357 magnum pistol cylinder length.

B

bullfrog99

New member
so far i've learned that n frame smiths have short cylinders, k framed ones have long cylinders, gp-100's fall in between, on such a scale where does the ruger redhawk in 357 and the 686+ revolvers fall. i'm looking for a gun to put relatively long cast bullets into pushed by a stout charge of powder, i fear a k frame smith will cringe at what i want to do so i'm left with L frames and ruger guns(n frames are too short.) if you own one of these guns can you give me a cylinder length or cartrige oal or something so i can find a suitable revolver for my task, thanks.
 
If all else fails, pickup an old Ruger 357 Maximum.
 
I'm not in my shop to measure stuff, but if you intend to load long in 357 then the correct choice is a (used) Redhawk.

Mine is BIG, and it has a huge cylinder with itty-bitty little chambers in it.

Trust me (own two GP's), the 357 Redhawk can take some seriously stupid screw-SAAMI ammo.

What do you intend to load?
 
i'm hoping to load 200 + grain LBTWFN rounds with a stout charge of slow powder reaching 1500fps or more-- of coarse working dead slow but i figure perhaps i can make it work. i figured the L frame smith and gp-100 may be to weak even for those but i wasn't sure if what even a light loaded 200 set out to proper length would fit into.
 
WESHOOT 2 speaks true. For that kind of load you want to be usin a Redhawk or a stout single shot rig.

Caution You are talkin about some serious high pressure overloads. Please use extreme caution when workin up to such charges.....in the gun that will use them. Do not use your end loads in a different gun and DO not let another person use your ammo. There is enough difference in chamber and barrel dimensions even in same model and lot of guns that a load that is held by the test gun may take that gun's sister apart.

Much as I treasure my vintage Smiths I would not try that in any of them in any frame size.

Better yet.....do it with a .44 mag.

Sam........bang is good, BANG is more gooder, KABOOM sucks.
 
200gr bullets to 1500fps? Maybe you should be looking at a 353 Casull. John Taffin has data for such loads - for the 357 magnum Casull - at http://www.sixguns.com/tests/tt353.htm

I for one would NOT put such loads in my GP100. If I had a 357 Magnum Redhawk I might consider it, but I've only seen one of them (poor decision not to buy it at the time), and don't really know their limits. Weshoot2 would be better able to answer that question.
 
187--200g WLN from CAST PERFORMANCE (I'm thinking new Starlines and W296...)

For DA only choice is (used) Redhawk; for SA Freedom Arms.
 
those loads sound like bad news wouldnt you get sticky extraction,or hard core flame cutting with high pressure loads like that
 
maybe your right, though it sounds like fun... ok if i decided against the super heavy loading, maybe i can be apeased... what would be the heaviest load you would consitaintly feed a GP-100, bullet weight and velocity estimate?
 
GLAD YOU ASKED

My 4" GP's launch a 180g JHP (Remington bullet) at 1160fps. This is not an estimate.
Still goes around 1000fps at 100 yds.
(This exact load blows its primers in my 7.5" Redhawk, but goes 1260fps.)
 
I have recently read of another option if 200gr bullets at 1500 fps in a 357 is the goal. According to an article by John Taffin at http://www.sixguns.com/range/big_bore_bisleys.htm the 357 Magnum Bisley/Blackhawk can handle this level of load. From the description it's right on the edge, but it can do it.

If you're not set on a GP100 this might be an option for you.
 
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