.357 magnum 1.835" C.O.L?

S

SLOMountaineer

New member
I am at a loss. Hopefully one of you can help me out.

I recently helped a widow clear out her late husbands handloading bench and storage area in the garage. Lots of cool stuff. Been able to sell quite a bit of it for her to help her out. There was a box of handloads that i can't figure out what it is for.

.357 Magnum cases
.357 bullet, 180gr/.853" long
9 grains of unknown powder
C.O.L. of 1.835"

I have searched high and low and have no idea what shoots this. This guy was very meticulous and organized and the label has faded off the box where he wrote the info. The safes have yet to be cracked, the widow did not know where he kept the combi.

Any ideas?
 
That would be too long for a regular 357 Magnum and pretty short for a 357 Maximum, but that could be it. Otherwise, he probably had a single-shot like a TC Contender or G2.
 
I just checked the Hornady 180 XTP and it's .753 long. It has two cannelures and suspect that if it was crimped at the lower one (closer to the base), the OAL would be in the 1.800" neighborhood (longer than 357 Mag SAAMI max).

My only guess is that it was loaded for a single shot gun - like a Thompson Contender. Just a guess. Problem is, the 9 grains of propellant doesn't really jive. Generally, if one loads for a single shot, they're using a big charge of slow propellant - putting it in the 15+ grain neighborhood (or more).

That's all I got. :p
 
A couple of people have mentioned the T/C. Wouldn't the chamber size still not accept a bullet of that length?

As mentioned, the 9gr doesn't jive either as most 180 gr loads are in the 15gr range.

Note: This is for curiosity only...I am not selling and of his loaded ammo, just components, tools, etc.
 
A couple of people have mentioned the T/C. Wouldn't the chamber size still not accept a bullet of that length?
Click to expand...
Maybe depends on shape of the bullet and just how much free bore there is in barrel, also he could have had a 357 max barrel. The 9gr is odd though.
 
The longest 357/180 load I can find is in my Speer #11. It lists a 180 TMJ @ 1.690" for the Contender only, evidently the Contender does have a longish throat, but nothing near 1.835"

Is the cannelure outside of the case?

Sounds like he loaded long to reach the lands of some single shot, maybe something like a Handi rifle, mine will take long rounds. If the powder is a large flake, it might be Unique, 9 grains with a long OAL sounds about right, but nothing you can count on.
 
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