.357 Cadet finally made it home

[mitdr774]

Making the action work with a rimless cartridge would probably be a pain to work out. Im sure its doable, but a .44 might be a little to big in diameter to feed and eject reliably.

[CPJ 2.0]

Making the action work with a rimless cartridge would probably be a pain to work out. Im sure its doable, but a .44 might be a little to big in diameter to feed and eject reliably.

Bam.
357 it is!

[mitdr774]

.357 really is a fun cartridge in a compact rifle. The 77/357 has always been fun at the range as im sure the Marlin and Cadet will be.

I need to dig out my .357 brass and see what I have on hand for powder coated cast. I think I have a decent supply of 125gr XTP that I dont have much other use for, so I may also try some of those.

[CPJ 2.0]

.357 Maximum would be interesting.

[CPJ 2.0]

Could still shoot regular 357 also.
Hmmmmmm

[CPJ 2.0]

Actually, there’s a whole lotta whoopass going on.


https://matchgrademachine.com/encore-co ... t-results/

[mitdr774]

I have not checked to see if a .357 max will fit without modifying the block. I do however have a large supply of .357 mag brass that I intend to start dipping into.

As far as case lengths it looks like .310 Cadet is 1.120", .38 special is 1.145", .357 magnum is 1.285", and .357 maximum is 1.600". As far as I can come up with the .310 Cadet overall length with a lead heeled bullet is 1.600". I dont know if a nearly 2" long .357 maximum cartridge would make the turn into the chamber. Now I want to dig out my old .358" in .357 mag dummy rounds from when I was playing with shooting .358 rifle bullets in the 77/357.

[Bigslug]

While the Max is an interesting notion, it's worth remembering that one of the major charms of the rifle is that it weighs next to nothing and is still pleasant to shoot. If Thunder of the Gods is required, there are a lot of other ways to get there.

I'd be a lot more interesting in a standard .357 with some extra room in the action for heavier bullets. . .maybe even subsonic ones. The Maxim Silencer and the Cadet are after all kinda contemporaries. Go full-on steampunk with it!

[mitdr774]

I know it's not the best comparison to .357 maximum but this an assortment of some of the loads I tried in the 77/357. While I can get all of these to slide into the chamber, I have to pull the lever down to get them to go in. If I don't pull the lever down they will bind up.

All are in .357 magnum brass.

250gr InterLock 1.992"
200gr RN InterLock 1.891"
200gr InterLock 1.952"
200gr FTX 1.985"
200gr FTX 1.870"
180gr Hot-Cor 1.839"
140gr FTX 1.774"

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[CPJ 2.0]

Because we derail threads here…
I’m pretty interested in this. Plans are available.

[Justsomedude]

Ewww, I do like that and the parts to make it are all easily machinable. I considered making this into a 357 maximum when I built it but stuck to 357 mag.

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[mitdr774]

Interesting.

[bullsi1911]

Ewww, I do like that and the parts to make it are all easily machinable. I considered making this into a 357 maximum when I built it but stuck to 357 mag.
20200624_021321.jpg

I like that.

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[Justsomedude]

That is the abortion that happens when a non artistic individual sits down with a pencil and paper and tries to put in writing what is in their head. It works but it's fugly. Now I just build from my minds eye.

[mitdr774]

In keeping with the spirit of the .310 Cadet cartridge I'm debating some cast lead loads for this rifle. Digging through my boxes of cast I found two 180gr powder coated options. Both are supposed to be .358". They are shaped slightly different, but essentially the same. I asked my wife which one she though I should use and her response was to use both. I'm not looking to push maximum velocities with this rifle. I have the 77/357 for that if I want. I know the .310 didn't run this heavy of a bullet, but the majority of the cast bullets I have in the .35 range are .356" for use in 9mm.

MBC Striker RNFP and Pugnose WFN flat base bullets.

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[Bigslug]

Being a .358 groove diameter, you'll ideally want a .359-.360" bullet, but with the powder coating, you will likely be fine.

My Cadet came with the same rear sight yours has. It's a nice sightMaybe figure out the math on your sight radius and adjustments, and try to come up with load that sorta matches the arc. You will likely need to fiddle with front sight heights, but if you can get it to track true for a couple hundred yards, it'll be worth the effort.

