P95Carry
Moderator Emeritus
Just interested to know more about this ..... any input?
357 Herrett ...... ??'s
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Joe Demko
Member
Back in the '70s (when I got my first Contender) the .357 Herret and the .30 Herret were hot items in Contenders. The .357 Herret IIRC was based on a somewhat shortened and reformed .35 Remington and the .30 Herret was based on a shortened and reformed .30-30. The idea behind them was that they gave performance equal to or better than their parent cartridges using less powder. In the typical Contender barrel of those times (14" or less) the parent cartridges had excess case capacity. Both were excellent cartridges if you didn't mind the hassles that using a wildcat cartridge entails.
P95Carry
Moderator Emeritus
Thx Golgo .. was pretty sure this was a wildcat but could not think on what it was based.
I have loaded for both Herretts, some years ago.
There was some BS involved in their creation and promotion - when announced it was claimed that the parent cartridges had too much capacity for pistol barrels, and would never shoot accurately.
The .357 Herrett barrel I owned had a rough chamber and never would shoot accurately. Sold. Don't think Dad ever shot his, much.
Some years later one of the originators wrote of how nicely accurate .30-30's Contender pistol barrels could be, apparently forgetting what he had written ten years beforehand, or else learning something new.
The Herretts are good cartridges, and if you find a good barrel they should work fine, but they won't do anything a .30-30 or .35 Remington won't do.
There was some BS involved in their creation and promotion - when announced it was claimed that the parent cartridges had too much capacity for pistol barrels, and would never shoot accurately.
The .357 Herrett barrel I owned had a rough chamber and never would shoot accurately. Sold. Don't think Dad ever shot his, much.
Some years later one of the originators wrote of how nicely accurate .30-30's Contender pistol barrels could be, apparently forgetting what he had written ten years beforehand, or else learning something new.
The Herretts are good cartridges, and if you find a good barrel they should work fine, but they won't do anything a .30-30 or .35 Remington won't do.
Daniel Watters
Member
FWIW: Both the .30 and .357 Herrett were based on cut-down .30-30 Winchester brass (~1.6" and ~1.75" respectively).
P95Carry
Moderator Emeritus
Daniel - I don't have a ref work handy to check but ... any info re the reformed case profile etc? Guess there'd be a need for special dies with this stuff. I am assuming so anyways.
It's a new one on me - thus the curiosity.
It's a new one on me - thus the curiosity.
Daniel Watters
Member
You definitely need the proper dies. Forming is supposedly a straight forward process of running the .30-30 brass through a .357 Herrett full-length sizing die, trimming for length, and then fire-forming. At least with the .30 Herrett, it was recommended that you headspace off of the shoulder and not the rim.
Accurate Powder has .357 Herrett load data on its web page as does IMR. The load manuals from Sierra and Hornady reportedly include the cartridge as well. (Remember to look in the handgun section.)
E. Arthur Brown offers a cartridge case called the 7mm Ultimate Silhouette (7mm US) which is reportedly the correct length for direct reforming into .357 Herrett.
Accurate Powder has .357 Herrett load data on its web page as does IMR. The load manuals from Sierra and Hornady reportedly include the cartridge as well. (Remember to look in the handgun section.)
E. Arthur Brown offers a cartridge case called the 7mm Ultimate Silhouette (7mm US) which is reportedly the correct length for direct reforming into .357 Herrett.
P95Carry
Moderator Emeritus
Appreciate the extra info Daniel ... thx.
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