The .357 Maximum, formally known as the .357 Remington Maximum or the .357 Max, is a

super magnum A super magnum is a longer and/or more powerful version of a "Magnum cartridge, magnum" Cartridge (firearms), cartridge. Although the term "super magnum" typically refers to a Handgun, handgun cartridge, created by lengthening an existing straigh ...

handgun cartridge originally developed by

Elgin Gates Elgin T Gates (7 November 1922 – 16 November 1988) was an American hunter, adventurer, author, and firearms and ammunition technician who was born in Wyoming and died in Idaho Falls, Idaho. He was responsible for proposing and testing the super ma ...

as the wildcat .357 SuperMag. The .357 Maximum was introduced into commercial production as a joint-venture by

Remington Arms Company Remington Arms Company, LLC, was an American manufacturer of firearms and ammunition. It was formerly owned by the Remington Outdoor Company, which went bankrupt in 2020 with its lines of business sold to several purchasers. Two resulting com ...

and

Ruger Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc., better known by the shortened name Ruger, is an American firearm manufacturing company based in Southport, Connecticut, with production facilities also in Newport, New Hampshire; Mayodan, North Carolina; and ...

in 1983 as a new chambering for the

Ruger Blackhawk The Ruger Blackhawk is a six-shot, single-action revolver manufactured by Sturm, Ruger & Co. It is produced in a variety of finishes, calibers, and barrel lengths. History In the early 1950s, Western (genre), Westerns were popular in movies and te ...

. Shortly thereafter,

Dan Wesson Firearms Dan Wesson Firearms (DW), part of CZ-USA, is an American handgun manufacturer. The corporate headquarters, customer service and manufacturing plant are located in Norwich, New York. Dan Wesson Firearms is known for its revolver expertise and for ...

and Thompson/Center Arms introduced firearms in this cartridge. United Sporting Arms chambered it in their Silhouette series single-action revolvers. It is a

.357 Magnum The .357 Smith & Wesson Magnum, .357 S&W Magnum, .357 Magnum, or 9×33mmR (as it is known in unofficial metric designation) is a smokeless powder cartridge with a bullet diameter. It was created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, and Douglas B. ...

case lengthened . Based on the .357 Magnum cartridge, a revolver or

single-shot In firearm designs, the term single-shot refers to guns that can hold only a single round of ammunition inside and thus must be reloaded manually after every shot. Compared to multi-shot repeating firearms ("repeaters"), single-shot designs have ...

pistol designed for the .357 Remington Maximum will chamber and fire the .360 Dan Wesson,

, .38 Special, .38 Long Colt, and .38 Short Colt cartridges. Intended primarily as a silhouette cartridge, such high velocity and energy levels have hunting applications.

SAAMI The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI, pronounced "Sammy") is an association of American manufacturers of firearms, ammunition, and components. SAAMI is an accredited standards developer that publishes several A ...

pressure level for this cartridge is set at . Despite the cartridge's good performance, the higher pressure and velocity caused

flame cutting Principle of burn cutting Oxy-fuel welding (commonly called oxyacetylene welding, oxy welding, or gas welding in the United States) and oxy-fuel cutting are processes that use fuel gases (or liquid fuels such as gasoline or petrol, diesel, bio ...

to the top strap and erosion of the forcing cone, due to the use of light bullets, therefore it has since been dropped by all manufacturers who chambered revolvers in this cartridge. Single shot pistols and rifles (i.e.

Thompson/Center Contender The Thompson/Center Contender is a break-action single-shot pistol or rifle that was introduced in 1967 by Thompson/Center Arms. It can be chambered in cartridges from .17 Bumble Bee to .45-70 Government. History Warren Center, working in his ...

) are still available in this caliber, and remain popular among handloaders. Unprimed brass is still produced every few years by Remington, and is also a stock item from Starline.Starline .357 Maximum brass
/ref>

Performance

Legacy

Guns designed for the .357 Maximum were built on a larger frame than their predecessors. Although Ruger only made about 7,700 Blackhawks chambered in .357 Maximum, the frame size has been used as a base gun to build bigger revolvers in .375 SuperMag, .414 SuperMag, .445 SuperMag, .475 Linebaugh Long/Maximum, and .500 Linebaugh Long/Maximum. In the movie, '' Flypaper (2011)'', Wyatt "Jelly" Jenkins (

Pruitt Taylor Vince Pruitt Taylor Vince (born July 5, 1960) is an American actor. Often classified as a character actor, he made his film debut with a supporting role in '' Angel Heart'' (1987). After supporting roles in the films ''Mississippi Burning'' (1988), ' ...

) uses a Dan Wesson Model 40 VH which is chambered in .357 Remington Maximum as his main sidearm, for the majority of the film.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:357 Remington Maximum Pistol and rifle cartridges Remington Arms cartridges Magnum pistol cartridges Wildcat cartridges

Performance

Legacy

See also

References