Seville 357 Maximum

[stubshaft]

A friend of mine called me this morning and asked if I wanted to accompany him to the LGS. Not having anything better to do (retired from the rat race), I agreed. Upon arrival to the LGS, I went to check on the consignment guns. There on the bottom shelf, on the very end of the row, half hidden under a S&W model 29 was a Seville 357 Maximum. I asked the salesman if I could inspect it and he agreed. It has a 7 1/2" barrel, was manufactured by United Sporting Arms (then based in Tuscon, Az.) and in virtually new condition. Based on the serial number and location of manufacture it was probably made in 1983.

The 357 Maximum being one of my favorite cartridges of all time (I won my first State Silhouette Championship with one in the same year), still having components and dies for it was a bonus.

The pistol appeared to have been lightly used as the front of the cylinder showed slight carbon staining and the forcing cone and bore had a slight carbon wash and no fouling.

Best of all the asking price was ridiculously low, it was listed at $250.00 LESS than a standard Blackhawk they also had on consignment. Needless to say, I almost broke my arm pulling out my wallet to buy it.

https://i.imgur.com/mLd07sGl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/BMsEQ33l.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/WGc7hXdl.jpg (https://imgur.com/WGc7hXd)

[BPSharps]

You got a great deal and 357 maximum is an awesome cartridge

[ohen cepel]

Nice find and a great deal!
Some of those lesser known revolvers can be a real buy.

Enjoy!

[Nobade]

Great find!

[dvnv]

Great serial number too, sort of matching a Freedom Arms.

[rockrat]

That was THE revolver for the 357max. You had one of those, you had something. At our LGS, one day a guy brought in 4 Sevilles. All in 9mm mag. One for each of the barrel lengths offered. All brand new and was asking what they were worth.

[leadhead]

I had a Seville back in the 80's that I shot silhouette with. It was a great gun, but somehow,
I let it slip away from me and replaced it with something else. Looking back, I made a great
big mistake.
leadhead

[missionary5155]

That is a great looking Seville !

[Txcowboy52]

Sweet handgun !! And a great caliber to boot ! Now I’m jealous! Happy for you , good shooting!

[Der Gebirgsjager]

I had one in .44 Mag. until just last Sept. Sold it to help finance a new water well. I thought it to be just a bit better in every way than the Super Blackhawk.

DG

[Moleman-]

Congrats! I would of snapped that up also.

[nagantguy]

Wonderful find and a great serviceable revolver. Thank you for sharing . Just about my favorite cartridge.

[TNsailorman]

I had heard of them in print but never saw one in person. Thanks for sharing the pictures. Great looking revolver. james

[Buzz Krumhunger]

Nice catch!

[high standard 40]

That's a great find on an awesome revolver.

[Thumbcocker]

A classic example of stuff that never happens to me.

[contender1]

Love it.
When El Dorado Arms started up locally (Chimney Rock NC, they came along after the Sevilles) I used to visit them occasionally. I always wanted on in either .45 Colt or .357 Maxi. I'd love to find one like that too!

[GunnerAsch]

Ruger did away with their 357 Max guns because they were flame cutting the top strap and quite rapidly, as I recall. Did the construction of the Seville have a work around?

[rintinglen]

I had a Seville 357 for a while that I traded off for some thing else I didn't need. It was super accurate, but awfully heavy. IIRC, it had a 6 or 6 1/2" barrel. A friend of mine reminds me that you can't own 'em all. Dang it.

[pietro]

.

The Seville was one of the firms that Ruger's Pine Tree Castings made/provided frames for.

.

[stubshaft]

Ruger did away with their 357 Max guns because they were flame cutting the top strap and quite rapidly, as I recall. Did the construction of the Seville have a work around?

Seville extended the length of the cylinder so the erosive gasses were contained and did not cut the topstrap. Most of the erosion was suppposedly caused by driving light bullet at max velocities. Another detriment to the gas cutting problem was the use of stainless steel. My Dan Wessons in 357 Maxi and 375 Super Mag never showed any propensity of being damaged.

[missionary5155]

We also ave DW's in .357 and .375 Supermags as no gas cutting issues. Never shoot light cast either.

[contender1]

As noted above,, the Ruger .357 Maxi got a bad rap in the media for a little flame top strap cutting. As such, Bill Ruger got pizzed, and dropped the production. Plus, he destroyed about 5000 guns. And yes,, it was mostly caused by folks hot-rodding a light bullet, using a hotter faster powder.
What has been largely ignored,, is the fact that other guns, by other makers have also had the occasional model get the same top strap flame cutting.

One of the original people who helped Bill Sr. & Bill Jr. develop the .357 Maxi still has one of the very first "off the line production" .357 Maxi's and shoots it a lot. He also developed a cast bullet designed just for the Maxi with a good friend just a few years ago. The cast bullet is called the "Bradshaw/Martin" and throws a 194 grn bullet, uses a GC, and when mated with IMR 4227 produces excellent accuracy & ZERO top strap cutting. Mountain Molds used to make the bullet mold, before they quit. Now, I believe Accurate Molds makes it.

