Bring back the 357 Maxie

Bake · November 29, 2020, 06:44 PM

I've been looking at some of my old reloading books & notebooks, and I believe a conversion just might be possible. I was thinking about the Henry Single Shot or one of the others might be a solid test bed for the conversion.

A few years ago I was a Silhouette Shooter, using a TC Super in 357 Remington Maximum. Won a couple of NRA "10 Rams" hat pins, and had a "Hell of a lot of FUN". I still have a lot of my supplies.

Has anybody else been thinking along these lines Like taking some of the old Super Mag Handgun Cartridges and going for a run one more time? ? ?

P Flados · November 29, 2020, 10:07 PM

I got into IHMSA in the mid 1980s and bought a brand spanking new Dan Wesson 357 Max revolver.

I still have and shoot that gun.

Bake · November 29, 2020, 11:24 PM

Excellent choice, but very hard to find, even back in the '80s. . .

NoSecondBest · November 30, 2020, 08:16 AM

Lots of people shooting them. Barrels are easy to get along with unfired cases. I’ve had three in the last couple of years. Check out MGM barrels or go to BellmTC website.

Bake · November 30, 2020, 01:22 PM

Not the direction I Am headed. It was hard to find them (the 1980s, Austin, Texas) in the gun shops, they were all out at the range, and no one wanted to sell. At about the same time in Seattle, I saw 1 or 2 in every (sometimes 3) gun shop. Back then I used the TC Super in 357 Maxie, and a Remington XP100 in 7mm RBR.

wizrd · November 30, 2020, 01:49 PM

I really wasn't aware the .357 Max. had gone away, - for us who like them, anyway. 10" and 14" contender barrels, + Rem. single shot pistol bullets, - what's not to love? 25 or so years ago, guy at a show had a table full of .357 Max. ammo at $2.00 per box, - took me two trips to get them all out to the car.

NoSecondBest · November 30, 2020, 01:58 PM

It didn’t go away. Outside of some IHMSA Silhouette shooters there never was a lot of interest in the cartridge. It gained a lot more popularity with hunters who outnumbered the silhouette crowd. The ammo companies never produced it, it was a handloaders cartridge. Once some mid west states opened limited rifle seasons with restrictions on case length, diameter, etc it suddenly got noticed. Now the ammo companies want to jump in with the .350 Legend and the gun companies want to produce guns. Where were they back when the Max was already proven to fill this niche? Oh well, its still hanging around and still taking deer.

Scorch · December 1, 2020, 08:23 PM

Wow. Talk about beating a dead horse. While the 357 Maximum was OK cool, it was never as popular as even some relatively unknown cartridges like 45 Win Mag, 445 Super Mag, 45 Super, 9x23, etc. It wouldn't be a matter of reviving it, you would first have to put life into it. The only people who like the 357 Max were silhouette shooters and midwest deer hunters.

P Flados · December 1, 2020, 08:29 PM

The Dan Wesson was easy to acquire.

I joined the local club that shot IHMSA. When I joined IHMSA, I started getting Elgin Gates' "The Silhouette". Gun and supplies for the sport were sold at great prices through this "newspaper" format publication that came out monthly.

One of the guys at the club did FFL stuff for members for like $10 per transaction.

Only thing I regret is not getting more guns this way. The Ruger in 357 Max and the Dan Wesson in 41 Supermag were available, I wanted them and I could afford them.

**44 AMP** · December 2, 2020, 04:40 PM

I don't consider the .45 Win Mag unknown, I've got two pistols and a contender barrel in .45 Win Mag.

**Unclenick** · December 4, 2020, 12:31 PM

The 357 Maximum was in the 1993 SAAMI standard, so the industry maintained reference ammo for it member manufacturers. That means they tried making it. How long they tried, I don't know. May have been brief if it didn't sell. It's gone from the 2015 standard.

ammo.crafter · December 4, 2020, 04:35 PM

357 Max is a perfect hog/deer cartridge.

Compare the new 350 Legend to the 357 Max.

Double K · December 4, 2020, 05:06 PM

I had a Ruger but sold it, if they ever make a 336 marlin rifle in that caliber I'll have one.

TX Nimrod · December 4, 2020, 06:10 PM

Quote:

....It gained a lot more popularity with hunters who outnumbered the silhouette crowd. The ammo companies never produced it, it was a handloaders cartridge....

You must be confusing the .357 Maximum with something else, for years Maxi ammo was loaded by Remington, Federal and others. The cartridge was developed for silhouette shooting, and silhouette shooters fired ‘way more rounds than hunters ever did; the cartridge never set the hunting world afire after all the bad print press about frame cutting.

