Anyone out there doing this enough to have a feel for what makes a reasonable plinking load? While I like the accuracy I get from the 357 Max at full velocity, low velocity loadings have left me cold.
I haven't done any shooting using 38 Special or 357 Magnum cases as I had a bad taste in my mouth about how the rifle shot with these when I first got it. I have to admitt I didn't make a great effort to make the gun shoot so loaded, I just rechambered and went from there.
Anyway, low pressure loadings in the Max case have not proven to be highly accurate....let me rephrase, in shooting 10 shot groups my groups run 1.5-2" at 50 yards (loads are 900-1300 fps) 5 to 7 will make a very nice 3/4" group but three will be out. To make it worse, 5 shot groups average 1" but are usually irregular in form. I don't think I'm asking much, just 3 shots in one hole....1, 2, 3, NOT 1, 4, 6, 9, 10 or 1, 2, 5, 6 ,7, 10 etc, etc,etc.
Can such accuracy make a head shot on a deer? Yes, but it may slip through the eye not the ear canal. Trouble would be that neither point is POA, a spot between would be (This is for disscussion, I DO NOT advocate deer head shots, I've had to put down two with jaws blown off by other people. Why shoot 'em in the head when the chest offers a much better target that is just as effective a killer?)
Gun has perfectly good beer can accuracy, it is just that I am no longer satisfied with that. I've shot the gun enough to know that it is capable of being more consistant than I am seeing. I had originally bought the rifle to be a plinker, something quite and cheap. At full velocity, it ain't quite and for my budget ain't cheap either
Hoping to save myself some leg work, (did I say I was cheap? :roll: )and find out what some of you other 357 Max shooters are doing for plinking work
