230gr for .38/.357? Really?

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10-96

New member
The other day I was surfing the innerwebs and came across some 230gr .357 wadcutter bullets at an outfit called Badman Bullets- http://www.badmanbullets.com/OnlineStore/38-230-wc-bowling-pin.html

OK, now I'm always game for something a little on the different side and heavy bullets in hand-fired firearms. Had to admit- this really caught my curiosity going.

Does anyone see a productive purpose for these other than bowling pin shooting? There's just not a lot of info out there about these things (who woulda thunk?). Also, I do recall seeing a warning about only using these in L-frame and larger revolvers. Now, if that's the case, how did the British get away with running .360 diameter 200gr bullets in k-frames?

Has anyone here tinkered around with anything like this before? Have you gotten decent results beyond 10 meters? Apparently that's the going distance for pin shoots I guess.
 
they look like they are machined out of solid bar stock of some kind. a bullet that long will either cause some oal problems or a big loss in case capacity.
 
.360

Now, if that's the case, how did the British get away with running .360 diameter 200gr bullets in k-frames?
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The 200 grain bullet used by the Brits was actually a bit larger at .361-.362. They got away with it because it was used in the .38 S&W, a different cartridge than the .38 S&W Special. It has a much shorter case.
The .38 S&W is on the far right. Next to it is the .38 Long Colt.
3CDEF595-EDB6-49BB-AEE5-005AD900CC92-318-0000016763859E92-1.jpg

Pete
 
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I have shot those (not sure if same brand but same wait and looked the same) before. Just wanted to see how they functioned in my Coonan. They worked fine. There was not alot of capacity so they where pretty slow but they did stabilize.
 
Does there have to be an actual need or reason to try something?
With some experiment, that bullet could lead to a new something in .38/357, mebbe.
 
Very interesting.

A 230 gr bullet coming out of a .357 case ...might be enough space there for the right powder to make it a viable SD round. There is a sample pack, just may take them up on it ... would be nice to get the M13 out of mothballs.
 
Just order a handfull? $7.95 shipped, what the hell! You only live once boys, step up to the plate, I'm more worried about id theft more that losing $7.95.:rolleyes:
 
might be enough space there for the right powder to make it a viable SD round.
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I'd anticipate there would be. There's a ton of unused capacity in the .38spl case.

What I wonder is what kind of load data would be used and if pressures could be kept low enough to accelerate that heavy bullet up to any kind of useful speed. I also wonder if the barrel twist would actually stabilize that thing.
 
I've known a few folks hunt using 180gr .357 with some success out of a lever action rifle and long barrel revolvers. Would 200 gr be that much different?
 
A 230 gr. .357???? That's a pretty heavy bullet, remembering that 230 gr. is the nominal for the .45 ACP.

It looks as if it would have to be deep seated in the case for OAL limitations, which would cut down powder capacity. Would probably limit velocity so likely be a close range proposition. But, for bowling pins, maybe just the thing!

Keep us posted, please!

Bob Wright
 
With a revolver the only real limitation is the length of the cylinder. But I cannot see any reason to built a 230 gr. .357. Marketing is a powerful force. For bowling pins you cannot beat a .45 ACP revolver. Or a .41. Or a .44.;)
 
Drail wrote:

With a revolver the only real limitation is the length of the cylinder. But I cannot see any reason to built a 230 gr. .357. Marketing is a powerful force. For bowling pins you cannot beat a .45 ACP revolver. Or a .41. Or a .44.
Click to expand...

The 230gr. bullet is a lot of mass in motion, required for bowling pin matches. The advantage of such a bullet in .357 is that it can be fired in an L-Framed Smith, while larger calibers require N-Framed guns. Many shooters, including this correspondent, cannot handle N-Frames guns in fast DA firing as well as the L-Frames.

Bob Wright
 
Just got a bag 50 to my door for $7.95. They are cool, now what am I going to do with them since I don't reload. Maybe they'll make great stocking stuffers.
 
I still have some .45LC equivalents of those that I bought long, long ago. The bullets are so big, re o.a.l., that they come all the way to the end of the cylinder in my old Blackhawk, meaning I can't shoot them from my Model 25 Smith.
 
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