DANGEROUS GAME CARTRIDGES ------:Love your . Could the .45-70 in Africa, where he used So, it may be logical, from Q you guys do a study on the a Cor-Bon 400-grain solid to shoot Brian's account., to assume the .45-70 in comparison to other dan­ a Cape buffalo, whereupon the .45-70 is perfectly adeq uate foJ' gerous game cartridges'? Perhaps bullet exited the bull and killed a Cape buffalo - assuming one is test the Garre t and Buffalo Bore cow buffalo that had gone unno­ using a 400-grain solid at appl'oxi­ rounds against the .375 H&H or ticed on the other side of the bull . ITlately 1,800 fvs and the range is .458 Winchester Magnum or LoU'? The bull took off, and Brian shot. it limited to 100 yards or less. Most If you check out many of the fo­ in the south pnd where the solid folks would be tempted to ask rums, you will see heated debates penetrated to the heart., ending whether Brian's hunt would have on this topic. Would be a great the affair in fairly short fashion. turned up similar results if he had seller ror you guys and a great read for liS!! - C.AL., via Int.ernet

used a 400-grain softnose. Either way, it's a bit of a stretch to com­ pare Brian's load in the .45-70 to a 300-grain solid at 2,400 fps from a .375 H&H, or a 500-grain solid at. 2, 100 or 2,300 fps from the .458 Wirrchester or Lott. U's plainly ob­ vious, or should be, that t:he two .4:')8 belted cartridges pack a lot more clout t.han the .45-70, regard­ less of which performance crite­ 1 2 3 4 rion anyone migl1t choose, i .e. A: Good idea, but the n'uth is, kinetic energy or Taylor's knock­ there is no comparison between out formula. the .45-70 and the .375 H&H, .458 The comparison, Olen, should re­ Winchester Magnum <;>f .458 Loti.. ally address t.hese cartridges in And, at the risk of possibly incit­ Anyone can hunt potentially terms of performance potential on ing a riot on the Internet, I'll tell large game, o}' at what point is a you why. dangerous game with the .45-70 (1), but fighting cartridges like the cart.ridge consic\ered adequate or Right off, I would imagine this (2) .458 Winchester Magnum, acceptable in terms of producing "debate" is somewhat inspired by (3) .375 H&H and (4) .458 Lott are a high percentage of one-shot kills the stor-y Brian Pearce did about. in a completely different class. on buffalo, lions or even elephant.

6 www.ri{/emagazine.com 213 Obviously, the performance eval­ it should be plainly obvious that if B,ullet Swaging uation has to include bullets, soft­ one is to error in selec­ Stuff noses, solids or whatever, like the tioll for such work, it is best to Equipment, Information, X-Bullet. If we restric t the dia­ elTor 011 the heavier side. At that, Used & Surplus Gear logue to softnose bullets, the .45- there ill'e countless hOl1'or stories An online at: 70 with a 400-grain Kod ia 1< or of Cape buffalo taking multiple www.rceco.com Hawk with a .050-inch jacket is hi ts from .458 Wincheste rs or probably acceptable for Cape buf­ .470 NE doubles, or combinations RCE Co" 4090 Colver Rei, falo, assuming proper blllleL place­ r,hereof, b(~ fort' giving up or Phoenix, OR 97535 ment. That also applies to the ,375 stomping on some llnfortunate Tel: 1-541 -512-0440 H&H with a Swift A-Prame or soul's body parts. There is even a Fax: 1-541-5 J 2-9433 well-documented episode where a E-Mail [email protected] NosIer Partition. Bllt, no matter how you cut it, a 500-graill, .468- huge Cape buffalo took a 400- inch bulleL at 2,000 fps impact ve­ grain ,bullet through the heart locity delivers a tremendous blow, from a .404 Jeffel)', and it waited WORLO'S FINEST PRODUrCTlON' even on soft body shots. The same in ambush for 30 minutes, at RIFLE BARRELS could be said of the .470 NE or the which time the hunter approached .404 .Jeffery and .416 Higby or and the bull got up and charged, Remington Magnum. All assum­ receiving another slug in the eye ~LAS ing, of course, the bullet is up to at spitting distance. UL TRARIFLED the job at hanet. So, it's not adequate to address BARRELS IN MOST SIZES, I'm also reminded that there arc the problem of how carLridges SHAPES AND CALIBERS. hunting cartridges and fighting might compare in normal hunting . Stainless steel or chrome' moly' cartridges, the latter being those sit uations. It is only when the -AFFORDABLE aUALlTY- that: are required to adminisLer a worst: possible scenario is consid­ Wrile (0' tree information to' one-shot st.op in a fight that wa" ered that tIle wheat is cl early sep­ DOUGLAS BARRELS, INC. started with a .375 H&H, for in­ arated from the chaff. " 5504 Big Tyler Rd" RM5 :;c- - stance. So, while it may be possi­ .j Charleston, WV 25~ 13 VIS( I The point of all t his is that we • _' _ 304-nli-1341 FAX 304-776-8560 ' ble to stop an enraged four-footed could argue La th€ point of re­ a,ntagonist with a .45-70, the .458 ductio ad absurdum as to whether LotL and .470 NE are superior or not the ,45-70 is the equal of tools for the job. other, more established danger­ Then there's an experience my ous gante caJtridges. But it is i11\­ friend Martin Pieters recounted pOltant t:O keep in mind that the one evening as we lounged around animal is only dangerous if t.he sit­ the campfire in the Okavango last uation is screwed up or gets out oJ August:. It seerns one of his cUents han(!. So, let's consider, hypotheti­ cally, if the bull Brian shot turned wounded a. Cape buffalo, and th(~ y the other way and came back at f;'li1(~ d to find it hefore the client had to leave. So, Martin went back them. All of a sudden, lhe lables out and spent two days searching have turned, and the animal be­ tlu'ougn a little less than 2,000 buf­ comes a selioos threat. Would the falo before he found the wounded .45-70 with a 400-gl'ain solid at bull, which promptly took exc-clr 1,800 fps be enough to stop the lion to M.artin's intl'\lsion and bull before it hooks a horn into charged. Martin responded wi th a someone? SOO-grain .470 solid, between the I'm also mindiul of the fact the eyes, ancl the bull fell dead at his most vocal critics of any C