Regardless it is a fine hunting cartridge, several shooting buddies in Alaska used their 10” Contenders on deer and caribou where it performed well with 180-grain bullets.

.

rc · December 4, 2020, 06:36 PM

I think the cartridge would be best in something like a trim slim lever gun. In revolvers the flame cutting of the top strap seems to be a major problem but a lever gun that would shoot mag and max rounds interchangeable would be nice.

wizrd · December 5, 2020, 11:45 AM

So - let's all drop a line to Henry, asking for a nice lever gun in .357 Max.

Bake · December 5, 2020, 12:55 PM

not lightly to happen, but in case, where is the list to sign up on ? ? ?

rc · December 6, 2020, 07:38 PM

Well people thought the 327 federal lever gun was too much to ask. I'm not likely to get a 357 max but I could see it as a handy short range big game thumper in the same class as 35 remington but easier to load.

Scorch · December 7, 2020, 02:19 AM

Quote:

if they ever make a 336 marlin rifle in that caliber I'll have one.

Won't happen. I've done a custom for a customer. Too much of a pain to get it to feed. Build a 357/44 Bains-Davis instead.

November 29, 2020, 06:44 PM	#1
Bake Senior Member Join Date: November 11, 2012 Location: San Joaquin Valley, Calif. Posts: 482	Bring back the 357 Maxie I've been looking at some of my old reloading books & notebooks, and I believe a conversion just might be possible. I was thinking about the Henry Single Shot or one of the others might be a solid test bed for the conversion. A few years ago I was a Silhouette Shooter, using a TC Super in 357 Remington Maximum. Won a couple of NRA "10 Rams" hat pins, and had a "Hell of a lot of FUN". I still have a lot of my supplies. Has anybody else been thinking along these lines Like taking some of the old Super Mag Handgun Cartridges and going for a run one more time? ? ? __________________ 1. The pattern board is your friend, use the Dam thing!!! 2. The maximum range of a firearm and/or cartridge, is usually measured in miles, and means nothing. 2a. The effective range of a firearm and/or cartridge, is usually (the ability of the shooter) measured in yards, and means everything. Last edited by Bake; December 2, 2020 at 01:42 AM.

November 29, 2020, 11:24 PM	#3
Bake Senior Member Join Date: November 11, 2012 Location: San Joaquin Valley, Calif. Posts: 482	Excellent choice, but very hard to find, even back in the '80s. . . __________________ 1. The pattern board is your friend, use the Dam thing!!! 2. The maximum range of a firearm and/or cartridge, is usually measured in miles, and means nothing. 2a. The effective range of a firearm and/or cartridge, is usually (the ability of the shooter) measured in yards, and means everything.

November 30, 2020, 01:22 PM	#5
Bake Senior Member Join Date: November 11, 2012 Location: San Joaquin Valley, Calif. Posts: 482	Not the direction I Am headed. It was hard to find them (the 1980s, Austin, Texas) in the gun shops, they were all out at the range, and no one wanted to sell. At about the same time in Seattle, I saw 1 or 2 in every (sometimes 3) gun shop. Back then I used the TC Super in 357 Maxie, and a Remington XP100 in 7mm RBR. __________________ 1. The pattern board is your friend, use the Dam thing!!! 2. The maximum range of a firearm and/or cartridge, is usually measured in miles, and means nothing. 2a. The effective range of a firearm and/or cartridge, is usually (the ability of the shooter) measured in yards, and means everything. Last edited by Bake; December 2, 2020 at 01:43 AM.

November 30, 2020, 01:49 PM	#6
wizrd Senior Member Join Date: February 26, 2012 Posts: 232	I really wasn't aware the .357 Max. had gone away, - for us who like them, anyway. 10" and 14" contender barrels, + Rem. single shot pistol bullets, - what's not to love? 25 or so years ago, guy at a show had a table full of .357 Max. ammo at $2.00 per box, - took me two trips to get them all out to the car. __________________ Sumo magis ammo

December 1, 2020, 08:23 PM	#8
Scorch Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2006 Location: Washington state Posts: 15,248	Wow. Talk about beating a dead horse. While the 357 Maximum was OK cool, it was never as popular as even some relatively unknown cartridges like 45 Win Mag, 445 Super Mag, 45 Super, 9x23, etc. It wouldn't be a matter of reviving it, you would first have to put life into it. The only people who like the 357 Max were silhouette shooters and midwest deer hunters. __________________ Never try to educate someone who resists knowledge at all costs. But what do I know? Summit Arms Services

November 29, 2020, 10:07 PM	#2
P Flados Senior Member Join Date: January 8, 2017 Location: Wilmington NC Posts: 243	I got into IHMSA in the mid 1980s and bought a brand spanking new Dan Wesson 357 Max revolver. I still have and shoot that gun.

