357 Max continues to shoot good

[JPH45]

Obvioulsy the scope was at teh root of many of my cast bullet load troubles, no Idea how long it was going on, don't care, but I won't let that check slip by me again.

180 rounds later and 4 days later, the RCBS 35-200 is still making 5/8" goups with my plinking load (9 grains of #107 and CCI small rifle primer, Blue Dot will susbstitute nicely) and it shoots just as well with 21.5 grains of 4198. That load is making about 1650 fps or so, based on chorograph work I was doing last year. Very accurate. No silly out of group cold shots, no weird clusters that look like a load that wants to group, but won't, just very steady 5 and 10 shot groups of 5/8 to 1 1/8" inches. All that changes with velocity increase is point of impact.

I take back everything bad I ever said about Handis'. NEF could still use some improvement though.

[cheatermk3]

Ahh comeon, John...

Surely not EVERYTHING.  How about oversize bores?

[Fred M]

JPH
Nothing like scope trouble. I had one like that. It drove me nuts. Until at one time the reticle turned 45 degs. For a minute I thought my eyes were gone squirrely.

This 357max is really doing well. Nice and easy to shoot as well.

If you got a big kicker, the Burris with the Posilock works well, I have one on a 300 win mag. Nothing moves on that scope.

How about a 600gr Barnes RNSP at 1400 ft from the 45-70 it turns up as much kick(30ft/lbs recoil) as a 300 Wby with 180gr bullets. Ouch!

This load is at 54kpsi should be a nice load in a Handi for hogs.

[JPH45]

Ahh comeon, John...

Surely not EVERYTHING.  How about oversize bores?

I said that NEF could still use some improvement, any troubles the Handi has are the result of NEF, nothing to do with their rifle or the concept. I'm thinking on a 7-08, but I'm looking really hard at the Stephens 200, and the Savage 110. I know that with them, if I got a crappy barrel, a very good barrel is only a few months saving and a phone call away away. With an NEF barrel, well ya pays ya money and ya takes ya chances.

Not many cast bullets avaiable in the 7mm caliber (that should actually be 280 caliber, as a caliber is the measure of a barrel in hundreths of an inch, millimeters have little to do with inches.) But the chambering has some very interesting ballistics especially with heavy weight bullets. 160's to 175's look like a 30-30 on steriods. The 308, because of it's bore to case capacity (aka expansion ratio) is more efficient with it's pressure and powder and gives just enough higher velocity to make it more than I would want. But most interesting in the 7-08 is that Accurate lists 8700 with 175 grain bullets. That means surplus WC872 and 860 should give quite usable velocity for half the cost of 8700 or 7383 Hmmmmmmmm....

[Fred M]

7mm = .2755" or .276 which is bore diameter of a 7mm or the 280. Groove diameter is .284. All 280 and 7mm bullets are .284. The better name is of course by the metric description of 7mm. All bullet makers label their bullets as 7mm, there are no .280" diam. bullets.

Since 270 bullets are .277,  which is again groove diameter the two are very close together. The 280 came in to differentiate from the 270. Winchester actually came out with the 284 Win to confuse people even more which is in essence a 7mm-06 in power. But shorter and fatter.

There are few more in the same category which are 7x57 7x57R 7x64 7x65R they all shoot .284 bullets, plus a sack full of 7mm Magnums.
And then we have a 280Ross a real odd ball using .288" bullets still available in England as 280 Express also known a the 280 Halger

Rem tried all the different names like 7mm-06, 7mmExpress, 280 Rem.
Now it's only the 280 Rem and the 7mm-08. The 284 Win is just about gone but the 6.5x284 is a hot number supposedly better than all the above.