8 www.rif/emagazine.com Rifle 213 black-powder cartridge takes on an entirely different personality. WALNUT GUN STOCK BLANKS (Hornady lists lo~.c1s for its 500- From Tree to Sawmill to You - No Middleman grain solid at 1,800 fps ill t.he .45- 70 Ruger No. \.) The same could FREE Brochure • Visit our Web site: be said for the .450 Marlin, .450 clarowalnutgunstocks.com AJaskan, .45-90 WCF and, to SOlne degree, smokeless loads in the .50- CLARO WALNUT GUNSTOCK CO. 100-450 in modern rines. There's 1235 Stanley Av~ .• Chico, CA 95928 even the .50 AJuskan to consider, Phone: (530) 342-5188 • F.ax: (530) 342-5199 especially when it tosses 450-grain - Since 1949 - buBers around at a bit over 2,000 fps from all 18,[~-inch barrel and 535-grain bullets at 1,BoO fps I'rom Still cleaning the old smelly, messy way? a 2fi-illCh tube. These .60 Alaskan Buffalo Bore loads are creeping Why? ... When there is the 10SSO way! right up on the ,458 Winchester Magnum. The IOSSO Bore Cleaning System was developed (or the most meticulous shooter. qeaning is I've used all t.he al)ove, except done effortlessly, in 15 minutes or less with no smell, and the .450 Marlin, to take deer-sized no running or splattering of fluids. game, elk and bears, and 1 wonlc! 105S0 Bore Cleaner removes: be harel pressed to distillguish the • powder fouling and carbon burn • copper, lead, moly end result produced by any of • plastic wad them from thl:' rest - where the • surface rust right bullet is used for the task at. 105S0 Gun Oil: hane!. If you really want to con­ • removes loose residues fuse !lIe issue, I'll toss in the .50 • removes 111 issed dea ning residues Black Powder Express used in • inhibits corrosion • lubriC3les Africa on Cape buffalo and plains Polished Peljection! game. and the .50-90 Sharps used ~. OIl bison, deer and elk - all .50-cal­ For a special priced trial order, call toll free 1-888-747-4332 iber loads usjng black powder, of COLll'se, IOSSO~ PRODUCTS Somet.imes I wonder if we m:en 't 1485 Lively Boulevard. Elk Grove, Il 60007 • vIWW.iosso.Go]T1 just arguing death by degree, e.g., a 400-grain solid at 1,800 fps from a .45-70 is adequate for whatever, but. the sallle hullet at. 1,550 fps is Hill Country Rifle Co. Uttle nlOl'e than a l'eceipe for (bs­ )726 Morningside Drive mal failure. Where does that bullet New Braunfels. TX 781.32 downgrade from "perfectly ade­ 830-609-J J 39 quate" to "mru:gina!" or "inade­ www.hillcQllntryri!1es. co.m quate" - 1,400, 1A50 or 1,500 fps'? Semi-Custom I'm also aware t.hat a lot of folks like to ha.ve things t.ied up in a Licly ""Will Model 70 or Rem 700 little package in terms of kinetic Stainless Factory Rifle Steel energy or Taylor's K-O values, but ~'McMillan Fiberglass Stock of Choice you may rest assured, it isn't. ti1at *Pachmayr Decelerator Pad easy. Big, heavy bullets usually "'HCR Accm'izing and Barrel Break In perform all out of proportion to *Guaranteed Sub-Inch Groups with Factory Ammo!!! their paper l1urnbers. The bison I shot SOl\le time back .Yie~ded 892 Let's face it. The factory "Custom Shop" rifles don', live up Ie) what a true pounds of boned meaL, sornething custom shop shoulc1 del iVer and the regular factory synthetic stocks are junk. over a ton on the hoof, and it went We will detiver a completely accurized rine, pmar bedded in a McMillan to i.ts knees within seconds after stock, with guaranteed. consi stent accuracy using quality factory ammo for receiving a 535-grain cast bullet at $1495.00 (magnum calibers add $50.00). We will offer the same package on ±200 yards, where VE: locity had your existing rifle for $795.00. dropped to Ii tt.le more than 900 "'*"NEW Hill O .)lJlltry Classic Stock for Winchester Model 70 add $100.00*"* fps. Seeing the snow fly on the ot.her side of tbe beast., it. ap-