November 30, 2020, 08:16 AM	#4
NoSecondBest Senior Member Join Date: December 7, 2009 Location: Western New York Posts: 2,736	Lots of people shooting them. Barrels are easy to get along with unfired cases. I’ve had three in the last couple of years. Check out MGM barrels or go to BellmTC website.

November 30, 2020, 01:58 PM	#7
NoSecondBest Senior Member Join Date: December 7, 2009 Location: Western New York Posts: 2,736	It didn’t go away. Outside of some IHMSA Silhouette shooters there never was a lot of interest in the cartridge. It gained a lot more popularity with hunters who outnumbered the silhouette crowd. The ammo companies never produced it, it was a handloaders cartridge. Once some mid west states opened limited rifle seasons with restrictions on case length, diameter, etc it suddenly got noticed. Now the ammo companies want to jump in with the .350 Legend and the gun companies want to produce guns. Where were they back when the Max was already proven to fill this niche? Oh well, its still hanging around and still taking deer.

December 1, 2020, 08:29 PM	#9
P Flados Senior Member Join Date: January 8, 2017 Location: Wilmington NC Posts: 243	The Dan Wesson was easy to acquire. I joined the local club that shot IHMSA. When I joined IHMSA, I started getting Elgin Gates' "The Silhouette". Gun and supplies for the sport were sold at great prices through this "newspaper" format publication that came out monthly. One of the guys at the club did FFL stuff for members for like $10 per transaction. Only thing I regret is not getting more guns this way. The Ruger in 357 Max and the Dan Wesson in 41 Supermag were available, I wanted them and I could afford them.

December 2, 2020, 04:40 PM	#10
44 AMP Staff Join Date: March 11, 2006 Location: Upper US Posts: 28,839	I don't consider the .45 Win Mag unknown, I've got two pistols and a contender barrel in .45 Win Mag. __________________ All else being equal (and it almost never is) bigger bullets tend to work better.

December 4, 2020, 12:31 PM	#11
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,063	The 357 Maximum was in the 1993 SAAMI standard, so the industry maintained reference ammo for it member manufacturers. That means they tried making it. How long they tried, I don't know. May have been brief if it didn't sell. It's gone from the 2015 standard. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle

December 4, 2020, 04:35 PM	#12
ammo.crafter Senior Member Join Date: June 25, 2006 Location: The Keystone State Posts: 1,970	The Max 357 Max is a perfect hog/deer cartridge. Compare the new 350 Legend to the 357 Max. __________________ "Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading". --Thomas Jefferson

December 4, 2020, 05:06 PM	#13
Double K Senior Member Join Date: June 16, 2020 Location: Colorado Posts: 486	I had a Ruger but sold it, if they ever make a 336 marlin rifle in that caliber I'll have one.

December 4, 2020, 06:36 PM	#15
rc Senior Member Join Date: April 28, 2001 Location: CA Posts: 1,768	I think the cartridge would be best in something like a trim slim lever gun. In revolvers the flame cutting of the top strap seems to be a major problem but a lever gun that would shoot mag and max rounds interchangeable would be nice.

December 5, 2020, 11:45 AM	#16
wizrd Senior Member Join Date: February 26, 2012 Posts: 232	So - let's all drop a line to Henry, asking for a nice lever gun in .357 Max. __________________ Sumo magis ammo

December 5, 2020, 12:55 PM	#17
Bake Senior Member Join Date: November 11, 2012 Location: San Joaquin Valley, Calif. Posts: 482	not lightly to happen, but in case, where is the list to sign up on ? ? ? __________________ 1. The pattern board is your friend, use the Dam thing!!! 2. The maximum range of a firearm and/or cartridge, is usually measured in miles, and means nothing. 2a. The effective range of a firearm and/or cartridge, is usually (the ability of the shooter) measured in yards, and means everything.

December 6, 2020, 07:38 PM	#18
rc Senior Member Join Date: April 28, 2001 Location: CA Posts: 1,768	Well people thought the 327 federal lever gun was too much to ask. I'm not likely to get a 357 max but I could see it as a handy short range big game thumper in the same class as 35 remington but easier to load.