Ruger 357 Maximum

F

Fatelvis

New member
Could anyone give me the approximate value of a Ruger 357 Maximum, with a 10 1/2" bbl., in about 95% condition? It looks like a fun gun, just wondering if it`s worth $500. I know about the "topstrap/ forcing cone problems", but I`m willing to live with it. As always, thanks guys.
 
357 max

That seems to be the going price, if it's still in good condition, I never had one but have a friend that shot one in silhouette. The cutting got to a certain depth and stopped. It shot great, I'd like to have one just haven't been able to stumble on one when I'm in the mood with money. It's just about the perfect deer round, fast, flat and since I love single actions it would be perfect.

Good luck, love to hear how it shoots when you get it.
 
If you handload(almost required with this cartrige), stay with the heavy slugs 158+ and the gas cutting is a non-issue.

The whole purpose of this round was higher velocity heavier slugs for silloutte shooting. People ran into problems was using the light stuff at holy s*** velocities.

As for you price, it's in the correct ballpark, depending on condition.
 
That is actually slightly less than what I have seen them selling for. My local dealer told me that one reason why they command a premium price is that they are used for conversions to some larger caliber because of the frame which is bigger than a normal blackhawk, but this may be BS I don't know. I do know that I would love to have one. Ben Shepherd's post pretty much sums up what I have heard about them. People initally complained about topstrap cutting but as already mentioned, this was caused by people trying to push light bullets to high velocity instead of shooting heavy bullets faster than is possible with the standard .357 Mag. for silhouette or hunting.
 
The disparity of poi between the .357 maximums and magnums can be well outside of the sight adjustmetn range. Saw this with a contender.

A friend found the gas cutting thing to be a non issue when he developed loads with 158 grain or heavier bullets and WW 680 powder.
 
Fatelvis, you're gonna hate me for this :D If you get the Maximum, you can have John Linebaugh to convert it to .475 Linebaugh Maximum, or .500 Linebaugh Maximum. Hmm....
 
22nd Edition of Fjestad Blue Book lists 95% at $400. This may be a low as the Ruger .357 Maximum is a fairly rare animal. IIRC Ruger pulled this gun from the market after about a year due to forcing cone issues with the high velocity of the .357 Max. Dan Wesson started including an extra barrel with their Model 40 to solve the problem. You'll probably have to reload for it as factory ammo is just about dried up.
Take Care
 
In lieu of finding a .357 Maximum, couldn't you approach the same velocitys and power levels with a Ruger Red Hawk .357 magnum with very hot loads??? This humungus gun could easily stand the pressure, it's definitely over kill for .357 mag, or even rechamber the Red Hawk for .357 Maximum?

7th
 
Sorry, but the only gun that will take on the Ruger .357 Maximum is a 353 Freedom Arms in .357 Magnum. Not another Ruger.
 
7th Fleet: you bring up an interesting point. I checked one loading manual and the pressures of the .357 Maxi and the .44 Mag are very similar. Obviously the Redhawk frame is used for the .44 Mag. In addition, the cylinder walls of the .357 Redhawk are much thicker than the cylinder walls in the .44 Mag. If it interests you, you might want to check into it further.

Ignore all the above. I held a .357 Maxi loaded round up to the cylinder of my .357 Redhawk and it extends about 1/4" past the end of the cylinder. Oh, well. It sounded good for awhile.
 
As far as how far you might try to take the Redhawk in .357 Mag. you can ask WESHOOT 2. In the one loading manual I checked, it looks like the Maxi will give you about 300 fps over the Mag.
 
Thanks guys, it was just a thought and I figured that the Maximum cylinder had to be a good bit longer than the .357 mag. Plus the case on the Maximum is probably beefed up as well, to take the additional pressures generated by the much hotter round.

7th
 
-Transfer bar safety- The Casull is, in my eyes, the finest made revolver on the market. They advertise the transfer bar safety, but in the manual advise against putting the hammer down on a loaded round. I am writing this to warn ALL of you to NEVER carry this revolver with a round under the hammer! I was shot through my chest, by my own .454, on a feral hog hunt in south Texas, about 6 years ago. I didnt heed that warning, and bent over, to back out of a blind, and the revolver fell out of the shoulder holster, onto the hammer- BOOM! I`m lucky to be alive. DO NOT TRUST ANY MECHANICAL SAFETIES. Be safe guys.
 
Sorry to hear about your mishap, but how could the gun possibly fire with a properly designed and functioning transfer bar ignition system? Did anybody ask that question, back when you got shot?

7th
 
No, and since then the gun has been sold. I didn`t want to sue anyone, I believe there is a rediculous amount of that going on. Besides, the $52,000 medical bill (including helicopter medi-vac), was picked up by my union`s excellent insurance,and I have no distinguishable damage,(besides huge scars). So I figured it was due to my negligence, and I lived,(luckily) and learned. By the way, it was my handload of a Hornady 250 grn XTP, over a max charge of Win 296. My xray, to this day, looks like a lit Christmas tree, with all the fragments of debris (copper?) in me. Nothing to brag about, in fact, it`s emarassing. I just wanted to share my experience with all of you, so it doesn`t happen to someone else.
 
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