can find for a bullet of this weight for the 357 Magnum.

Can any of you offer help with some load data that I could try with this combination ? ?

Ben

[koehlerrk]

Really, the big question is wether or not the rifle will spin the bullet fast enough to stabilize it. If the rifling can't do that, reloading for it is pointless.

[TCLouis]

IF that does not work, one could always do what so many do and turn that Mag chamber into a Max chamber.

245 grain boolit in the 357 Mag would be kewl though.

[Nobade]

You won't be able to get enough Lil' Gun in the case to cause problems and it will likely give the highest velocities you're going to get. The amount depends on how much room is left in the case after getting that boolit to touch the lands.

I shoot a 215gr. in my Contender with the same setup - load is all the Lil' Gun I can fit in the case. It's warm but not excessive at all.

IMR4227 will do the same thing, just not quite as powerful.

[Ben]

Nobade

I have some IMR 4227, what would be a good starting load ?

Ben

[Hamish]

:coffeecom Have been wondering about the 360-230 Thor in a .357 chamber until I i can get it reamed to Max. Once again, CB to the rescue!!

[nanuk]

Ben, please keep us up to date on this

I have the same setup, and want to try the heavies as well.

[Ben]

nanuk

Will do !

Ben

[Green Lizzard]

maybe twist too slow it is in my rossi

[longbow]

If you have fast enough twist to stabilize that boolit you will have about a .357 "Whisper".

I have been toying with the idea of doing similar for .44 mag using boolits of about 400 grs.

I will be watching this thread to see how it all turns out. I hope it works out for you.

Longbow

[Nobade]

Nobade

I have some IMR 4227, what would be a good starting load ?

Ben

All that you can fit in the case with the boolit seated to touch the rifling. Small rifle primer.

[siamese4570]

One other option for dealing with the long chamber that has not been mentioned is to use 360DW brass (if you can find it). Got mine from starline. the 360dw is about halfway between the 357mag and the 357max as far as case length is concerned. i normally just ingore it and load in regulat 357mag brass.
siamese4570

[Ben]

All that you can fit in the case with the boolit seated to touch the rifling. Small rifle primer.

OK , that is simple enough.

Ben

[Catshooter]

I like 'outside the box' loadings. That's a great boolit to work with - go for it Ben!

Obviously you won't know if the rifling will stabilize it until you try it. Cool combination I think. I predict 1,000 fps.

Remember, if the action is an H&R SB 2 and it's a modern barrel,they are quite a strong combination. They sell them in 500 S&W so you'll have a hard time stressing it with a 357 case.


Cat

[Ben]

My rifle says SB - 2 on the barrel. BUT...I've checked my frame it is an SB - 1

However, I don't plan on red - lining anything.
I think I'll be OK.

Ben

[Ben]

I now have six rounds loaded for testing. These fall into my Factory Handi 357 Mag. chamber with no resistance ( which should give you an idea of just how far the beginning of the rifling is from the end of the cartridge case ).

The load is 13.0 grs. IMR - 4227 with an NEI, 245 gr. , G/C cast bullet sized .358".

Now to test them at the range......stay tuned.........

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v494/haysb/002-46_zps108ab23f.jpg

[Nobade]

What do you wanna bet they shoot really well? That is how you get those long throated chambers to sing.

[williamwaco]

No comment.
Just trying to get updates on this thread.

[Whiterabbit]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=59324&d=1358906826

Second from the left is a 357 mag with a 250 grain SP over 18 grains of H110. I shoot this from a handi rifle reamed to 357 max. The bullet is seated smack onto the powder for 100% fill density.

If I ever start shooting it regularly, I will be buying a GC mold for sure. FYI these don't shoot as well as factory 357 mag. holes are maybe .25 inches apart instead of touching. So maybe 17 grains would be better. I can tell you 19 is near max and doesn't shoot as well as 18.

[robroy]

I just read an article or maybe post on this. The fellow trimmed 357 max cases back till they chambered his dummy round to just kiss the lands. Case length was 1.4ish with his boolit.

[Ben]

I've trimmed Max brass back to about 1.4 myself , they chamber fine until you seat a .358" dia. cast bullet in them....then the problems occur.

The cartridge case walls thicken as you trim back the case, so much so that you'll see a noticeable bulge on the outside of the brass once the .358" dia. bullet is loaded.

Because of these thickened walls in the brass, I have trouble chambering the rounds in my rifle. Of course if it is that tight, it can interfere with bullet release and " spike " pressures. I don't think it is a good idea, at least not for me.

Ben

[Whiterabbit]

not needed anyways. The purpose that I can see trimming a 357 max is to use a light bullet and still get case tension or a crimp. But IMO this defeats the purpose of the max load. Where as, with a bullet big enough, you can fit a max load in a mag case no problem for a single shot. This assumes a nice fat bullet and low powder charge. 250 grain bullets and up IMO (imo) are perfect for this.