Finally found my .357 Maximum

[trbon8r]

For a long time I've been intrigued by the .357 Maximum. It was hard to find one for the right combination of condition and price, but I think I got a winner here with this clean looking Dan Wesson. Hope it looks as good in person as in the pics.

The gun even came with 100 pieces of new Remington brass. I'm pretty happy.

Since I can't take decent pictures I'll post the ones the seller took.

 

[ChristopherG]

The Max IS intriguing. Whatcha gonna load in it? 180's going real fast, 158's going real, REAL fast, or 125's that create wormholes in the time/space continuum?

 

[trbon8r]

I'm planning on loading some 158 gr. bullets to start. I've got a bunch of Remington 158 gr. bullets left over from when I had my .357 Magnum. I'm hoping to use these bullets. I ASSume they should work ok at Maximum level velocities (I hope).

Some 125 gr. rounds sound fun, but I've been told that is where the top strap cutting problems come into play with the Maximum, and I don't want to tear the gun up too bad. From what I have read the top strap cutting is a non issue as long as you stick with 158 gr. bullets and up.

But hey this is all what I have "read" or "heard". We will see what happens when the rubber meets the road.

 

[ChristopherG]

Sounds like a good plan. The remingtons will probly shoot alright, but when you get down to the brass tacks of building accurate loads, allow me to suggest you try the Hornady XTP Flat Point (158) over a pile of Lil' gun. My experience is with a .357 carbine, but this combination produces awesome accuracy and top velocity in that application, and I've read of successes with it in the Max as well. That bullet cut my groups--which were already decent--in half.

 

[steveno]

don't use any bullets lighter than 158 grains and stick with a powder like 4227 in a revolver.

 

[Shear_stress]

All I have to is: awesome!

 

[Peter M. Eick]

I understand completely. I love mine. Lots of fun to shoot and even takes that puny little 357 mag next to the Max in the picture.

 

[usmccpl]

I cant say enough good things about the Maxi. Ive kinda got 2 of them(One is on layaway right now).Only advice I can give is in a revolver dont use 125s moving mach jesus. That is what wears them out. But you can use them at slower speeds and they work fine.

 

[razorburn]

Interesting gun. So they shoot maximum, mag, and .38 spl?

 

[trbon8r]

Yes, the gun will fire regular .357 Magnum rounds. I suppose it would fire .38s as well, although I'm not sure what accuracy would be like because of the long distance the bullet would have to travel before it reached the barrel?

 

[Bear41mag]

Great Round, Great find, & Nice Gun. I am in the process of having a NEF .357 mag barrel's chamber reamed to .357 max. Sometime ago I picked up a Lyman 215 SWC GC bullet mold that I am anxious to experiment with out of a rifle barrel, and I think a 125 will just be super fast out of a long barrel.

 

[ChristopherG]

Yeah, a single-shot .357 Max rifle sounds about like the bees' knees to me. Though I haven't heard of anyone doing so, I would imagine you could load .358 spire-point rifle bullet in 180 or 200 grains and get a better b/c to extend range.

 

[Kimber1911_06238]

nice gun....now i feel that my .357 mag isn't enough, may need a max

 

[Heggis]

Nice looking gun you have there trbon8r, I really love that shroud more than mine...

My gun with 1500 pieces of brass, will last a lifetime


Peter: so short load?

On the left S&B factory Magnum and on the right as long as it can go into my DW (col 54,05mm ~2,128") Those are H&N 200gr bullets. Still missing on the speed. Atm been only able to give it 1340fps... Gonna try some different powders to get more speed from the 8" barrel. Maybe VV N120 and H110 will give better results. Only if I could get Winchester powder in my neck of the woods

 

[Brian Williams]

Interesting gun. So they shoot maximum, mag, and .38 spl?

And a cartridge called the 360 Wesson, splits the difference between a mag and max

 

[Peter M. Eick]

Ok, you got me by a long shot with the long loaded round. I love it!

I have thought about a DW (I already have 4 of them in various 15's and 722's) but no Max's. After seeing yours maybe I will have to pick one up.

I love the Max. It is what the 357 mag was at one time. I tend to load mild rounds right now as I am still working out plinking loads. Currently I shoot mine with 158's 4227 and aim for 1600 to 1550 fps. Nice mild plinkers (for a Max). Shame the 357 Magnum got wimped down to 38/44 levels.

 

[Chief 101]

Peter, I've been looking for one like yours for some time, not so easy to find around here. Very nice gun ifn you ask me. Chief aka Maxx Load