If it's a plinker, the gold bullet will fly a little flatter and still has enough meplat for giggles on water bottles and cans. If a short range hunter, go for the blunt force.

[mitdr774]

Im banking on the PC helping to make it work as a .358". I have shot plenty of PC .458" through my little .458 without any issues (except one bullet that leaves a lead ring in my chamber, but thats another topic for another day) so Im thinking it will be okay.

My plan is to start low and work up to a load that plays nice with the sights. If I recall correctly the .310 was somewhere around a 115gr bullet at around 1500-1600fps. That doesnt really matter too much when you consider that the sight radius is completely different now though.

My eyeballs dont really let me shoot iron sights past 50 yards anymore. This is going to be a paper puncher for "cheap" fun times at the range. If I cant get it to perform appropriately with the 180gr I will look through my 125-158gr plated and jacketed options.

[Wambli Ska]

I’ll betcha it will get a lot of attention at the range

[CPJ 2.0]

I’m still eyeballing a cadet for sale. It’s not going as high as I thought it would.

[Wambli Ska]

I’m still eyeballing a cadet for sale. It’s not going as high as I thought it would.

Nice! Good luck

[mitdr774]

I’ll betcha it will get a lot of attention at the range

The local public range I go to is an odd crowd. If the older gentlemen are there I'm sure it will get attention. If it's guys my age or younger it won't even get a second glance. Most of the people there are more into the tacticool stuff.

One time.i had a couple younger guys on the bench next to me blasting away with an AR. Their target looked like someone trying to pattern a shotgun. I was shooting my .35 Whelen built on a Mauser that day and they kept snickering and making jokes about my antique rifle. That rifle has a nasty habit of making very tight three shot groups. Well, very tight for a hunting rifle that was not built for target shooting. After seeing the target they were telling each other it's because I was using a scope. Yep, my 3-9x40 sure has a whole lot of.magnification.....

I prefer to sit near the older gentlemen. They are much more pleasant to talk to and shoot around. Some of them also bring out some neat rifles.

[mitdr774]

I’m still eyeballing a cadet for sale. It’s not going as high as I thought it would.

I wouldn't mind one in .310 or even a full size Martini rifle. If I ever find one still in .577/450 I will have to roll out the Zebra hide for picture time.

[Bigslug]

I’m still eyeballing a cadet for sale. It’s not going as high as I thought it would.

I wouldn't mind one in .310 or even a full size Martini rifle. If I ever find one still in .577/450 I will have to roll out the Zebra hide for picture time.

I would like to play with an original .310 chambering. They use a heeled bullet like a .22LR, so I'd probably design up a mold with tumble lube grooves on the bullet's forward section.

The big Martini-Henry is a fun beast. If you don't already own an RCBS Rockchucker press, that is your excuse to get one - the .577/.450 won't fit in your standard 7/8" dies. You need the big 1.25" - 12 dies for that, and THAT'S what fits the Rockchucker once you take the insert out of the top.

Kinda funny. . .even the .416 Rigby fits in 7/8" dies.

[mitdr774]

I think my Lee press can do 1.25"-12 dies if I remove the adapter. This may become a future project idea for when I have more time to dedicate to new skills and equipment. Learn how to cast bullets and learn how to make my own black powder.

[Wambli Ska]

I’ll betcha it will get a lot of attention at the range

The local public range I go to is an odd crowd. If the older gentlemen are there I'm sure it will get attention. If it's guys my age or younger it won't even get a second glance. Most of the people there are more into the tacticool stuff.

One time.i had a couple younger guys on the bench next to me blasting away with an AR. Their target looked like someone trying to pattern a shotgun. I was shooting my .35 Whelen built on a Mauser that day and they kept snickering and making jokes about my antique rifle. That rifle has a nasty habit of making very tight three shot groups. Well, very tight for a hunting rifle that was not built for target shooting. After seeing the target they were telling each other it's because I was using a scope. Yep, my 3-9x40 sure has a whole lot of.magnification.....

I prefer to sit near the older gentlemen. They are much more pleasant to talk to and shoot around. Some of them also bring out some neat rifles.

I used those crazy range days as training for myself. If I can shoot well while being showered with AK or AR brass it was a good day. Watching someon who can’t shoot worth a damn burn through hundreds of rounds of ammo can be painful but, hey, you can’t save them all, AND, they usually don’t reload soooooooooo a buttload of free once-fired brass for me