.357 Max rifle

[bmwclay]

Will the T/C .357 Hot Shot cartridge chamber and fire in my T/C .357 Maximum 21 inch barrel? Will the capsule breakup with no choke?
Looking for a squirrel-quail gun if I can't find any deer for the the 180 Hornady load. In essence, a survival carbine.
TIA

 

[ECVMatt]

If I remember correctly the choke is used to break the capsule. I am pretty sure it will not give you the desired effect without the proper choke. Once ATF OK'd the .45/.410 barrel with rifling, the hot shot's became a thing of the past.

I like your thinking though...that would be a very handy little rifle combo.

 

[gotboostvr]

Where'd you get your 357max barrel? I recently got a Encore with the intent of finding a 357 Maximum barrel for deer Hunting

 

[bmwclay]

.357 Max

I got the 21" .357 Max barrel from a clearance sale at Midway. With 2x compact scope and synthetic stock it weighs around 6 lb. This is on my old (1970's) Contender frame. 205 SWC in .38 brass for squirrels, 125 gr. jhp in .357 brass for coyotes and 180 gr. Hornady for pigs, deer. Works like a charm.
Now I just have to come up with a shotshell for quail etc. If the hot-shot capsule won't shred then I'll try using the new pcp air rifle capsules or make my own. The Max case is pretty long.

BTW the 45/.410 barrel is illegal here in Calif. The .44 and .357 shot barrels (w/chokes) are not (yet).

 

[bluetopper]

Match Grade Machine will custom make to your specs a 357 Max or any caliber barrel for about as cheap as you can find a factory one.

 

[ECVMatt]

I got the 21" .357 Max barrel from a clearance sale at Midway. With 2x compact scope and synthetic stock it weighs around 6 lb. This is on my old (1970's) Contender frame. 205 SWC in .38 brass for squirrels, 125 gr. jhp in .357 brass for coyotes and 180 gr. Hornady for pigs, deer. Works like a charm.
Now I just have to come up with a shotshell for quail etc. If the hot-shot capsule won't shred then I'll try using the new pcp air rifle capsules or make my own. The Max case is pretty long.

BTW the 45/.410 barrel is illegal here in Calif. The .44 and .357 shot barrels (w/chokes) are not (yet).

Nice to know, I am unfortunately here in CA as well....I am on a ten year countdown...I can't wait to get out.

 

[biquer]

Check out Mike Bellm. He's works primarily with TC Encores, etc. and is a proponent of the .357 Max. He's done nice work with my Encore 45-70 rifle barrel.
His site is well worth your time.

http://www.bellmtcs.com/store

 

[loose noose]

Check with Ed's Contenders, I know he has the .357 Max in stock for a reasonable prices and is easy to deal with.

 

[GarrettJ]

Will the T/C .357 Hot Shot cartridge chamber and fire in my T/C .357 Maximum 21 inch barrel? Will the capsule breakup with no choke?

I expect the HotShot cartridges will chamber and fire just fine. I would also expect the combo to only be effective for 5 or maybe 10 feet.

I'm guessing the choke is built like the .45/.410 choke, in that it has a short length of deep straight rifling. This is to (attempt to) counter the spin imparted by the traditional rifling. Without it, the shot will quickly spin outward making for a lousy pattern.

My 16" .45/.410 barrel produces a large doughnut pattern at 25 yards, and that's with the choke in place. I can't imagine the smaller cartridges to work any better.

But it would be an inexpensive enough experiment to load and fire one and see how it patterns. I would have no safety concerns about doing it in one of my Contenders.

Actually, you have me curious now. I don't have any of the HotShot ammo, but I have some of the loaded CCI shot capsules in .38/.357. I might have to go try them out and see how they do. I've got 6" and 14" Contender barrels in .357 Mag.

 

[RecoilRob]

You could try the Speer capsules...http://www.speer-bullets.com/products/components/empty_shot_capsules.aspx

I've used them in .357 pistols with some success...but they don't hold a lot of shot and tend to spread very rapidly out of the short barrels. Might be interesting to see what they'd do out of a rifle length! You might have to tailor the powder charge to get the patterns you'll find effective but they certainly do break and release the charge without needing a choke to strip them.

 

[GarrettJ]

I'm not sure if the OP has ever come back. In any event, I brought some CCI Shotshells with me to the range today.

I shot one through my 14" .357 Mag Contender barrel at a 24"X36" paper at 30 feet. You can see where I only got a handful of shot pellets on he paper at this distance. You can also see where a chunk of the plastic cup hit the paper.



After this I moved up to 10 feet. At this distance I got a better pattern on the paper. Even so, I would not consider this adequate for squirrels or quail. It may work, but I wouldn't be surprised if the game were to run away and die somewhere else.



Seeing what the Shotshells did from the 14" barrel, I didn't bother switching to the 6" tube.

I understand the desire for a multi-purpose hunting firearm. But for this ammo / barrel combo, you are going to have to be almost close enough to touch the game. You may be better served to back up your Contender rifle with a .22 pistol. You should be able to get good hits with it at a much greater distance than you can effectively use the Shotshells.