.357 mag for Lever and revolver?

1
I'm looking for .357 mag ammo that works well both out of a marlin 1894 (18.5" barrel, 1:16 twist) and a 4" revolver (S&W 66). Purpose is hunting and wilderness defense.

I would like to avoid premium defense loads and stick to ammo I can get in large(ish) boxes for practice. If there's anything I need to worry about (legality, mechanical issues, etc), let me know please. :thanks:

Re: .357 mag for Lever and revolver?

4
You might check this out
https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l ... tail&p=396
I use Buffalo Bore for my 44 mag. and I'm very satisfied
I reload for the 357.
I have Henry Big Boy both 357 and 44 mag and I haven't found anything I couldn’t shoot well from ether one. Marlin's seem to be the same way.
Last edited by TrueTexan on Mon Oct 29, 2018 1:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.-Huxley
"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." ~ Louis Brandeis,

Re: .357 mag for Lever and revolver?

5
TrueTexan wrote: Mon Oct 29, 2018 12:00 pm You might check this out
https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l ... tail&p=396
Oh yeah, I'll be getting some of these for my lever gun. Would be great if I'm ever in bear or moose country. Thanks TrueTexan
All religions united with government are more or less inimical to liberty. All, separated from government, are compatible with liberty.-Henry Clay
Both oligarch and tyrant mistrust the people, and therefore deprive them of their arms.—Aristotle

Re: .357 mag for Lever and revolver?

6
I have an 1894 Marlin and a Ruger 1771 and the Fiocci FMJ does really well in both.
This was my first 10 rounds (that day) at 50 yards with the Marlin's iron sights, and I'm not the most experienced shooter. Other than 2 outliers, 8 rounds were within 5" of each other. That was my fault, not the Marlin's or the ammo.
Marlin50yds357.jpg
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: .357 mag for Lever and revolver?

7
Reading again what you want I would recommend using bulk 357 or the cheap white box 357 magnum to shoot for practice and to break-in the guns. Buy the expensive stuff for when you go out to hunt or wilderness defense. You din't say where or what you will be hunting or were you will be in the wilderness. Since you're in Texas you don't have to worry about bears or moose. The main critters you need to worry about are Feral Hogs, Feral Rabid Republicans and poison snakes.

A also don't shoot 38spl out of my 357s because of the carbon ring build up due to the shorter cases of the 38spl. If I want to shoot the lighter loads I do reloading and just load some 357 cases to the 38 load. I also mark the cartridge box as to what load that is in it. Makes it easier to clean the gun later.

If you shoot vey much suggest saving yourself lots of money and start reloading. I'm lying you don't actually save any money because you shoot more.
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.-Huxley
"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." ~ Louis Brandeis,

Re: .357 mag for Lever and revolver?

8
This is not where I buy it, but here is a link to Remington HTP .357 Ammunition at $0.44 per round.

https://www.ammunitiontogo.com/product_ ... -sjhp-ammo

Why do I recommend it?

- I have bought and shot a lot of it. Zero failures.

- Subjectively, you can tell it is a 'hot' .357, but well within reason. In comparison, standard PMC .357 gives a lot less 'push'.

- It shoots well in both my S&W 686+ and my Henry Steel Lever .257 rifle.

I am not a revolver expert, but I think the S&W 66 K Frame is roughly comparable to my L Frame Model 686 (mine is a 3" barrel). I shoot the Remington HTP .357 quite accurately from my 686.

But, I would not use this as practice. I use .38 special on the range, but I do need to clean the carbon rings out carefully. If you want .357 for practice, Fiocchi is sold in bulk ammo at $0.38 per round for 1000 rounds. Reloading is not an option for me. I live in a high-rise and ammo reloading is prohibited in the HOA. But I don't have the time anyway.
Image

Re: .357 mag for Lever and revolver?

9
I have FMJs for practice, but most of them are 38 special. They're cheaper to plink and shoot paper with. I know about carbon ring build up and make sure to brush out the cylinders on my revolver and clean the bore of my levergun. The main reason i mention practicing with something other than FMJs is I don't always have the best idea of which FMJ matches which hunting/defensive round. Also im somewhat biased against the 20-25 round boxes of pistol rounds as they are basically cut down batches of what is sold to law enforcement and upsold for profit. The exceptions seem to be difficult to find sometimes. I have to luck out to find them in stock in person, or order online when I get the chance.

I don't know what type of bullet (design, weight) I should be looking for, or the expected velocities (they generally focus on 4" barrel performance and I don't know how to translate it to a carbine). If I handloaded, I would probably ask for more specific data, like what powder and what weights, but I don't have a setup i can use... yet. (something akin to apartment and HOA rules)

Re: .357 mag for Lever and revolver?

11
I was going to recommend Underwood, but when I bought some 10 mm ammo from them a couple-three years ago, they sold the good stuff in boxes of 50 at relatively reasonable prices. Now all their expanding bullets are in boxes of 20 at a dollar a round. I guess they decided the business model of selling a box of 50 for what Buffalo Bore charges for 20 wasn't quite the thing. They're still cheaper than BB, just not as much.
IMR4227: Zero to 900 in 0.001 seconds

I'm only killing paper and my self-esteem.

Image
Image

Re: .357 mag for Lever and revolver?

