I saw my first .357 Maximum cartridge tonight. It looks like a nifty cartridge. Were the contender and Ruger the only guns chambered for it? No Levers?

I saw my first .357 Maximum cartridge tonight. It looks like a nifty cartridge. Were the contender and Ruger the only guns chambered for it? No Levers?


None that I know of.

I saw my first .357 Maximum cartridge tonight. It looks like a nifty cartridge. Were the contender and Ruger the only guns chambered for it? No Levers?

I had a Ruger with a 7 1/2 " barrel and also a Dan Wessen Super Mag with an 8 " barrel. Volocity out of both was very disapointing. Not near what they advertised. It would be interesting in a lever, but you and I may be the only 2 people in the world who would want one. Could build one off a 30-30 action. I don't know if the Win 92 would take that long of a cartridge.

Panhandlepr

Add one more ;) I have a 21" TC barrel for the Max and enjoy it very much. I shoot nothing lighter than 180 grain bullets and the barrel handles the 200 grain bullets well. The .357 Max is a top performer on steel targets and our light deer. In the rifle it has low recoil and noise, an easy rifle to shoot.

You could probably do a W94 or M336 in it, but I'm guessing the case is too long for a W92 or M94.

NEF/H&R has built single shot rifles chambered for the 357 Max. There is/was a reamer floating around the Greybeard NEF boards to rechamber the 357 Mag barrels to the 357 Max.
Easily done with care and a tap handle and cutting oil. Properly handloaded it'll approach the 35 Rem performance.

NEF/H&R has built single shot rifles chambered for the 357 Max. There is/was a reamer floating around the Greybeard NEF boards to rechamber the 357 Mag barrels to the 357 Max.
Easily done with care and a tap handle and cutting oil. Properly handloaded it'll approach the 35 Rem performance.

And that pretty well sums up the issue of why it isn't in a lever gun... if the .357 Max will fit, the .35 Rem probably will too.

Agree it would be slicker than cat snot to have a .357 Max - sized lever gun. Neat, but probably impratical.

I've got one of the few Savage 24V combo guns in .357 Maximum/20 ga. Makes a neat close-in deer gun.