The Maximum minimalized

[coyotejoe]

Well I think I'm finally satisfied with the .357 handi I acquired last winter. I first tried a few .357 magnum loads and the accuracy was poor, no surprise in view of the very long and strange chamber throat, so I rented a 4 D reamer and made it a .357 Maximum. With that I tried a great many loads and still had no groups to brag about. I tried several different scopes and settled on the Simmons shotgun scope with eye relief long enough to mount low and ahead of the hammer. My best load was with the 180 grain Remington JHP over 25 grains of Reloader 7, that was pretty consistent at about 3-4 moa and 1800 fps.
 From the start I had envisioned a Mannlicher forend and had wanted to reduce the weight a bit and since it was no tack driver I reasoned I had little to lose by turning the barrel to a slim contour. It now has an 18" barrel, 33 1/2" overall, With the Topper Delux butt stock and weighs 5  7/8 pounds complete with scope. It shoots the 180 grain load no better nor worse than before turning the barrel, although the bore is noticably off-center at the new muzzle, which tells me the bore was never straight.
 I finally got my Beartooth cast .358" 200 grain FNGC bullets after a wait of 3 1/2 months. With 22-23 grains or RL-7 they shot poorly but with 6.5 grains of Unique I got one ragged hole at 50 yards. I have since worked up to 9.0 grains of Unique and 11.5 grains of Blue Dot with accuracy better than any Jacketed bullet tried, but then I never tried the jacketed bullets at such reduced levels. I have no real idea of the velocity of these loads as I've not yet gotten my Pro Chrono repaired since hitting it with a sliver of lead from my Enfield revolver.
 Anyhow, I think it will make an OK truck gun and scouting rifle.

[quickdtoo]

Nice looking Handi!! The 200gr BTB .359" is the same bullet I shoot in my 35 Rem that was a 357Mag>Max in a past life, it shoots 1" groups at 100yds with Varget. 

Tim

[stimpylu32]

Nice looking rig you got there CJ , can I get that in Neon Green ?  glad you found a load you can live with .

stimpy

[coyotejoe]

If Wallyworld has the spray paint! here are a few more photos.



 Actually I prefer a long and slim look, no doubt influenced by my addiction to flintlock rifles, and I think the 18" barrel makes it look a bit stubby. An 18" barrel looks just right on an original Mannlicher or on the Ruger 77-RSI but seems a bit too short on a singleshot, even the Ruger #-1RSI has a 20" and it looks a bit stubby to me.

[dpe.ahoy]

Nice looking little gun you got there.  The short barrels are just so darn handi to have around.  The 357 I have has been a good shooter, have 2 more barrels coming if they ever get them done.   Will play with them and may do both in the Max, or possibly all 3, just hate to mess with the one that works well as is.  I'm sure one will become a 35 rem. as Tim and others have talked about.  DP.

[kody]

I was considering going that same route . Now??? The barrel was never centered? Is that something that occurs very often with NEFs? Could you have spotted it before your purchase? I really like the mannlicher look, could you give me any info on how you went about getting it"   KODY

[coyotejoe]

The bore appeared perfectly centered with the original factory crown. When I cut it 4" shorter, I then found the bore to be noticeably off-center. So if we assume the outside was straight, as it appeared to be, then the bore must have been crooked to wander that far off in just four inches, which may well have something to do with the generally poor accuracy.  If the bore is set on centers and the outside is  turned to contour, the bore would then be centered at both ends. But if the bore was not straight, it would be off-center at points between the ends. "Does that happen often with NEFs?" I can't say, I guess you'd have to cut a lot of barrels to find out.

The forend was made from a piece of walnut from our local lumber yard's cabinet shop. They cut it from a big plank, cut it 2x2x24" and when I carried it up to the check-out desk the guy just waved and said "no charge". It sure is nice to have a real old time lumber yard that still does mill work and cabinets. This one is owned by the employees, the former owner left it to them in his will.

[db22]

Coyotejoe -- Jeepers, what a surprise to have found your bore off-center when you bobbed the barrel! The muzzle was the first thing I checked after reading of off-center bores the last time I bought a Handi. Now I guess I won't even trust the look of the muzzle . . . maybe that's the reason my .357 Max is still a mediocre performer.

I did note a little improvement when I started sizing cast bullets to .359", as Tim suggested. Never had any luck with Hornady or Remmy .357" jacketed bullets, but have had acceptable performance with the Hornady .358" 200-grain round nose. Rel 7 gives good groups with a small-rifle standard primer, good enough for hunting, anyway. My bore slugs at .357", but the gun seems to do better overall with slightly larger-diameter bullets. As has often been said, every rifle is a law unto itself, and much more so for Handi-Rifles.

[coyotejoe]

I suspect there are a lot more "mediocre performers" than one might guess from this forum. People like to talk about their "braggin' groups" and may even occasionally ask why their accuracy is terrible but mediocre? What's to talk about?