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Author Topic: 357 mag to 358 win  (Read 754 times)

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Offline cudatruck

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357 mag to 358 win
« on: October 09, 2012, 11:47:07 AM »
I know someone has already done this.  can the rechamber be done by hand or must be done on a lathe? is the one thousandth difference in dia. a problem shooting factory jacketed ammo? Should i just search for a 35 rem barrel?
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Offline petemi

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Re: 357 mag to 358 win
« Reply #1 on: October 09, 2012, 11:58:24 AM »
cwlongshot reamed a .35 Remington barrel by hand.  jeepman1948 did my .357 on a lathe.  The .35 barrel has a lot less metal to remove and can carefully be done by hand.  I don't think anyone around here would tackle doing the .357 by hand.  The .357, .356. .358 and .35 Rem. all shoot .358 bullets.  No problem.

Pete
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Offline jeepmann1948

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Re: 357 mag to 358 win
« Reply #2 on: October 09, 2012, 12:03:04 PM »
I have done a couple. They have turned out real well.I personally have not shot any factory ammo but reloaded jacketed bullets shoot really well. (both 356 &358)
I would not try reaming by hand, it is a job for a lathe.The conversion also requires a SB2 receiver. I am sure Pete and CW will chime in too ;D
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Offline quickdtoo

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Re: 357 mag to 358 win
« Reply #3 on: October 09, 2012, 01:07:24 PM »
Doing a 358 rechamber of a 357 Mag by hand is asking for trouble IMO, beside being too much old chamber to remove by hand, keeping it true before the pilot engages the bore would be a nightmare and the result would likely be an out of round chamber. I had my first 357 Maximum Handi rechambered to 35 Rem, I chose to have a smith do it in a lathe instead of attemping it by hand. It may be doable, but if ya mess it up, the only choice to salvage the barrel is make it something bigger which there likely isn't anything that would be safe in an H&R unless it's a wildcat. Maybe CW will share his experience with his 17 Hornady Hornet rechamber.  :o

Tim
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Offline cudatruck

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Re: 357 mag to 358 win
« Reply #4 on: October 09, 2012, 07:16:32 PM »
thank you gentlemen for asnwering my questions. i will have to watch for a 35 rem barrel or just bite the bullet and find someone willing to do the 357.
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Offline cwlongshot

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Re: 357 mag to 358 win
« Reply #5 on: October 09, 2012, 11:45:59 PM »
Quote from: cudatruck on October 09, 2012, 11:47:07 AM
I know someone has already done this.  can the rechamber be done by hand or must be done on a lathe? is the one thousandth difference in dia. a problem shooting factory jacketed ammo? Should i just search for a 35 rem barrel?

Morning CT!

I read you got (IMHO) the correct answers and made a good decision.  ;)

IMHO, reaming a 357Mag/Max to 35 Rem/356Win, BY HAND, is a bad idea.

Again just reiterating others comments before me, If you where to put the 35 Rem or 356 Reamer into the 357 chamber, you would only the the poliot in the chamber, possibly part of the neck. There is little to nothing there to"guide" and keep things square. BUT if you started with the 35Rem (Going to 356 or 35 Whelen) that reamer would drop in better than half way. This provides MUCH more support keeping the chamber reamer centered and the chamber round. Even on my re chambers, I do them in my floor mounted drill press. I Do NOT use power to turn the reamer, I use a centering quill and a vice to better keep the reamer allighned in the center of the bore.

As further proof to those who may search this at a later date, I reamed two 17HMR barrels to 17Hornady Hornet. By hand using my drill press method I mentioned earlier. Well its the same senero as the one your inquiring about. The 17 Hornets body is much larger than the HMR so there is no support. Its like drilling a hole for the first time, I made two bad chambers! One was useable and actually shoots VERY well, BUT will be hell on the brass causing it to fatague quickly. The second one was octagon!! It would not eject when fired, To save it form the garden, Larry reamed it to 17FB for me. (THANK YOU LARRY!!) Its now also a tack driver.

Here is a fired case from the bad chamber:



In summary, I agree, doing this by hand is a recipe for a problem. Have someone with a lathe and experience cut this one for you.

CW
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Offline Dinny

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Re: 357 mag to 358 win
« Reply #6 on: October 10, 2012, 02:45:17 AM »
Having a competent gunsmith do the work is, in my opinion, the only option. Nothing replaces experience and a good lathe.

Thanks, Dinny
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Offline revbc

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Re: 357 mag to 358 win
« Reply #7 on: October 10, 2012, 05:28:07 PM »
I reamed a 35 rem to 356 win by hand, without the use of any centering device.  It was scary, but it did turn out fine.  I would not try a 357 barrel to 356 without a lathe.

Bobby
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Offline cudatruck

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Re: 357 mag to 358 win
« Reply #8 on: October 11, 2012, 08:41:53 AM »
Thanks CW for allowing me to bennefit from your experience! hard thing to share failures and problems. I will watch for a 35 rem barrel or start searching for someone to cut the 357.
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Offline giddens1972

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Re: 357 mag to 358 win
« Reply #9 on: October 11, 2012, 03:56:58 PM »
You could shoot J.D. Jones an e-mail and see if he would do it for you.  $90 plus shipping for my .358 JDJ last year.  It was a 357 max before.
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