Just bought old .357 Max

[Mayor of Hobbs Knob]

Just bought a DW .357 Super Mag.SNE0001197 w/two 6in. barrels and an 8 in. barrel and shroud, tool, papers, etc.  Model 40.  Loved the .357 Max in my Contender.  What can you guys tell me about this DW from the Monson factory?  Almost to good to be a shooter, but with DW's going so cheap I plan to use it as it probably will never be worth more than the outrageous $400 I paid for it.  Can't wait to get it to the range Friday.  Thanks for any info you DW fans might pass along.

[poncaguy]

I envy you. I bought a 8" 357 Mag last summer. A great pistol. I paid $350. Would love to have a 357 Max to go along with my 15" Contender Max....I think Dan Wesson revolvers are excellent pistols. Have fun!

[unspellable]

The first point to get clear is that this revolver is not chambered for the 357 Maximum.  (I know, it says 357 Maximum on the side, never figured that out.)  It is chambered for the 357 SuperMag.  Not the same cartridge.  The 357 Maximum is a knock off of the 357 SuperMag and as is the usual case when a factory goes commercial with a wildcat they fix what ain't broke.  All the old horror stoires about the 357 Maximum were only half true, and insofar as they were true, the problems were due to the changes the factory made.

When Ruger and Remington went commercial with the concept Ruger was unwilling to make the frame window long enough to accomodate the 357 SuperMag and the shorter 357 Maximum was born.  Then remington went for hyper velocity with a light bullet, something the SuperMag was never intended for.  Then they chose the wrong powder.  The rest is history.

The 357 maximum case length is 1.605 inch, the SuperMag case length is 1.610 inch.  Not a very big difference.  When I have bought 357 Maximum brass I found it to be 1.610 out of the carton.  The important difference is in the OAL.  The SuperMag has a longer max OAL which allows seating the bullet farther out and allows more powder room.

I went shooting with a guy who had a Ruger 357 maximum and my loads would not chamber in his revolver as the bullets stuck out the front of the cylinder.

First check your cylinder face run out.  Hold the cylinder all the way back to the end of its endplay and measure the cylinder gap for each chamber.  If the variation is 0.001 or less you are in good shape, set the cylinder gap to 0.003 inch on the chamber with the smallest gap.

While you are playing with the barrels put a small amount of grease on the threads on both ends.  Less is more.  White wheel grease is good.

357 maximum loads will work well, it's like shooting a 38 Special in a 357 Magnum except the 357 Maximum is closer to the 357 SuperMag.

Avoid very light bullets with full house loads of very slow (for a revolver) ball powder.  Use bullets of 148 grains and up.  (This is a point that doesn't matter in a single shot with no cylinder gap.)  

You will learn to like this revolver and wonder why some fool sold it for $400.  (Assuming he didn't break it, something that's hard to do with a DW.)

I'd be glad to give $400 for it if it's in nice shape.  I have noticed that DW resale prices are starting to go up.  Partly because everything is going up and partly because there is a little more interest in them.

[RollTide]

Great buy your honor, mayor sir.  I am jealous.  I have never owned a 357 Supermag, but the IHMSA guys say that the 357 Supermag can be kind of finicky (excuse the technical term) to load for.  They also say it is a great round when properly loaded.  It will also shoot the DW 360 which has a case length half way between the 357 mag and the 357 Supermag.  I have heard that the 360 is easier to load for, but again I have no experience with that round, so it is all hear say.

Like unspellable said, the price on used DW's keeps inching up.  Unless it is unfired and something really collectable, your shooting it is not going to effect the resale price.  You can put me in line behind the other guys if you ever want to sell it.

Roll Tide

[Mayor of Hobbs Knob]

Again, I get great information from you guys.  Couple more questions.  Are grips apt to be interchangable with any other DW models.  What is similar or identical to my gun?  Anyone got pet loads for the SuperMag?  I'm a very careful and conservative reloader.

Thanks.

Mayor

[unspellable]

All the large frame DW's take the same grips.  This includes all the SuperMags, the 44 mag, the 41 mag, and the 45 Colt.

The SuperMag can be loaded a bit heavier than the 357 Maximum, especially with heavy bullets.  But any 357 Maximum load will work in the SuperMag.  (Unless they are going nuts with loads for single shots, I have not paid any attention to what the single shot guys have been doing.)  As a starting point just pick a starting load for the 357 maximum with a bullet of 148 grains or heavier.

[RollTide]

Mayor,
Unspellable's advice is good as always.  In addition, you might want to read the following article on the DW 360.  It has some info about the 357 Supermag as well as a lot of load data for the DW 360, which might make a really conservative starting point for the 357 Max.  I would be careful of case volume and load density issues if you try 360 loads in Supermag cases.  Having more unused volume in the case can effect accuracy among other things.  Maybe those more into reloading can offer more advice.  I am by no means a reloading expert.  At any rate, you might want to get some 360 brass and try it in your Supermag gun, just be sure to clean the chambers well after shooting any shorter (38 special, 357 Mag, DW 360) rounds in the Supermag gun.

http://www.lasc.us/RangingShotDanWesson360Revolver.htm

[Mayor of Hobbs Knob]

Just visited both sites mentioned on this thread.  Great information!  Didn't realize that the "new" .360 owed so much to the .357 SuperMag.  Makes my purchase feel even sweeter.  It seems to me that I can get all the advantage of the .360 at less than half the cost, plus I have that subtle pleasure an old guy like me gets from turning a sow's ear into a silk purse.  I love it when I surprise some young whippersnapper at the range with what the old guy and his old stuff can do.

[RollTide]

I just saw a Dan Wesson 357 Supermag  on a gun auction site and the bid was already up to $580 and there was still a lot of time left.  

Makes that $400 look even sweeter doesn't it, you lucky dog you.

Roll (green with envy) Tide

[Mayor of Hobbs Knob]

Got the SuperMag out to the range today and the $400 is looking pretty cheap indeed.  The trigger is fantastic.  I call it telepathic--it goes off when I think it ought to!  The cyclinder started to rub after a few rounds, but a tiny turn of the barrel corrected the problem. A loose .002 seemed to work really well.  All I had to shoot were some 158 gr. I had loaded for my Contender, but they sure grouped well once I got dialed in.  I had a few 180 Sierra's crimped in the rear cannelure and they chambered well.  I'm going to load up a bunch and try out the eight inch barrel.  Think that combination holds the most promise.  We shall see.
  Right now it looks like my 657 S&W has competition for the honor of being the last gun I'll ever sell.  I've made some mistakes in my time but don't think this is one of them!

Mayor