.357 Maximum? Could someone tell me someting about them?

[RemingtonFreak870]

My dad has had a custom deer rifle almost my whole life, it is chambered for .357 maximum, and has an extra .223 barrel. It is the one gun I look forward to inheriting when the time comes...which hopefully wont be for a long long time. Anyhow, I was curious about it and haven't heard anyone mention one since I joined. I have seen it in action and it is a very nice rifle, really small, really light and really accurate. I saw him take a deer at 310yards with it once, no doubt it is a good one, but what is it? The round not the gun. Does anyone else use a .357 maximum. It looks like a .308 or whatever, not a .357 magnum.

 

[gunny1022]

Developed in the 1980s for IHMSA silhouette. A more powerfull .357 originally in Dan Wesson revolvers. Sounds like your rifle is a Thompson Contender. A bit weak for a 300 yard deer round.

 

[RemingtonFreak870]

I think it is a Thompson, the 300 round shot was his longest take on any game ever, missed the first shot and aimed high for the second and nailed in the head at a full run up a hill. I was a kid and thought it was an amazing shot, I remember my dad being more excited about the shot than the deer on the way home. It was surely not a perfect rifle for the task but I was impressed. He always says it is the perfect Az hunting rifle because it will take down anything we have here except Elk, I would want something like a 30-06 for one of those. The thing I like is it is SUPER light and I think it looks smooth. Are they "good" guns? Is .357 maximum hard to find at the store? Would this be he kind of gun that isn't useful unless you reload, which my then I will be. I know my dad has like a dozen different cocktails that he loads for that gun. I has taken a half dozen deer and a half dozen Javelina and has never made anyone sore from carrying it Is it a good round in your guys' opinion? At least if .357 max. goes by way of the Dodo, the gun has a custom .223 barrel. What would the .223 be good for? Not Javelina(long story, father almost died)...rabbits?

 

[Dr.Rob]

You won't find it on shelves at a sporting goods shop. All .357 Max is handloaded or bought from a specialty mfg.

It's a great flat-shooting pistol round, but in a rifle 300+yards is an amazing shot.

 

[RemingtonFreak870]

To this day he would consider that as his best shot ever. Were not a family of marksmen past 200-300 yards and usually use pistol carbines to get the job done...Our deer are about 100-150 pounds on average, not those beasts you guys have back east. Thanks for the info guys, I have been curious about it for a while. Anyone know how much these sell for, I will never sell my dads, ever. But I never see them at the store.

 

[RemingtonFreak870]

The gun is not a handgun, it is a small rifle(carbine?). Could easily be made from those thompsons, is looks like one and has an engraving of a mountain lion on each side of the receiver.

 

[db_tanker]

Yep...thats a TC...and yes you can make it into a pistol or rifle.

you can tell what generation it is from the safety...some have a little rotating switch on the hammer to swap between a rimfire round and a centerfire round. the older ones you had to get in there with a screwdriver to swap out...never had one of them but a friend did.


As far as no one mentioning them...they are generally discussed in the pistol forum...half of mine are pistol, and the others are set up on a rifle stock.

Careful...barrels and frames are akin to crack cocaine and Lays potato-chips...no one can have just one...or two...or three...etc etc....

D

 

[ArchAngelCD]

What would the .223 be good for?

Although the .223 is now thought of as a Military round for the M16 and AR's and rifles like that it is also a very good Varmint round. I personally prefer the .22-250 but the .223 will serve well as a Varmint round too. The .222 was very popular as a Varmint before the .223 gained the spotlight when chosen as the new NATO round. Since then the .222 had faded where most stores don't even have them on the shelf.