357 MAX vs MAG

[renaissance]

Just got a .357 MAXIMUM Barrel for my TC contender carbine.

It of course will take: 357 MAX, MAG, and/or 38 Spl

Loaded up some MAXIMUM Cases ( new Remington Brass) with 180 grain HP Semi Jacketed and 21 grains of H110
Dont have a Chrony, but the data says it should fly at ~ 1900 fps @ the muzzel.

I also built some 357 MAGNUM ( 158 grain SP semi-jacketed and 6.1 of Tightgroup)

Sighting the Contender in at 25 yards with the 357 Magnum, I found that the MAXIMUM printed ~9 inches LOW.

I am guessing that the slower 357 Magnum, stayed in the barrel longer and got more "lift" from the recoil driven rise of the barrel

BUT........

NINE Inches !!......???

 

[Hobie]

I've had some experience with MY .357 Max barrel. I wrote a short article of my personal experiences.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

I know I just bought a Max a few months back but there sure seems to be a lot of posts around on the Max in say the last 6 weeks. Probably more then the previous 2 years. Maybe I just have not noticed.

Back to the thread.

I cannot help you with the 9". I bought a Ruger and it hits pretty close to aim.

 

[hagar]

The slow rounds shoot higher most of the time, so if you zero for them, the faster rounds will be low.

 

[JackOfAllTradesMasterAtNone]

Yes, the faster rounds shoot lower, because they're flying flatter. If you look at the section of any reloading manual that has "Trajectory" values for a given bullet at known velocities you'll see that there's an arc to all things airborn along the surface of the earth. Your faster max bullets just have less arc. That is, more arc for the slower bullets for a given range. If you zero sighting/impact for the slower bullet at it's highest point of the trajectory arc, then shoot a bullet with a flatter trajectory, it appears to be shooting low. It's actually flying flatter because it's going faster. Now, extend the range. At one point the faster bullet that's flying flatter will cross the sight plane of the slower moving bullet. If you graph the trajectories, you'll see that eventually, the slower bullet will be shooting low at longer distances than the faster moving bullet.

-Steve

 

[Stinger]

I don't think it is an issue of one round shooting "flatter." At typical handgun ranges, up to and including 25 or so yards, handgun rounds really don't have much of a trajectory. Gravity is gravity, no matter the load, and even a SLOW load will have traveled a pretty good distance before it has dropped much.

I think it is an issue of "dwell time." The slower load "dwells" in the barrel, and recoil has a bigger effect on where the slower load lands compared to the faster one.

My two cents,

Stinger

 

[hossfly]

Point on stinger. Totally an issue of muzzle position at the time the slug leaves the barrel.