10 www.ri{lemagazine.com Rifle 213 peru'ed the bullet didn't even slow down on the way through, leaving ~~ert~!~l!,~;,wndl Custom Rifle Metalwork P.o . Box 25. D.yron. WY 82836 ii1!11!iiPQ~!iiiiiii huge holes in both lungs and Depl. 11 • (307) 655·9314 Shown he,,,, RIDS (;. RINGS shattering ribs on the way in and We offer fine q '~arle( , ribs and out. Who would have guessed? rings. grip caps. bah handles. boll stops. Mannlicher fore­ end tips. flexible ramrods. special· order scofX! bases and One thing we know for sure, any olhi2J custom metalsmithing. attempt to evaluate cartridge/ bullet performance of these big­ bore/heavy bullet cartridges using Th.e Montana Plains... a.n the same criterion commonly as­ ••••• Quality. Unfinished sociated with .30, .338 and .375 G!lostocks fronl Royal Arms - Depl. II bores (Le. high velocity and en­ l'ineWootl. 919 8!h A\'c. NW, Great falls. MT 59404 Send $1 for QI;i\og ergy numbers) will usually lead to Tel: (406) 4)3·1149 Fax: (406) 45.\· 1194 & price lis!. nothing but frustration and/or Websile: itllp:llwww.inll.netl-roy:lIanns· No E,M~il,please! self-inflicted psychosis. So, what about the debate com­ paring the .375 H&H, etc" etc? Rest assured, it will rage on, fos­ tered on both sides by criLics who would never dream of using a .45- 70 on anything, let alone a Cape buffalo, and big-bore fanatics who claim any bullet at less than 2,000 fps that generates anything less thrut 5,000 foot-pounds at the muz­ zle is doomed to failure on rulY an­ imallarger than a 40-pound diker. This reminds me of a reader who asked which of two cast bullets - an RCBS .45-270 SAA (SWC) or LBT WFN - of equal weight at the same velocity had superior killing power on hogs or deer-sized game. I suggested il would be a tossup, but the WFN might kill the animal deader than the RCBS bul­ let would, Then too, I couldn't prove it because, to my knowl­ edge, there is no scale of "relative deadness." That is, where a 1 would be just "dead" and 2 would be "deader," 3 would be "stone dead" and so on. Comparing the .45-70 t.o a .375 H&H nlight create an inspired debate on the scale of deadness, where the .458 Lott would rate a 9 or 10, "stone cold dead" or "dead 'n buried." This could get outta har d. (,j)

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May-June 2004 www_riflemagazine.com 11 Compact power and accuracy.