[leadhead]

I still have a Ruger .357 max. Haven't shot it since the mid 80's. Still in the original box.
Was never impressed with it as a silhouette gun. It wouldn't shoot heavy bullets worth a
damn.
leadhead

[murf205]

Leadhead, what was the twist rate in those guns? Could have that been the culprit or did it just not take a shine to heavies? I've been tempted to pay the $ for a used Ruger if I could find one for less than a fortune. Maybe a Magnum Research as I really like 35 cal guns.

[contender1]

"Leadhead, what was the twist rate in those guns? Could have that been the culprit or did it just not take a shine to heavies?"

I'm not Leadhead, but I'll add a little info.

I'm not where I can relate the twist rate in the Ruger .357 Maxi's, but I can say the gun was actually developed for the heavier bullets. The lightest bullet from the factory offerings that were commercially available, was 158 grns. Most were 180 grn.

[stubshaft]

"Leadhead, what was the twist rate in those guns? Could have that been the culprit or did it just not take a shine to heavies?"

I'm not Leadhead, but I'll add a little info.

I'm not where I can relate the twist rate in the Ruger .357 Maxi's, but I can say the gun was actually developed for the heavier bullets. The lightest bullet from the factory offerings that were commercially available, was 158 grns. Most were 180 grn.

Not surprising since it was developed by Elgin T. Gates the head honcho of IHMSA for Silhouette shooting.

[murf205]

I don't know how true it is but I have read, several times, that heavy charges of slower powder and lighter (125gr range) were the culprit for top strap cutting. Smith and Wesson tackled that problem with their super lightweight frames by adding a stainless steel appearing tab under the top strap. It is a shame that Ruger discontinued the 357 Maximum. It would have been a huntin' six gun for sure.

[contender1]

"It would have been a huntin' six gun for sure."

The surviving 11,000 or so of them sure are good hunting guns! But some have been sacrificed by their owners to be converted into a custom caliber.

"Not surprising since it was developed by Elgin T. Gates the head honcho of IHMSA for Silhouette shooting."

David Bradshaw was the person who worked on the Ruger .357 Maximum with Bill & Bill Jr. He published an excellent article in G&A magazine about it back then.

[Rapier]

I traded my Saville 10" gun for an El Dorado 10" My El Dorado eventually shot loose, so sent it in to have the cylinder bronze bearings replaced. During the time I had occasion to talk to the two owners, they were a hoot.
I shot the 200 grain RCBS in both guns with 296. The Seville did not have the replaceable cylinder bronze bearings and the El Dorado had better sights for my use, as I recall, they used the Jim Rock Iron Sight Mfg sights, including an under cut partridge front sight. Sort of like the 353 FA silhouette gun, but about half the price.
The Saville and El Dorado both are fine guns. We had several IHMSA members with guns at Seville when they were seized, tried to get the guns back for the owners but the ATF said they could not find the paperwork.

[HWooldridge]

Interesting - never heard of that revolver but reminds me of a sign we used to see in a San Antonio eating establishment.

Seville dair dago
Tousand buses inaro
NoJo dems trux
Summit cowz
Summit dux

Extra credit if you know which local restaurant had it on the wall.:mrgreen:

[rockrat]

Don't think Elgin Gates had anything to do with the Ruger guns, only the developement of the 357 max. cartridge. IIRC, Gate would add (weld) a section to the front of the 357mag cartridge and played with length and finalized on the 1.610" length.
A heck of Silhouette revolver would have been the Ruger Hawkeye single shot pistol chambered in 357 Max. Think I read once that there was one (1) built. Would like to find a beat up one and stick a .357 tube on it, chambered in 357max.
Would love one of the Maxi's in 445 Super mag but keeping my Maxi origional.

[contender1]

Rapier,, I used to go by the El Dorado shop and visit with Russ & Forrest. Great guys. Just a few years ago,, I stopped by Russ's place,, and had his wife take a picture of me, him & my El Dorado. Russ passed away 10 days later. I have the last picture of him & one of his guns.



rockrat,, yes,, there was (1) experimental Hawkeye in .357 Maxi.

Even a rough "beater" Hawkeye will cost $$$.

[leadhead]

The bullet I was shooting in the Ruger 357 maxi was the Lyman 358627 215 grain SWC. I don't remember the powder
or charge, but my spotter told me the bullet would vortex at 150 yards and at 200 yards, the bullet was making about
a vortex circle of around 2 feet in diameter. After the match, I hade him shoot a few so I could observe this. I never
saw anything like it then or since. I retired the Ruger soon after. Still have it in the original box in my safe.
leadhead

[contender1]

"The bullet I was shooting in the Ruger 357 maxi was the Lyman 358627 215 grain SWC. I don't remember the powder
or charge, but my spotter told me the bullet would vortex at 150 yards and at 200 yards, the bullet was making about
a vortex circle of around 2 feet in diameter. After the match, I hade him shoot a few so I could observe this. I never
saw anything like it then or since"



Interesting. Makes me wonder if the bullet body was too long or too short to match the twist rate. Something that may not show up until shooting at longer than "normal" distances. (Normal, meaning the folks who think 50 yds is a LONG shot for a handgun.) :D

Kinda like trying to get a full wadcutter to be accurate at 200 yds.