357 herrett

[birdshot8's]

i have shot the last of my 357 herrett ammo. i now need to begin reloading. i am interested in what i should look out for with this round. also has anyone formed their own brass from 30/30 for this rifle? i have been using lyman reloading manual, but this round was not listed in my book, so any pet loads which would work in my 10 inch TC, original contender, would be great. i am leaning towards the heavier bullets 158-180.

 

[ADKWOODSMAN]

Yes, I have made many cases from 30-30 for my Herrett.

I had RCBS make me an expansion die and only lost a few cases. I say about 3 out of 60. I understand that some dies have the expansion (neck up) feature built into their .357 Herrett dies.

I would heavily lube the inside and outside of the case with RCBS reloading lube. Of course most of the friction is on the inside of the case as it goes over the expander. I did this quite slowly.

I used UMC brass, and WW brass.

My favorite load was with the Speer 160 grain half jacket soft point.

This bullet accounted for a spike and and 8 point buck for me one year.

As I always liked to try something new, I tried the Hornady spire point 180 gr. single shot pistol bullet. These worked fine but the tracking was about 100 yards. Very little blood with either bullet but, the 160 really messed up the inside of the buck's.

Hope this helps.

These were for a Super 14" contender.

If you would like specific loads PM me.
Hornady 7th edition has loads for the Herrett.

 

[birdshot8's]

did a search and found a guy with some extra brass so i may be able to get around making my own brass for a while, but i thought there was a fire form step for the 357 herrett. i have never killed anything with mine, i mainly pull it out when i have the nephews around. they always have interesting things to say after shooting it.

 

[highlander 5]

I had a 357 Herrett years ago loved the cartridge. Rather than use 30/30 or 32 Special try 375 win brass might be easier to size down .020" than to expand the neck .050" BTW 375 big bore did not exist or I would have tried it.

 

[MMCSRET]

In reading Steve Herrett's writings on this caliber and it's little brother, the 30 Herrett, the one thing that was most critical was head space on the shoulder, a situation that is sometimes difficult to maintain with a rimmed case. When sizing do not set the shoulder back enough to cause it to headspace on the rim, thats where the fireforming is critical. Good luck. I used a 35 Remington barrel because of that factor.

 

[Grumulkin]

I have a Contender with a 10 in. barrel chambered in 357 Herrett. You can buy already made Quality Cartridge brass but I found it fairly easy to form cases from 30/30 cases. I ran the cases in to a 30/30 die and also bough a trim die so I could shorten the cases via hacksaw and file.

A rimmed cartridge does not have to headspace on the shoulder; that's what the rim is for but it's said that case life and accuracy are better if it's headspaced on the shoulder. The Hornady manual has loads for this cartridge.

My load uses IMR 4227 powder, CCI 250 (large rifle magnum) primers and Hornady 158 gr. XTP HP bullets. It's good for 1.5 to 2 inch groups off the bench at 100 yards. The biggest animal I've taken with this load was a black wildebeest.

 

[moosehunt]

.38-55 brass is even better to use that .375 Win brass because it is heavier (thicker). Of course, you will have to trim it after sizing, probably again after fire forming.

First you neck size it to hold a bullet, then fireform it, regardless of brass source. Headspace is on the rim, not the shoulder. If the shoulder hits before the rim, then either your chamber is short or your sizing die is short, making the brass too long at the shoulder.

 

[birdshot8's]

sounds like reloading this round takes a little more knowledge than needed for most rounds. herrett sounds like a good place for me to start, thanks for all of the info so far.

 

[280shooter]

i have loads that work,

When you bought a Thompson/center years ago,they gave you a booklet with each gun,I bought a 221 fireball.and the loads listed are loads that work,they took the geuss work out of it for you,I have both the 221 and 30 herrett,I tried the loads listed in the booklet,and they do shoot very well.

here are some for your 357 herrett
hornady 110 jhp SR 4759 24.5 C
imr 4227 23.8
imr 4198 32.0 C
Hornady 125 jhp (357} sr 4759 24 C
imr 4227 22.3
imr 4198 3.0 C

hornady 158 jfp sr 4759 23.0 C
imr 4227 20.2
imr 4198 29.9 C

Sierra 170 fmj sr 4759 23.0 C
imr 4227 20.1
imr 4198 30.0 C

hornady 200 sr 4759 23.0 C
imr 4198 28.2
imr 3031 31.0 C
imr 4895 34.0 C


Thats It,thats what t/c has listed

 

[redneck2]

and 30 herrett,

Make sure you've got the right Herrett. His is .357.

