357 Maximum vs 357 Magnum

[WaltWhite]

Within the next few months, sometime in the near future, I'm going to order a barrel from one of the Encore custom shops. I'm looking for a do it all 100 yard 16-18" carbine. Targets, plinking, hunting medium game, etc. I have a .357 Magnum revolver I like a lot so a barrel chambered in .357 mag might be a good place to begin.

As I did some research I stumbled upon .357 Maximum. A lot of people seem to love it, and its not any harder to load than .357 Mag but will generally use different powder, primers, bullets and dies so it will more or less be like a whole new cart.

I'm wondering if it's worth it to have the chamber cut for Max instead of Mag? On one hand max will effectively double the range from what I've read but on the other it's like loading a whole new cart despite its similarities to 357 mag and recoil might start to get heavy. I have a Marlin 1894 .44 and full house loads aren't exactly a pleasure.

???

 

[witchhunter]

I recommend it. You can use the same dies and bullets, use small rifle primers though. Look up Mike Bellm contenders, he is a big fan of the Maximum too. There is a lot of information on his website. I bought mine several years ago because it is almost as powerful as a 35 Remington out of a contender. You can shoot 38, 357 and 357 maximums out of it too. it is a win win in a contender.

 

[R.W.Dale]

I had a .357 max barrel for an encore rifle.

It was fun to tinker with but at the end of the day it wasn't really accurate enough to do anything 357 couldn't do with half the powder and brass that's far far far easier to get.

I'm sure I started a few threads about it. Search my profile to find en

 

[jmorris]

It brings more to the table than the mag but if 44 mag from a lever action rifle is too much, I would just stick with the more common mag.

 

[BCRider]

You set your limit at 100 yards? Well, 100 give or take 20? In that case I'd suggest that a .357Mag with heavier bullet such as a 180gn will do anything you could possibly want for hunting up to medium large game even out as far as 150 yards. And when loaded down it would be a delightful plinker and target round.

If it were me, and it might just be me some day soon , I'd go for a good strong heavy hitting 170 or 180gn jacketed load for hunting. Checking a little shows that you'll be looking at around 1500 to 1600 fps for such loads depending on all the circumstances. For out to 150 yards that'll be pretty hard hitting and quite flat.

Then for plinking I'd play with some 125 jacketed or lead soft loads that pretty closely mimic the trajectory of the heavy hunting loads. That way you don't need to dicker around with the sights to go back and forth.

At least this is what I'd do if I were to come across a .357Mag barrel for my own Encore.

If you already reload .357Mag for some handguns this choice seems like a slam dunk cinch over going with the Maximum. You can share brass and bullets to a large extent.

 

[WaltWhite]

BC Rider these are all great points and the things that were going through my mind. Now that I think about it the .357 mag can be pushed to probably 150 yards on the high end, certainly enough for my needs with a short carbine. Anything beyond that I'd probably grab my 7mm.

 

[R.W.Dale]

Now that I think about it the .357 mag can be pushed to probably 150 yards on the high end, certainly enough for my needs with a short carbine. .

Even more so in a single shot platform rated for 65k+ psi where bullets can be seated long.

 

[LeonCarr]

www.bellmtcs.com

Everything you could ever want to know about Contenders, Encores, and the .357 Maximum.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[John C]

Bellmtc suggests that since the throats of many TC barrels are so long, you can load the .357 mag to .357 max OAL, and just be at the point of engaging the rifling. The extra space in the case allows you to load into the .357 max load data safely. These cartridges won't chamber in regular .357 mags, so the risk is lower that you'll accidentally chamber one of these in your revolver and end up wearing it.

This option allows you to check out the .357 max. If you decide that you need/want the extra punch, send it out for rechambering. If it's too much hassle, and your barrel is accurate as a .357 mag, keep it as-is.

 

[Unlicensed Dremel]

Yes, definitely go with max. And why not a Contender (instead of an Encore)?

 

[rcmodel]

Better find some Max brass first.

It's scarcer then hens teeth.

rc

 

[R.W.Dale]

Yes, definitely go with max. And why not a Contender (instead of an Encore)?

I'm the opposite.

Having had both I'd never choose the contender over the versatility of the encore.


And I don't know how many times I've had folks try to buy my last 20 some odd pieces of MAXIMUM brass

Also look into your custom barrel options they may be very very limited as it appears as though MGM has gone out of business

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I had a .357 max barrel for an encore rifle.

It was fun to tinker with but at the end of the day it wasn't really accurate enough to do anything 357 couldn't do with half the powder and brass that's far far far easier to get.

I'm sure I started a few threads about it. Search my profile to find en

That right there is some very good advice IMO.

