Smith & Wesson 350 Revolver ——.357 Max?

[alfsauve]

An enthusiastic article in Feb American Rifleman about Smith’s new 350 revolver for the 350 Legend.

Only problem is S&W warned users not to fire .357 Mag rounds in it because the bullets are too big.
[edit] S&W didn't say the bullets were too big. The author, Kelly Young, assumed that was the reason.

SAY WHAT?

The bore and grove dimensions on the .357 Mag and the 350 Legend are the same. And the case diameters are within a whisker.

But my mind wandered a little further afield. Is this a suitable platform for .357 Max?

Having been a early adopter and supporter of the .357 Max, I’d be more than happy to test this out, if some one would loan me this revolver.

 

[someguy2800]

350 legend is a tapered case with a rebated rim. 357 magnum and 357 max are non tapered cases with a rim.

*I edited this comment because after measuring both there is not as big a difference in base diameter as I remembered, so probably not as dangerous as I first led on

 

[someguy2800]

350 legend is about .010” larger diameter at the base

 

[Riomouse911]

I don’t know (or believe) that the bullets themselves are too big, but the tapered chamber diameter of the .350 cartridge is probably large enough at the top to have the .357 Mag cases bulge or split. (Case specs at the rim are .390 vs .379)

But that is just a guess since I don’t have one to try out.

Stay safe.

 

[mcb]

Going to have a head space issue too since the entire face of the cylinder is relieved to accept rim thickness plus moonclip thickness.

 

[someguy2800]

Compared here to a 357 mag. Even if a 357 mag’s rim will fit in the cylinder you probably don’t want to anyway. I’ve shot 38 special from a 357 maximum, and although it does go bang, the results are not great because the bullet is all the way out of the case before it gets to the throat. So you are basically tossing bullets at the barrel. Same would be true of shooting 357 mag in a 350 legend chamber.

 

[mcb]

It might actually work if you deal with the headspace issue. TK custom will cut a hybrid chamber in a 38/357 revolver for both 9x19 and 357 mag. And they have a similar ratio of base diameters. There problem is going to be the higher operating is almost certainly going to cause extraction problems with a 350 L & 357 Mag hybrid chamber.

 

[alfsauve]

The article's contention, a guess by the author, was one of bullet diameter. The author should have known better than to assume that as the bore and groove diameters are the same.

The case's base diameter and length are the things to consider. I'm still available to test though if anyone has a loaner.

 

[captain awesome]

I intend on buying one as soon as I can get one from one of my suppliers. I don't think I would bother with 357 mag in it but perhaps 357 Max. But there again it will probably severely shorten case life so I don't know. The whole concept is intriguing, I would certainly consider having a custom cylinder made for one in 357 Max. You could Safely push it far beyond normal Salami pressures in an X frame, and accomplish a truly long range revolver round with less recoil than a 460 or 500.

 

[captain awesome]

I just saw "salami pressures" and found it amusing enough to leave there. Auto correct is always good for a laugh!

 

[captain awesome]

In another note, I wonder if an enterprising company could hire the S&W performance center to make a run of 357 Max X frames. I am not sure if this falls within their scope of willingness since they don't normally chamber the Max in any of their current cataloged items. I do know other custom projects they have a minimum order of 500 units.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

In another note, I wonder if an enterprising company could hire the S&W performance center to make a run of 357 Max X frames. I am not sure if this falls within their scope of willingness since they don't normally chamber the Max in any of their current cataloged items. I do know other custom projects they have a minimum order of 500 units.

Id be much more interested in a .357 Max X-frame than a .350 Legend. The .500 and .460 have no appeal to me either.
All these are damn near impossible to find and ridiculously expensive.
At least I can shoot .357 Magnums from it when the next manufactured crisis clears the shelves (and web) of all the boutique cartridges.

 

[someguy2800]

I'm just curious to hear other peoples opinions, but why would you want to shoot 357 maximum in it? The only reason I can come up with is not having to use moon clips. 357 max brass is difficult to find and expensive and at a significant capacity disadvantage. Seams to me it would be better to get starline to make rimmed 350 legend brass for single shots and revolvers.

 

[mcb]

I'm just curious to hear other peoples opinions, but why would you want to shoot 357 maximum in it? The only reason I can come up with is not having to use moon clips. 357 max brass is difficult to find and expensive and at a significant capacity disadvantage. Seams to me it would be better to get starline to make rimmed 350 legend brass for single shots and revolvers.

Moonclips Rule! That is a perk not a flaw in the 350 legend in a revolver!

 

[Palladan44]

Just another rifle-powered round stuffed into a revolver, that won't sell well, and will eventually be discontinued.....
There will be a small, loyal group of followers while the rest of us sit back and say ...... "...Mehh."

If I need the power of a .30-30 Winchester, I'll use a .30-30 Winchester.

 

[alfsauve]

Oh oh. A 350R legend.

 

[someguy2800]

Just another rifle-powered round stuffed into a revolver, that won't sell well, and will eventually be discontinued.....
There will be a small, loyal group of followers while the rest of us sit back and say ...... "...Mehh."

If I need the power of a .30-30 Winchester, I'll use a .30-30 Winchester.

That must be why they don't make the 460 or 500 anymore and why magnum research discontinued the BFR. Oh wait...

 

[P Flados]

I have a Dan Wesson in 357 Max. My max is very comparable to a 350L in a revolver. Some BFRs were chambered in the 350L. Muzzle blast will be bad.

The 350L has a higher SAAMI pressure than the Max. However, maximum effective hunting range is almost entirely determined by field accuracy. So a little extra velocity will not mean much. Forcing cone erosion does occur on the Max and will be worse with the 350L. Fixing some erosion on a Dan Wesson is easy, the S&W X-gun manual says "we will replace the barrel with a new one for a nominal fee".

They made this one a 7 shot. This should help keep the weight less objectionable, but it will still be very big and very heavy. If they had kept the same pattern and external dimensions, the extra meat in the barrel and cylinder would add a good bit of weight. The extra round means little for any other purpose unless you drop the barrel length and are going for a dangerous animal defense application.

Recoil should be "not bad" as the gun will be so heavy. Reduced recoil and the cost of ammo will be the advantages of this chambering over existing chamberings.

Bragging rights, range toy and hunting are the primary purchase reasons for all X-guns. This one is probably less for useful for bragging than other X-guns but it probably more useful as an actual range toy. It might be legal for the dying sport of IHMSA (if it is not too heavy).

For reloading, brass will be easier to find and possibly cheaper than the 357 Max. A big downside when reloading the 350L in general is that the round is designed for headspacing on the mouth. Moon clips may help with this.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Meh.

It's cool to see S&W playing with rifle rounds in revolvers again, but the .350 Legend is pretty unremarkable from a short barrel.

For suppressed use, shorter rifles running 250+ gr subsonic loads has real merit.

But revolvers don't suppress for beans unless they happen to be a Nagant 1895 or a .22 with a very tight cylinder gap, so now all we have is a hulking X frame that is ballistically inferior to N-frame .41 and .44 magnums.

As big a S&W fan as I am, don't foresee one of these in the stable.

 

[243winxb]

I just read it this morning.

I hate moon clips. If not used, "take a wood dowel with you to eject brass from the cylinder, after firing.

5lb trigger.

Test fire was stopped after 2 shots. Timing problem. Sent back to factory.
$1599. Plus it needs wheels to get it around.

It was accurate at 50 yards.

Not for me. If wanting something different, go for it. The 460, more usefull. Fires 45 colt.