When I was starting to load for mine, I Googled and got a link to Gun Tests.com. Had all kinds of info. They said AA 1680 was the powder of choice, so that's what I got. Seems to work fine. I typically shoot 160's. I started with CCI primers but they were hard to light off with the light primer strikes from the Contender. I switched to Federals and have a lot better luck.

Mine handles everything down to 110's really well. I've got a 2.5x8 Weaver scope on mine.

As for forming the brass, that's actually the fun part. I used .30-30's and necked them up. Rooster CFL (case form lube) is THE best lube for forming cases. I bought some special brass sizing dies but didn't need them. If you lube the inside of the necks with the CFL and run them over your expander it should work. I'd polish the expander with some oiled emery cloth and the expander chucked in a drill. Another little trick is to use the expander out of an intermediate caliber (say something like a .32 or .338) if you have one. That way, you're expanding the neck in steps. I'd make sure the brass is new or once fired so it hasn't work hardened.

Shortening is pretty easy if you have a hand trimmer. I replaced the crank handle with a hex head cap screw (threads are metric). Put a drill on the end and you can shorten a case with zero work in about 5-10 seconds. I tried to use a trim die. It was awful.

Anneal the brass after expanding (see Varmint Al's site, or info is also on the GunTest site IIRC).

If you think you want the brass sizing dies and/or trim die, I'd sell mine pretty cheap.

 

[280shooter]

yes that is for the 357 herrett,you bet

yes they are for the 357 herrett,,i type just what the booklet has listed,i'll try to take a picture of it and post it here

 

[280shooter]

I found a site years ago

Some one said the best lube to size 30 herrett and 357 was to use that VO5 hair stuff,i tried it,after i used all the reg lubes,and he was right,that stuff really does a great job.get the VO5 gel.little goes a long ways in more ways then one,and use litle means just that,i tried it on forming 221 from the mother cases,it does work,

 

[280shooter]

I found a site years ago

Some one said the best lube to size 30 herrett and 357 was to use that VO5 hair stuff,i tried it,after i used all the reg lubes,and he was right,that stuff really does a great job.get the VO5 gel.little goes a long ways in more ways then one,and use litle means just that,i tried it on forming 221 from the mother cases,it does work,

 

[280shooter]

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[280shooter]

 

[birdshot8's]

this is going to be a big help. Vstom has offered me a 100 rounds of once fired brass, so i should be in business. i will follow up w/ report.

 

[GunTech]

What bullet will you be using? I can run some numbers through quickload for you.

 

[birdshot8's]

i was wanting to go with something that would hold together, thinking something in the heavier range or maybe remingtons 165 corelock. i had used 158 grain jacketed fn. i was told since i would be using pistol bullets i needed to go with heavy bullets. also i will shoot 50 rocks for every deer, so i would like to use more economical bullets. i have a ten inch barrel.

 

[KI.W.]

.357 Herrett

Is it possibility to rechamber from .357 Rem Maximum to Herrett? I think my T/C G2 14" barrel is good for .357 Herrett.

 

[ADKWOODSMAN]

First problem I see is the rim diameter of the Max is .440 and the Herrett is .506. As you want the case to headspace on the shoulder you may be able to get away with the smaller rim size. Rim thickness is only .003 difference.
RDH

 

[redneck2]

I suspect it would be cheaper to sell the Maximum and buy a Herrett.

Any time you can approach 2,000 fps with a 160 grain bullet out of a pistol, you've got something special.

 

[KI.W.]

Approach 2000fps

Already it is 1986fps with Hornady HPXTP-158gr bullet by Remington Maximum. It is my favorite load.
Can´t Herrett to make it better?