The most common rifles encoun­ tered are handy American-made lever actions from Marlin, Win­ chester and replicas of the Win­ chester Models 1873 and 1892 that are generally produced by foreign manufacturers. These represent [he majority of .357 Magnum­ chambered long guns in tile hands of shooters. There are, ho",,'ever, several single-shot rines that have been offered periodically, includ­ ing the Ruger No. I, Browning \Iodel 1885 and economically priced break open actions from Harrington & Hichardson and New England FIrearms. A variet.y of combination guns have been of­ JI~ - fered in this caliber, but leverguns ~357MAG. by rl 158 GR • .IACKrnD SOFT POINT . 30-30 WIN. are far the most common. HUIffiIIa 150 GR. POWE ·POINT 1<3575P • J03(i6 Of the many .357 leverguns around, the Marlin Model 1894 is

58 www.rif/emagazine.com Rifle 213 I

wwu rill m yazl, e.com 59 - Miero-Groove" rliling, so a few rernarks ;;. about these barrels """-II' ~YJ seem appropriate. '7 This rifling system has been the victim of vicious rumors, lea\>ing some owners with I.he impression they are lousy for east bullets. Several times I have visited with Micro-Groove owners who claimed their guns wouldn't shoot cast. bullets, but when they were quizzed on specific loads, they admitted they had never tried The ,357 Magnum cartridge is popular with cowboy shooters in them but had been told I.hey leverguns and single-action , but it's a.lso useful tor hunting and wouldn't work. This is unfOliunate defense. Here we have a Browning Model 92, a 2nd generation Colt Single as the Micro-Groove rifling has the Adion and a Smith & Wesson Model 66. potential to be one of the best bar­ rels for lead bullets, as distortion is cast bullets. Yor those who shoot: dose to one inch at 100 yards with mil~or, yet the barrel holds the bul­ jacketed bullets, the Micro-Groove either cast or jacketed bullet am­ let firmly. (Marlin rifles charnbered rining is generally accurate right munition. Recently I purchased a in .22 LR and featuring the same out of the box, but the above "tune­ Marlin Model lSG4 Cowboy in ,357 Iif1ing have a Eeputation for good up" procedure usually proves ben­ Magnum that cuts ragged holes at accLIl"acy with lead butlets.) eficial fot" them as well. 75 yards lIsing the ISS-grain Speer Gold Dot bullet driven 1,900 to .3575 The Ballard rifling was brought Granted some Marlin shoot 2,100 fps. It does almost that well back because of the tl'end toward cast bullets well, while others are with several cast bullets, not. so good. Several factors can af­ cast bullets among shooters. fect how they perform, but the hunters and cowboy action com­ , most common accuracy thIef can petitors, It gives good accuracy Micro .. Qroove rifling usually be traced to the rather with any reasonable bullel but also has the potential to be abrupt leade from the gives out.,tanding results with jack­ into the rifling. Heclltting this leade eted versions. 1 hav<~ worked with one of the best barrels to 1%i degrees usually improves ac­ several recent manufactured Bal­ for lead bullets. cura.cy, Also, some Micro-Groove lard titled Marhl1 guns chalnhered barrels are a bil rough, and fire in .25-20 WCF, .:~2-20 WCF, .30 The Amel'iean-made Winchester lapping may be necessary to gel WCF ..38-55, .44 Magnum, .45 Colt Model 94, the Japanese Winchester them to perform up to snuff with and .4.5-70, and most will shoot (USRAC) Model 1892 and the dis­ continued Browning Model 92 fea­ The 357 Magnum has become popular in lellehlctiotr rifles for home de­ ture rifling lhat works well with fense. With a little practice, most shooters can (ire nine aimed shots in less either cast or jacketed bullets, as than fille seconds. does the Uberti manufactured Model 1873 Winchester replicas. 1 have had the opportunity to give each of the above a workout, and if time is taken to find the right load, each has proven capable of l~-inch groups or smaller at 75 yards. More than 20 years ago, I pur­ chased a Browning Model 92 so chambered, and l'ighL out of the box, it would consistently group around one inch at 75 yards with loads employing eit.her cast or jacketed bullets. A gun dealer of­ fered me a ridiculously high price (It had an exceptionally well fig­ ured French walnut stock.), and I let it go but soon located another one and purcha...,ed it, which shot pretty much like the first.

