New Henry SS in 357

[Yooper003]

I just picked up a new Henry SS in 38-357 mag. Scope base & scope on order. I know they are a new cal. For Henry in the single shot ,but woundering if anyone has shot anything with one ano if so , what boolit & load.

[hc18flyer]

What scope base did you order? I have one coming too. hc18flyer

[Yooper003]

What scope base did you order? I have one coming too. hc18flyer

I ordered the one from Henry. From what I have read, it works out better than the weaver base?

[Yooper003]

I ordered the one from Henry. From what I have read, it works out better than the weaver base?

OK. Well then ,did anyone kill a deer this year with any 357 mag. rifle? What was your bullet & load?

[P Flados]

Lots of deer have fallen to the 357 mag. Good bullet choice matters. Cast with a generous meplat has a pretty good track record. Heavy with a little extra speed will increase your effective range.

Your gun is functionally similar to the 357 Handi rifle that many were very happy with. Frequently they could use DW 360 brass in factory chambers, but I have not heard of anything similar for the Henry.

The Henry is also sold in 308 & 243, so it is more like the Handi than like my Contenders.

Depending on the chamber, you may be able to load 180s or 200s to an OAL that is longer than will fit in any of the wimpy 357 revolvers the are the reason the 357 pressure limit was lowered.

If I had your gun, I would want to see how far out I could seat a heavy like the Lee 200. It can been loaded in 357 mag cases to just have the grease groove just inside the case at an AOL of ~1.840". This is 0.15" longer than the 357 book OAL (1.59"). This is just shy of what Handi Rifle users would load to if they were seating to the crimp groove in 1.41" long DW 360 cases.

If you want to stay with a cast and do not want to go all the way to a 200, I would be looking for something like a 180 rnfp.

With a heavy bullet AOL similar to a DW 360, you can probably work up to loads similar to what you can find for the DW 360. You will have a smidgen less case capacity, but can make up for it some with pressure. Again, loads that are a bit too stout will show up with wear and tear on the brass long before gun stresses get anywhere near what a 243 will cause.

If you use PC, you should be able to load stout boolit loads with no problems. I load ASBB HF Red PC coated plain base 160s, 180s & 200s to full power in my 357 maximum handguns with no problems. Even with the extra barrel length and extra pressure margin, you are not likely to push you 357 mag boolits any faster.

[MT Gianni]

If it is like my handi it didn't take long to find a Max reamer. I like the 357 but the 357 max is another class altogether.

[Yooper003]

Another question, which is the best hammer extension for the Henry singleshot. I am seeing lots of different ones but none listed for this rifle.

[P Flados]

I have guns in both chambers. The max has it advantages if you really need extra effective range.

However, acquiring magnum brass is a lot easier / cheaper.

And do not count on top accuracy using mag brass in a maximum chamber.

Unless I really needed the extra effective range, I would tend to see how far I could comfortably push the mag before I messed with the chamber.

[BrutalAB]

Perhaps I should start a new thread... but...
What is the purpose of reaming the chamber to accept max brass?
Making the chamber accept the longer brass won't change the pressure tha gun can withstand.
So I go to the extra case capacity as a way to put more powder in, while maintaining the same pressure. But that can be done by seating the boolit out farther as well. My experience is that the gun will function up to an overall length of 1.64"
And changing the chamber isn't going to change what length of cartridge the action can handle.
So I assume I am overlooking something. My guess would be for people that like light boolits and can't seat longer.

[9.3X62AL]

In revolvers and ESPECIALLY in rifles, the 180 grain bullets make the 357 Magnum into a real game-taker. Such a good, useful caliber.

[psweigle]

I use a lee 158gr rnfp, powdercoated with smoke's blue, and a near max charge of h110 and a magnum primer. Killed a few deer with that load. Works real good in a revolver too.

My rifle is a ruger 77/357, however, a good friend uses this load in an encore with the same results. Hope this helps.

