David Bradshaw Photos - Vol. XLV, .357 Maximum Shooting

[Lee Martin]

A snowshoe walk of about 1800 yards as warmup for shooting. The Ruger .357 Maximum was developed without thought given to accuracy from its parent .357 Magnum. As lark and to satisfy curiosity, we shot prototype Maximums loaded with .38 Special and .357 Mag at 100 yards. Bill Ruger, Jr., retrofit a Hawkeye single shot with specially made transfer bar and rebarreled same to .357 Maximum. Which showed somewhat better accuracy. Shooting the shorter rounds brought no surprises. Bullets obliged to jump unsupported case to throat in Maximum chambers shot well enough for practice, especially the .357 Mag.

Ruger Maximum about try Winchester Silvertip .357 Mag 147 JHP, and .357 Remington Maximum 180 Semi-Jacket HP



Snowshoed 106 paces to set first target. Winter-packed snow. Easily 100 yards, as snowshoes glide atop winter-packed snow. (Snow much softer in the woods. Cardboard target set against puckerbrush at woodline. Photo: lens on zoom.



Closer to what it looks like from the gun.



.357 Maximum posed on limb. To shoot a Maximum with glove projecting past cylinder would quickly ruin the leather. In practice, two hands hold revolver, with a touch of leather between trigger guard and limb.



357 Mag: Winchester Silvertip 147 JHP. First three shots a at upper left: 3x3=2.8" @ 106 paces. Followed by sight adjustment and six shots: 6x6=6.3"; with 5x6=4.4". Thjesewere the first Winchester Silvertip .357's put through the Ruger maximum.



Graphic look at .357 Mag Winchester Silvertip 147 JHP from .357 Maximum at 106 paces. Excellent accuracy from the longer chamber.



Blackhawk Maximum with first-run Remington .357 Maximum 180 Semi-Jacket HP. Revolver rested on tree limb from 109 paces: 5x5 shots=5.0", with 4x5=4.2".



.357 Remington Maximum 180 Semi-Jacketed Hollow Point with target from 109 paces.



Maximum ejector always welcome for complete extraction without having to pluck shells.



Cylinder gap, revolver just fired. A .001-inch barrel/cylinder gap without drag. Good for velocity. Nevertheless, tight gap contributes nothing to accuracy. Bill Ruger, Jr., developed the means to hold to .003" gap in production, although some are looser.



-Lee
www.singleactions.com
"Building carpal tunnel one round at a time"

[cmh]

Thanks Mr Bradshaw

[bradshaw]

Beaucoup thanks, always, Lee, for posting.

cmh.... a nod of appreciation to you, too.... Lee Martin with his mathematics aptitude and experimental cartridge experience can better explain pressure curve behavior. Note this: your interest in the Maximum deserves one day for you to try it. The Rugers were ready to make a longer cylinder. In fact, Bill, Jr., reamed chambers to accommodate 1.660-inch brass. Dan Wesson Arms stretched the M44 .44 Mag into the Model 40 Super Mag without concern for the tapering bottom strap of the single action frame. The longer cylinder drops pressure somewhat at the cylinder gap, which slows forcing cone erosion. The velocity benefit, however, is not realized in the DW M40, as minimizing cylinder endshake depends on reducing to zero yoke endshake. There is yoke endshake in the Dan Wesson. Therefore, Ruger velocity easily bests the M40.

Pure velocity was never the modus operandi of the Maximum; the object was downrange clout from a .357 hole.

Back to pressure dynamics: the straight-wall .357 Maximum utilizes slow powders in the 196/H110, 4227, Win 680, AA 1680 well with 180 to 200 grain bullets, as does its offspring the tapered-wall .375 Super Mag----without savage recoil. Same not true of the misbegotten .445 Super Mag and various other stretched-case big bores. Expansion ratio favors shorter cases when going big bore in a revolver. To stretch a big bore case lengthens the pressure curve, inflicting more pressure on the cylinder gap. A loose gap degrades the burn. All of which narrows the rpm range of the long voluminous case.

Were I to build a big bore on the Ruger Maximum frame I'd say to hell with a big bore Maximum case and chamber a Maximum cylinder to standard Linebaugh or Huntington brass. That should provide versatility unavailable from a .475 or .500 Maximum, and improved efficiency from 296/H110.

Speaking of efficiency, note accuracy of the Winchester .357 Magnum Silvertip 147 JHP from the straight, minimum Ruger Maximum.
David Bradshaw

[cmh]

Thanks Mr. Bradshaw. I fell in love with the 357 magnum early in life and still do. When I came here a couple of years ago and read your post on the 357 max well I just have been very hooked on eventually owning at least one stocker.... To change the subject are there any good books you would recommend on cartridge theory and design for scholastic purposes. Thanks again

[bradshaw]

cmh... " any good books you would recommend on cartridge theory and design for scholastic purposes?"

None that I know of. Principles of combustion favor short and fat, but fat often works against strength availble from a narrow mechanism, while short works aginst smooth feeding. A careful handloader is well positioned to learn more about ballistics than anyone outside a serious labratory. Compromise factors in practicality.

To respect the design limitations of a firearm is a necessary first step towards an understanding of smokeless powder at work. Some handloaders never learn and the same is true of some engineers, no matter how many degrees they hang on the wall. To have and read and bunch of reloading manuals and to simultaneously target and chronograph handloads----while recording information good and bad----over time generates a grasp of the subject.

I put your question to Bill Ruger, Jr., who said, "No. Not unless Walter Bellmore of Winchester wrote a book."

Asked Ruger for his take on the .32 Harrington & Richardson versus .327 Federal Magnum. His take, the .32 H&R is just a variant of the anemic .32 S&W Long----both cartridges doomed by weak guns. Whereas, the .327 Federal produces perfectly sensible power in the Ruger Single Six. Meanwhile, someone out there probably dreams of a J-frame .44 Magnum. Build a Pepperbox for the .500 S&W, with 7-inch twist for 1000 grain bullets, and someone would buy it and order a pancake holster for it.

No, there is enough to learn about manageable ballistics to last a dozen lifetimes. If someone knows of a ballistics encyclopedia, please let us know.
David Bradshaw

[cmh]

Thank you Sir

[seancass]

Mar 31, 2015 20:41:08 GMT -5 Lee Martin said:

-Lee
www.singleactions.com
"Building carpal tunnel one round at a time"

Lee, you're killing me. I stared at the title for a minute, counted on fingers and toes. And finally, in a moment of desperation, turned to google. You numbered this 45, not 65. LXV.