.35-caliber rifle bullets in the .357 Magnum - ever tried it?

Single Shot: You'd have to have it in hand to determine throat length. Crimp not req'd

Marlin: 1.6" MAX (which largely means 38Sp cases if you're going to crimp anywhere near bullet design (And you will have to crimp)

i loaded some 200 grain cast from a rcbs mold. used 38 cases. they worked good in my dads ruger blackhawk.

Lee Sells a 35 Caliber, 0.358 diameter, 200 grain bullet mold.

Fortune Cookie 45 LC did a series on the mold, the history of the 200 grain "police positive" bullet and of course range time.

No one can answer if the final product will fit in the barrel without jamming into the rifling until you do the measurements or test them in the rifle.

Most proper diameter bullets will "work" but how well? Work for what? To what end?

The problem with using rifle bullets in pistol cartridges is lack of adequate velocity to insure expansion.

Someone did some heavy for caliber load ups on handloads.com, including up to 250 grain bullets. Penn sells 230 grain thunderhead .357 bullet. You can run the 250 grainer through a Redhawk but most other revolver cylinders are to short.

I don't know about the rifles, but you would need to use the barrel like one would assess for overall length of a pistol round. This would be a lot easier with the single shot than the lever. The other question regarding the lever action is would it feed properly.

IlikeSA said:

The other question regarding the lever action is would it feed properly.

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The OP is asking about Spitzer bullets so there will be no feeding in the levergun. He said he would want to single feed.

Shot a lot of 200 grain RCBS round nose in various 357 revolvers. Designed for 35 Rem.

WVGunman said:

I'm thinking about getting a .357 magnum rifle, either a single shot or lever. (Probably not Ruger's bolt action; too expensive and hard to find).
Some questions:

• Lets say I load spitzer 200-grain bullets, and set them further out in the case to leave room for powder. Are these rounds still likely to chamber in a single-shot rifle?
• Could such rounds as the above be single-loaded into a lever action such as the Marlin 1894?
  
• What kind of maximum velocities could I reasonably expect (with any load that is within the cartridges' pressure limits) for 180, 200, and 225 grain spitzers?
• Will 250 grain bullets work at all?

Any assistance is appreciated.

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It sounds like you're looking to somehow improve the .357 Magnum as we know it. The reason it won't work is two-fold. One is the low velocity that's inherent because of the small powder capacity for the large-diameter, heavy bullet. Two is the low B.C. of those large diameter bullets. Trying to put a spitzer-type bullet into a .357 case sort of addresses the latter issue, but not the former. While that 200 grain spitzer's B.C. isn't super aerodynamic, it's a non-starter in the first place because out of a .357 it will be barely above supersonic at the muzzle. It would have to have a phenomenally low drag to stay supersonic any farther out than a conventional .357 Magnum bullet.

The good news is that conventional .357 Magnum from a rifle isn't half bad. While it may be limited in range to 150 or 175 yards for maximum effectiveness, with that shorter range it's a fat, heavy bullet trucking along at a respectable speed.

Long ogive rifle bullets will be seated REALLY long in a rifle. Been there, done that. The Hornady 180 SSP-SP used to be a great bullet for 357mag single shots and 357max, 357 Herret, and 357/44 rifles. Since they were discontinued, I largely only shoot the 180 Speer Hot Cor these days. I’ve played with many of these in my leverguns - It works, but it’s really not any better than a standard pistol bullet, and in many ways, much worse.

The .357mag case really doesn’t have enough stuff to make use of 200’s, and needs a bit of expansion to make use on game - expansion it doesn’t have the speed to cause. I’ve gone extensively through different rifle bullets to find my list of suitable bullets for “rifle speed” 357 use, and the list is exceptionally small. There are a few 180’s which are ok for use, but really only one bullet I think makes much sense - the 180 Hot Cor.

If you do take this on, I highly recommend drawing the bullets down to .357”, rather than fighting the feeding issues running standard .358” bullets. Most will run, some won’t, and you’ll have them firmly wedged into your chamber without sufficient camming leverage to coax them out very easily. Been there, got the t shirt.

Why not get a 357 Maximum single shot rifle? Then you can shoot 38's, 357 magnums and 357max.

oldsnow said:

Why not get a 357 Maximum single shot rifle? Then you can shoot 38's, 357 magnums and 357max.

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You beat me to it...

I'll put another vote in for a 357Max barreled single shot.

A custom barrelled Encore/Contender would be cool, but a 357Mag Henry reamed out to Max length would be real nice with a peep sight.

There's always the discontinued NEF's floating around!

Edited to add: Starline is now a 357Max brass supplier! Good quality, available and not too expensive.

I have been using the 200 gr Remington RN and the RCBS 200 FN in the Marlin 94C for about 35 years. You use a 357 mag revolver cylinder to set your OAL to clear the cylinder face using a taper crimp or profile crimp die with H110, in a compressed load, hard crimped. I usually use 205m primers. Those bullets will function in the 94C and make it act like a rifle.

You can figure out the H110 powder weight yourself. When you get it right, it will shoot surprisingly well in the revolver or rifle and it will take a ram or chicken at 200 meters with either gun.
Ed

Speer #11 lists silhouette loads for 357 magnum with Speer 200 grain TMJ's with 3 different seating methods.
1-crimp in cannelure, 1.690" OAL. (single shot pistols)
2-seat deep and crimp over the shoulder, 1.590" (revolvers)
3-trim brass back to 1.180 and crimp in cannelure. (no OAL given)
All 3 have very different data even though the same bullet is used.
true Spitzers wil be even a little longer than the TMJ.
Get yourself a Contender carbine/pistol.

IME with Contenders, 357 Maximum does not perform all that well with 357 magnum ammo, and does very poorly with 38 special.

If you want to read a forum that has specific posts about 357 Super Mag (max) rifles, take a look at the site by David White of D and T customs. David builds some pretty nice guns. He has built quite a few barrels for the NEF and H&R rifles.

https://dandtcustomgunworks.websitetoolbox.com/

I guess most posters didn’t read what the OP wants to do. He clearly stated:

1) he wants to target shoot at 100-200 yards, not hunt
2) he likes the idea of using the same cartridge/dies for both rifle and pistol
3) he wants to know the practicality of using 180-250 grain bullets

Answers:
1) with the right load it’s certainly possible, IHMSA shooters used the .357 with 180-200 grain bullets out to 220 yards with excellent accuracy
2) while he probably won’t be able to use the same bullets over 180 grains in both, the concept is doable with a few caveats
3) heavy bullets are longer and slower, so depending on the barrel’s twist rate heavies may or may not be stable out to 200 yards; 180s can be pushed to ~1350 fps in rifles, 250 spitzers would likely be very slow and may keyhole

Unless he needs the weight, I’d stick with the 180s. Plenty of proven data, higher velocity, and even usable in both rifle and pistol. Just depends on how much time/effort he wants to spend on the project to obtain acceptable results.

.

PO2Hammer said:

IME with Contenders, 357 Maximum does not perform all that well with 357 magnum ammo, and does very poorly with 38 special.

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I've read that it cuts the chamber over time and you will start to see it when you shoot Max again. No practical experience in my end though.