60 www.ri(lemagazine.com Rifle 213 of the pickup, serving as a backup should something go awry with Susan's pr imary r ifle, a scoped 7x57mm Maus er. She had been shooting the Browning regularly in casual practice or plinking ses­ sions and cOl,lld hit very well with it at 75 t.o 100 yards offhand. A Browning Model 92 would consistently gloup alound one inch at 75 yards.

For some unknown r eason, when we left the pickup, she elected t.o Slow-burning magnum handgun powders offer top performance in .357 take the Browning .3:37 ~'Iagnum, \.1agnum hand/Dads. rather than the 7x57, Perhaps the light, easy-to-c arr y ap­ peale d to her in t.he ste(:~p moun­ Lil

Some jacketed 357 Magnum bullets There are a variety of factory loads that help the .357 Magnum's versatility: are 100 frangible when fired from a .38 Special/Dads work best on small table fare, while full-house magnums rit1e, so choose bullets carefully, are befter for deer-sized game or defense,

~ '- '

IVtay-June 2004 www.riflemagazine.com 61 ~~~. sight of the deer first, ":~ ~ so just settled in the . sagebmsh and waited ~fill' i::!/ for my wife to ge t ~ C ( ~ into position and at- temp\' to take he r first deer. (Even though season was open for either sex, I suggested she take a doe to allow the young buck to grow up.) She hat! a per­ [eel broadside shot at something around 60 estimated yards, anel r Most .357 Magnum lever-action rit7es will function best if the overall car­ was in the unique posit.ion to see tridge lengfh is kept to less than 1.605 inches. the shot. fired with the doe facing me. The Speer bullet struck the shoulder and exited the other side, tional mule deer, black bear and t.en!. while living in a remote which put the deer down instantly. considerable SInal! game including wilderness area of the southeast­ She managed to get up and take a raccoons, skunks, beaver, badger ern U.S. in the early 19705. He couple wobbly steps then went and a ha.ncU'ul of coyotes that were pra.ised its versatility and handi­ down and exp.ired. called within ISO yards. As long as IH~ sS but also commented it was the right bullets are use d, the the "darndest killer for a sm all above perfonl1-l!. Rifle 213 get at 30 feel in 4 to 6 seconds using full-power magnum ammuni­ (ion, Those with advanced skills and good strength can place three shots inl.O the "vital" area in around one second at across-the­ room distances. More important I have observed individuals with only a "modest." level of rille shool­ ing skUl clear a variet.y ot'steel tar­ gels in less time with a lever-action rif1e or carbine than t.hey could run the same course with a revolver, or even an autoloading pistol. And they are hitting the target witl) no­ tably Inore power. (A seasoned handgun shot can easily exceed these times.) Some cowboy competitors have been reported to run 10-shot strings on a 12-inch steel plate at 12 yards in 2.5 to 3 seconds, but lIsing ultralight .38 SpeCial ammu­ Savagetv J7 liMR nition rather than full-power mag­ R.in:es:J ,- num loads and in leverguns thal Leading tHe market ia tfli- popular calibe r have been Luned and short-stroked specifically for speed shooting, (At another Hme we will discuss some The introduction of rhe 17 HMR caliber crearcd an of the custom work that can be LUlprcceciemC!'.ci d~manJ. Savage respondcd by offering done to leverguns to improve them for personal defense thal includes more models chmnbered in rhis caliber rhan

hollowpoinl configurations with a SAVAUE ARMS, INC "8 MOUHTAltJ ROllO, SUfFlf.lO. CT 06078 gas check. Some guns will give good results with the RCBS 150- KT, which usually casts around 155