12
Marlene wrote: Tue Oct 30, 2018 12:21 am New 66 or old 66? Old 66, I’d go with 158s which are less likely to cause trouble with the thin forcing cone. New 66, I’d do 125s, which will shoot flatter from the rifle.

Practice/paper/plink with cheap stuff. Get the good stuff for defense and hunting.
Its one of the older 66s, a 66-3. I kind of want to trade it for something with a more solid frame now. I don't think the 125 gr. should kick particularly hard, but from what i read about the forcing cone issues, it has more to do with the powder charge and a lack of a good seal from the small bullet putting excess stress on the cone, specifically the bottom that was shaved thinner to fit the smaller frame. I want to trade for a 686 or similar now... (I like the stainless revolvers. I know its anachronistic but... shiny and easier for me to deal with than nickel plating, metal allergy)

EDIT: I don't actually know if the 686 fixed the forcing cone issue, I just know that they managed to fit seven shot cylinders in some without issue, so there might be more space on the frame.
Last edited by BillMcD on Tue Oct 30, 2018 9:37 am, edited 1 time in total.

Re: .357 mag for Lever and revolver?

13
Marlene said:

New 66 or old 66? Old 66, I’d go with 158s which are less likely to cause trouble with the thin forcing cone. New 66, I’d do 125s, which will shoot flatter from the rifle.
Marlene, you have forgotten more about firearms than I will ever learn. I keep your comments like these as crib notes for if/when I obtain a similar firearm.
Image

Re: .357 mag for Lever and revolver?

14
No need to get rid of it. It’s a great gun. Just shoot the 158 grain bullets. A friend has many tens of thousands of rounds through his old model 19 and it’s still in great shape. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with wearing out a great gun because you shoot it a lot, as long as you aren’t wearing it out by abuse.
Image

Re: .357 mag for Lever and revolver?

15
Marlene wrote: Tue Oct 30, 2018 3:37 pm No need to get rid of it. It’s a great gun. Just shoot the 158 grain bullets. A friend has many tens of thousands of rounds through his old model 19 and it’s still in great shape. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with wearing out a great gun because you shoot it a lot, as long as you aren’t wearing it out by abuse.
Can do, thanks Marlene.

Re: .357 mag for Lever and revolver?

16
In the meantime, Bill, start saving your pennies. There is a sexy 686 singing her siren song to you from your future. And she’s not the jealous type, perfectly willing to live in the same safe with your 66.

And yes, no forcing cone fracture issues on the 686. Shoot full-power magnums through it till the cows come home and the gun will likely still outlast you and your grandchildren.
Last edited by Bisbee on Tue Oct 30, 2018 6:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of non-violence to cover impotence. There is hope for a violent man to become non-violent. There is no such hope for the impotent." -Gandhi

Re: .357 mag for Lever and revolver?

18
J, K, L.

Magic parts of the alphabet.

N starts to become overkill. But, hey, if you love revolvers...
"It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of non-violence to cover impotence. There is hope for a violent man to become non-violent. There is no such hope for the impotent." -Gandhi

Re: .357 mag for Lever and revolver?

19
Bisbee wrote: Tue Oct 30, 2018 6:26 pm In the meantime, Bill, start saving your pennies. There is a sexy 686 singing her siren song to you from your future. And she’s not the jealous type, perfectly willing to live in the same safe with your 66.

And yes, no forcing cone fracture issues on the 686. Shoot full-power magnums through it till the cows come home and the gun will likely still outlast you and your grandchildren.
And she has a sister that holds seven rounds. The 686 plus.
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.-Huxley
"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." ~ Louis Brandeis,

Re: .357 mag for Lever and revolver?

21
“Now I know what your thinkin, ‘Did he fire seven shots or only six?’”

-That doesn’t really roll off the tongue now does it?
:no:
"It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of non-violence to cover impotence. There is hope for a violent man to become non-violent. There is no such hope for the impotent." -Gandhi

Re: .357 mag for Lever and revolver?

22
Bisbee said:

Did he fire seven shots or only six?
This is a real thing. When I am in the .357 mood, I take my S&W MP340, my Ruger Blackhawk .357 and my S&W 686+, which fire 5,6 and 7 shots respectively. The two odd numbered firearms keep me guessing (and I suppose counting) every time. The six shooter never causes me to wonder.
Image

Re: .357 mag for Lever and revolver?

24
I owned one of those for a while... eventually sold it and later got Klown’s 625. The big N-frame still makes me feel like a boy when I hold it but at least shooting the .45 caliber out of it makes a bit more sense... to me. Meh.
"It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of non-violence to cover impotence. There is hope for a violent man to become non-violent. There is no such hope for the impotent." -Gandhi

Re: .357 mag for Lever and revolver?

25
Sorry but I have to add consider reloading your ammo. The differences between a revolving handgun with a barrel that is short and a rifle that has a much longer barrel alone have to be considered.

Next you have the issue of actions where you have one that rotates and indexes the bullet compared to one that actually cycles and feeds the bullet.

If you can't figure in reloading you should settle on a jacketed bullet round, factory ammo with lead bullets are swaged from dead soft lead wire and will smear lead down the barrel, the Buffalo bore ammo has a gas check and I'll bet those 30 buck boxes of ammo have only 20 rds in them.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Bing [Bot] and 2 guests