[richhodg66]

OK. Well then ,did anyone kill a deer this year with any 357 mag. rifle? What was your bullet & load?

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?371491-old-fashioned

I haven't done it (yet) personally, but the .357 is a quite capable cartridge.

[P Flados]

What is the purpose of reaming the chamber to accept max brass?...
...My experience is that the gun will function up to an overall length of 1.64"
...for people that like light boolits and can't seat longer.

The primary advantage of the maximum is the extra case capacity with heavy boolits. I load 180 gr & 200 gr boolits out to 2.125" for my revolvers. In my TCs and my long gun, I can load 200s out to around 2.22"

A downside of the maximum is that most boolits fired from a magnum case completely leave the case before they touch the throat. I like the idea of going with the DW 360 chamber if you want more, but you also want "better" flexibility. It has the advantage of allowing more case capacity without any "free jump" when medium to heavy boolits are fired from magnum cases.

[725]

I've had some success with the Lyman ** 357-627 ** with my alloy - 208 grains. Hit the LASC sign below and search for articles by Glenn Fryxel and one of his articles entitled, "A Bullet For All Seasons". RCBS 35-200. Also, a RN from one of our old group buys that I can remember only as "fugly". All those have been good, but some of my best accuracy comes from a Ranch Dog 180 or so grain. I'd start with the Ranch Dog and would definitely try those others when I could.

**edited the mold number** Of course I got it wrong from memory. I'm old.

[BrutalAB]

I can see advantages to reaming a single shot, as it would allow extra case capacity. But in the lever, I just don't see how it would help, as the constraint on length is the ability to cycle from tube, on to the carrier-lift thing and then into the chamber.
I suppose reaming would allow for single rounds to be fed directly by hand, but i personally would see the cost to outweigh the benefit and suggest one to simply get a different rifle if one needed that extra power.
I can imagine times where it would be advantageous to make the tradeoff, just that I can't realistically see myself or anyone I would give advice to be in those situations.

My favorite load is the 35-200 from rcbs, using the Lee clones though. And almost everything I feed my rifle is 180 grains or heavier. I would also love a 357 max lever, but to my knowledge doesn't exist. So I am interested in this, just wanting to understand how it works better.

I also may be wrong on this but I am pretty sure during load development I was able to chamber rounds longer than 1.64" by hand only, don't remember how far out I was able to seat. This is where a lot of my reasoning comes from, just personal experience, however limited it may be.

[P Flados]

I can see advantages to reaming a single shot, as it would allow extra case capacity. But in the lever, I just don't see how it would help, as the constraint on length is the ability to cycle from tube, on to the carrier-lift thing and then into the chamber.

Based on the SS in the thread title and post #1, this thread is discussing the new Henry Single Shot break open rifle.

https://www.henryusa.com/rifles/single-shot-rifle/

[BrutalAB]

Please disregard everything I said. I can't read today. I assumed ss stood for stainless steel and missed the part about single shot... saw Henry and brain went to levers.
Didn't even know Henry made single shot rifles until a few hours ago.
... thoroughly embarrassed....

[upr45]

I have one but have not fired it yet. I have a grandson to be born in a few months. I think it is a great first rifle for him. I'm presuming he will be medium to large frame like his father so he will be able to handle the weight of the rifle. Why a .357?
If there is a .22LR shortage again -- will be able to load up some 38 SP's.
It has minimal recoil at full power 357 loadings.
Easy to operate, easy to acquire shooting skills with a single shot.
As he grows we can add length to the stock easily.

To answer your other Q's -- I recently purchased a hammer extension from Henry(they have them in stock again) and was able to purchase the steel scope base referenced in the single shot article on this excellent forum(located on line). For the scope base -- the rear sight will need to be drifted out. Have also obtained the 31# spring but have some time to think through if it needs to be installed for a new shooter whose safety I highly value! I expect to break it in & discover the loads it likes before he becomes its care taker. Also expect to resolve the heavy trigger cocking and pull issue prior to that.