J'v\ay-June 2004 GARY L. STILES grains from my mould and alloy, Micro-Groove barrel. With factory Gunmaker and is a plain-base design. Both loads using bullefA<; weighing 125, . Specializing in ClassIc Boll Action Rifles· bullets feature a nose length of less 140 and 158 grains, th<:' rifle pro­ • Safely conversions for Ma\lsets & Spnngfields • • Ouartet Ribs. Cheokered Boll Handles' than .:315 inch and will usually duced between '100 and 640 fps . Complele Rilies . Pnces Upon Requesl . feed with.out altering the action of ,more velocity than the revolver; 76 Cherry Run 'Road, Homer City, PA 15748 Phone (724) 479·9945 or 479-8666 a levergllH, In other words, bullets 125·gl'ain loads frorn Remington with longer noses usually require and Black Hills went 2.170 and Learn Gunsmithing t.he action to be modified to feed 2,040 fps, respectively, from the or allow cartridges to function rifle. The average v<:~locity from 8AASOegree through the action. 158-grain jacketed loads from Black Hills, Hornady, Remington ®1-q::e~[C\ Another cast bullet. that is de­ and Winchester went 1,728 fps. I signed specifically for huntillg big ~ 1-800-922-6787 have always wished the factory game is the Cast Pel'fonnance 180- , ext. 7925 or 2348 loads were a trifle faster and have grain wide f1atnose (WF'N) gas email: [email protected] relied on handloads Lo a('hieve ('heck, which has given no prob­ For Mo.relnformation: 1,900 fps or more with varions 158- www.gunsmithing.org lems in feeding and can easily be grain jacketed (and cast) bullets. Vavana i 1100 E. Sh('lclon 51 driven 1,800 to 1,900 t'ps. If forced , • r,'OttEC'r Prescott. AZ. 86301 Recently Twas sellt s amples 01' C I. wWNyc.edu to lise this cartridge on heavy­ Your wmmunll'y lvur C.\..lUCSC' structured game, such as black new .357 Magnum fac tory loads bear, this ou[Jet is a t.op choice. frolll Buffalo Bore AmmunitIon (PO Box 40, Carmen JD 834G2; Today's jacketed bullets are www.buffalobore.eom) and was much better than any previous de­ thrilled to find it offers a new level ine,' 1f)54 •.• w/Jetller YDu're whi5UiDg , signs, and I'm especially impressed of performance for this cartridge ' Olxie" or 'Yankee Dood/c·... lh" Dixie V'lrlrh the 158-graill Speer Gold Dot SGun Work-~' catalog has been A MUST ror in both rifles and handguns. Its .m)' blackprnvc1er enthusiast or histOr.)' buff. holiowpoint. {,hat. is available to 15S-grain jacketed hollow cavity r(~ ( \ ely (he mo-;t comprehensive source of hand loaders and is offered in fac­ bl~' Jan~, illcludlng: from a 24-illCh Mm'lin Cowboy. The ily yet its electro-chemical bonded ISO-grain lE'ad natnos€ gas checl< • '\ulhr.nli~ re"ro""~lion riO~_., jacket keeps the bulleL in tact, con­ plstol$, revolvers. 1)IIIIIal)l achieved 1,866 fps (l8~-ineh bar­ IIrear rns and kiL. trols expansion and provides I'eli" rel) and 1,908 fps from the Cow­ able penetration. RecenUy I shot a • Uvll W", llrms boy. In a Rllger GP-IOO with a al1darr. ~\'O> large wild clog t.hat had been killing 4-inch barrel, the iSS-grain load deer ancl livestock; it weighed in produced 1,473 fps, while the 180- excess of 125 POWl<\s, The distance grain cast load went 1,412 fpSi in a was around 120 yards, and the Ruger Bisley with a 7~-inch ban'el, Speer Gold Dot, with a muzzle ve­ these t.wo loads clocked 1,550 fps locity of over 2,000 fps, entered at and 1,473 fps, respectively. These t.he shoulder and exited the offside are the fastest (please note I didn't near the flank, killing him almost say hottesL) .357 loads I have ever instantly. I would confidently hunt tried, including high-pressure loads deer with this same load. from the 1960's era. The jacketed A couple years back, I tried sam­ load easily kept five shoLs under plings of .:357 Magnum factory one inch at 75 yards, even with a loads in a Smith & Wesson Mod~1 hot barrel, whil(> the cast bullet 586 .357 Magnum revolver with a 6- load stayed within l~ inches. The inch barrel and a Marlin 1894CS remarkable thing about these new .357 Magnum with an 18Y,-inch loads is they are within today's pressure limit.s oJ 3:3,000 psi (thanks to a new powder) and Rock Solid function f1awlessly in a variety of .357 revolvers - even some t.hat HOI E E have been sensitive (or unrel iable) "Tne best p:mob!e shoolmg bench on /'1e market" • J~ with full-power loads. Powder Coated Steel Construction Spar UreUlane Coated AC Plywood Top I can't help but poLnt alit. that the Benches $295.00 + StH above loads ,lre fully equal to .30- Storage Box I Seat $30.00 + S/" 30 Winchester factory loads. The www.shoollngbe ... hes.com 150- and 170-grain loads from Helll- j~oyal SIU~ y. Ph; 406-967·2805 po Box j 73 • Wordell . ~1T 590&8 (Continued on page 98)