I'm guessing you are looking at the MAX over the MAG for the added velocity and the energy that comes with it for small game. Did you take into consideration the added velocity achieved by the longer barrel? I did some testing with full power .357 Magnum ammo shot from a Marlin Carbine and ran them over the Chrono, here are the numbers:

125gr XTP w/2400 = AV 2055 fps
125gr XTP w/H110 = AV 2239 fps

140gr SIE JHC w/2400 = AV 1930 fps
140gr SIE JHC w/H110 = AV 1976 fps

150gr SIE JHC w/2400 = AV 1810 fps
150gr SIE JHC w/H110 = AV 1826 fps

170gr SIE JHC w/W296 = AV 1699 fps
170gr SIE JHC w/Lil'Gun = AV 1793 fps

180gr XTP w/W296 = AV 1495fps
180gr XTP w/Lil'Gun = AV 1584 fps

 

[rvn67n20]

Midway is currently shipping all the Max brass you want, at approx. 30 cents per. Just sayin - mine arrived last week, I think I'm set for the rest of my life (I'm old...)

 

[MAKster]

If all you want is a more powerful 357 mag load for hunting I wouldn't bother. You can get 357 mag loads from Buffalo Bore that are serious out of a carbine. 158 grain/2153 feet per second.

 

[witchhunter]

A recent update from Mike Bellm says he has a line on brass too if you buy a barrel from him. I love mine. Why not get a maximum barrel when you can still shoot 38 specials and 357 mags out of it too? Mike will ream and throat your own barrel for around 90 bucks.

 

[R.W.Dale]

A recent update from Mike Bellm says he has a line on brass too if you buy a barrel from him. I love mine. Why not get a maximum barrel when you can still shoot 38 specials and 357 mags out of it too? Mike will ream and throat your own barrel for around 90 bucks.

There is a potential downside

A longer throat and excessive leade when shooting specials and mags hampering accuracy potential

 

[LightningMan]

If this helps with your decision, I have a shootin buddy that has a TC with 3 barrels, ( .22 LR, .357 mag, & 45-70 ) he was not allowed to shoot the 45-70 in the indoor range of our gun club, as it is considered a rifle cartridge (club rules). But he wanted to go beyond the max of what the standard .357 can deliver. So we did some experaments seating the bullets he had (125 gr. JHP's) out further. Then using data from manuals, cross checking for comon powders used, also comparing OAL, we came up with this; The max charge for .357 was X grains of powder Y, and the start charge for for the .357max was 3 grains higher than that, with the same powder. Also we could not attain the OAL of the .357 max using the bullets he had. I believe the OAL lenght difference was .150, and we could only gain a third of that ( .050 ) . We concluded we could start about 1 grain higher than max for the .357 data but 2 grains short of the start grains of .357 max data. This gave him a starting point to which to begin testing. Anyway, the TC handled the load fine, and I remembered the last time he went out to test some newer loads ( a few tenths more of powder ) I had a crony with me and we tested them, which averaged around 1,975 FPS from his TC, that has a 10" or 12" barrel (sorry not sure which) This is just to show you can shoot .357 loads out of a TC beyond what a revolver could handle, without having to get brass for a different caliber, as others have stated already.

 

[Random Discharge]

In the carbine barrel, plain old 357 Magnum with slower powder (W296 or H110) is reaching its limits at, but will handle medium game out to 100 yards. And it will go oh so well with your revolver! That would be my choice.

If you want more power than 357 Magnum has to offer in an encore carbine (or 14 inch pistol barrel), but don't want a recoil beast, then don't overlook the boring 30-30. Once you start talking about 100 yards, revolver rounds in a carbine start to loose their luster. The 30-30 will get you out to 200 yards. Ammo is plentiful and affordable from light 125gr managed recoil rounds, to 150 and 170 grain round nose. And if you hand load it has a lot of versatility from light plinking loads to pointed bullets that can't be used in tubular magazines.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

Max brass is not that hard to find. You just have to buy it when available. This lot popped up on midway for a couple of days and I grabbed one. Rumor has it Remington will make another run this summer. Place your orders and keep watching.

 

[swampcrawler]

The max is a ton of fun. Lots of accuracy, little recoil, plenty of punch, easy to load.

But as has been mentioned brass might as well be made of gold. But you can load it lots of times.

This is 3 shots at 50 yards with my 10 inch mgm tube and a 2x scope.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

Nice shooting, really nice shooting. Those are the targets that show what the max can do. I have yet to scope my contender for the max but I will someday.

Side question, were you once in the UP? Just curious if you were.

 

[bluetopper]

Have a G2 Contender with a 13'' MGM barrel (because a 14" would have cost me $50 more) and a Simmons 2-6 variable power scope mounted. Just love reloading and shooting it. I've had a standing order for Max brass at Midsouth for well over a year now with nary a peep out of them.