64 www.riflemagazine.com Rifle 213 TfL1'gel (trI(/ Vi'mage Scope Repa:ir .357 Magnum RiDe (CoDtinued £rom page 64) - Thermometers -; Furnace Kits I Parsons Scope Service - Rowell Ladles - Casting Pots p,o, Box 192, Ross, OH 45061 • Mould Release • LETS Flux 51:) -867·0820 ingtoll, Winchester, Federal and WI: \'IIWI Iheantimonym an rom · \'iww.Qul letmelals,con1 :. Cleaning, relicles, comrMte restoration Hornady we re trie d fl'om a Win­ ~ Bill hrg.son , PO Sex i238, Sierra Visl" lIZ 85636 Send S.A, S,E, fot'delails ~ TEl (521)\ 45e'5221 ri IC(, 198.9 ~ barrel and a ~"u'lin i3:36A with a 24- inch barrel. On average the Model COLOR CAS.EHARDENING 94 drove ISO-grain loads 2,187 fps WOOD & BONE CHARCOAL METHOD and l70-grain loads 2,001 fps , Ne\Nf"oundland. Canada WRITE OR CALL while the Marlin achieved 2,267 Moose, Wood"',nd Cal1bou and Black Bur Hunts FOR lNFORMA TION ., Book now for 2(l()4 .no 2005 and 2,080 fps, respectively, Phone/f.u, ;7091681·2191 OeM,whee!c,<1n(,symp.'llco,C4 WW\N ,b'ggNllean.ld,\.com l'tUCIIAEL HAGSTROM P.O. BOXS (p.~.J ~ ;.,; C''Y ' VO!:t P.... ,bo.Jr, Nt. (A"I.\(!.A. AQl 11.0 • SANTA ROSA, CA 95402 (707) 514·4832 Some may be quick to point out. that the .30-30 has longer bulll:'ts

THERE'S MONEY TO BE SAVED fOR MADE) WITH Randy Bovd l Presi'~ent with better ballisti.c coeffidency and veteran since 1981 ~W~ which is tille, but most game take n You can save ~.~ when you start with a Boyds' with an iron-sighted I ~ vergun is VIP. A "Virtual Inlet Part" is inlet so precisely that cloSE' enough that this advantage is even a novice can achieve excellent results when unimport ant. On the other hand, replacing a stock. We offer 100's of models of the .357 Magnum's larger caliber is laminate and walnut stocks for shotguns and rifles. producing tremendous shock and Call today for our 40'page catalog. You may even may be wh,,.. this little cartridge cultivate a clientele by doing stock work for others - kills out of proport.ion to its size turn your spare time £U\d ballistics. into spare change] Space is Sholt and won't allow a detailed discussion of .357 Mag­ num han

• Compression 8uttplate Adjusts for Another high-velocit.y load con­ Recoil .22 caliber - 508MB and sists of 19.0 grains of Hodgdon UI'­ Recoil Pad Position Gun wi t h the Speer 158-grain bullet for ove r 2,000 fps. The 165- Adjustable Butt Plate grain Thompson cast bullet, Lyman • Moves Up, Down and Rotates 36W mould 358156, can be pushed ~ " '''.. ,', ••" .,,,, t., ..." .. C7?lizi!!?l ' • Adjusts for ' around 1,900 fps lIsing 15.0 grains Length of ~() ()~ MEASURES IT ALL! of AJliant 2400. The 180-grain WFN Pull ~~~ • Muzzle Velocity • Time of Flight GC bullet from Cast Performanc(~ • Rifle or Shotgun • Proof Velocity - Velocity at Target can achieve over 1,800 fps using • Installation Available • Peak Pressure • Ballistic Coefficient 15.5 grains of Hoclgdon Lil'Gun. - Pressure Rise Time - Group at Target • Pressure CUNe • Accurate Ballistics Each of the above loads has pro­ • Area Under CUNe • And More ... duc:ed good accuracy in a variety • Mercury Recoil Reducer FREE info and demo disk ... of rifles. • Ret/uces Recoil and Muzzle Flip Call or write for FREE catalog If you have a .357 Magnum rifle, pllt it to work, as it is compara­ tively inexpensive to shoot, V(~ rsa­ tile and mighty handy. And even 78766 t.hough it's small for a ri fie car­ Phone 800·531-5125 or 512-32706900 t ridge , it b e haves as if it were www.oehler-research.com much larger.

98 www.riflemagazine.com Rifle 213