9x33R Whisper 250g

[curator]

I shot two different 9X33R loads yesterday with my .360-250 grain LBT SP slug. One load was 8.2 grains of 2400 and the other 12 grains of WC860. The bullets were seated to cover the lube grooves. My Handi-.357 Magnum is about one year old and appears to have 1 in 16" twist. Both loads were very accurate at 50 yards(3/4" 5-shot groups but opened up to about 3" at 100 yards. Bullet-holes at 100 yards appeared somewhat oval so the 250 grain slug may be under-stabilized. Winchester small pistol primers did not show signs of high pressure so it may be possible to bump the velocity up a bit to see if that helps.

[HARRYMPOPE]

My holes at 100 are round.I am.surprised it didn't shoot better at 100.I bet your velocity is low,did you chronograph them?When i shoot subsonic if my velocity isn't very uniform i get very bad stringing that is really seen at longer ranges.I think my buddy uses 10g of 2400 and a 245 SAECO in his 357 Mag(9x33).

[dougader]

I am surprised a bit that your bullets are stabilized enough to shoot such good groups at 200 yards with such heavy bullets and a relatively slow twist. In 300 BLK they run 1-7" twist barrels, don't they?

[HARRYMPOPE]

[QUOTE=dougader;2743603]I am surprised a bit that your bullets are stabilized enough to shoot such good groups at 200 yards with such heavy bullets and a relatively slow twist. In 300 BLK they run 1-7" twist barrels, don't they?[/QUOTe)

A 250g 35 caliber is pretty "short" compared a long heavy 30.sometimes just trying something out rather than crunching numbers lets you find things out.Greenhill would make it seem I'd need 1-14 but that isn't the case.

[jandbj]

I've been using 5.4-5.6 of Am Select in 38 spl cases with Hunters Supply g/c'd 250 grainers loaded to magazine length (1.654" iirc) in a 16.5" 77/357 with CCI 500 primers.... Runs right at 1000fps.

More weight than a subsonic 300blk at the same velocity!

[bikerbeans]

BB, try somewhere around 6 grains of unique. Might be supersonic, but will be close. If I had the boolit data (length, weight, his seating depth, OAL, barrel length, etc) I would offer to run it through quickload for you. IIRC I tried 6 or 6.2 under a 250gr and it was subsonic. Thought I was getting poor groups and switched powder. I found it was a vertical stringing problem with the rifle after I switched. I will revisit Unique if the Am Select doesn't give me what I want with the 250 grainer.

wlc,

thanks for the QL offer, I may take you up on it once I get the boolits and can make the measurements. My thoughts before posting was to start at 4.5g of Unique and work my way up 1,050 fps.

BB

[HARRYMPOPE]

[QUOTE=jandbj;2744300]I've been using 5.4-5.6 of Am Select in 38 spl cases with Hunters Supply g/c'd 250 grainers loaded to magazine length (1.654" iirc) in a 16.5" 77/357 with CCI 500 primers.... Runs right at 1000fps.

More weight than a subsonic 300blk at the same velocity! [/QUOTt

They feed ok?I wouldn't have thought it would work.now I have to look at the 77/357.

[jandbj]

I've been using 5.4-5.6 of Am Select in 38 spl cases with Hunters Supply g/c'd 250 grainers loaded to magazine length (1.654" iirc) in a 16.5" 77/357 with CCI 500 primers.... Runs right at 1000fps.

More weight than a subsonic 300blk at the same velocity!

They feed ok?I wouldn't have thought it would work.now I have to look at the 77/357.

They were just a bit wonky to feed at first, but once the gun was broken in & my extractor was tweaked to work correctly, they have fed through it amazingly well! Still have 100 that I loaded too long and need to single feed left to run but since I got the length perfect they have fed perfectly. I run it as a dedicated suppressed rig presently with a 9mm can, but will be running some unsuppressed supersonics at some point this year for hunting.

It is by far my favorite rifle. Since 22LR ammo went full retard, I shoot this more than anything else.

[HARRYMPOPE]

Good stuff!.I think about supressing the handi but cant stomach the $200 tax and cost if the silencer.

[Nrut]

I've been using 5.4-5.6 of Am Select in 38 spl cases with Hunters Supply g/c'd 250 grainers loaded to magazine length (1.654" iirc) in a 16.5" 77/357 with CCI 500 primers.... Runs right at 1000fps.

More weight than a subsonic 300blk at the same velocity!

jandbj,
What kind of accuracy are you getting form your little 77/357 using the above load?

[jandbj]

I'm not the best bench shooter on earth but it consistently manages 1.5"-2" at 100 yds. Planning on trying it on coyotes this year. If it does well (should penetrate all out of proportion to what it looks like on paper), perhaps I'll abandon the idea of a supersonic load for deer and stick with the heavyweight slowpoke. Never had a shot past 75 yards in these woods.

[Nrut]

That's excellent accuracy out of such a light little rifle with cast..

I took a pass on them when they came out because of their price and I figured Ruger would not build them with enough mag. length to accommodate long heavier bullets..

I will have to take a look at the thread on them in the "factory rifles" forum to learn more before I dive in..
If a guy could get the 35 Thor with it's flat nose to feed in them he would have a real dandy short range killer..

Thanks for your reply..

[jandbj]

Magazine length is the big limiting factor with these. I can only load the 250's in 38 cases to still fit the magazine. Penn 230's fit in mag cases and still feed well inspite of their huge frontal area.

I wouldn't have bought the rifle at retail price. I found a factory blem with a double struck roll mark. Got it for $380 OTD. Waaaaayyyy less than dealer cost. Sometimes it pays to drive all the way to Newport, NH.... Gunshop across the street from the factory is the only place to buy cosmetic blems.

[HARRYMPOPE]

Now I have to borrow my buddies 357/77.the one I had in 44 was really limited in magazine length and I figured the 357 would also be.my 44 also had a very short abrupt throat and never did like cast all that well.

[wlc]

Good stuff!.I think about supressing the handi but cant stomach the $200 tax and cost if the silencer.

If you ever get one, you'll wonder why you have ever shot anything without one. My first one was a 22lr suppressor. I was all smiles and giggles then I realized how much more pleasant it was to shoot with it. Next was a Liberty Suppressors Mystic. It is a very versatile 9mm suppressor that can be used on a multitude of stuff. I shoot it on my 300blk, 357 Max, 9mm pistol, and occasionally a 22lr rifle. It can even be shot on a 16 inch barreled 223. I really think that every single firearm, with the exception of revolvers, should come from the factory with one.

Back to the topic at hand: Today I shot both my 300blk AR and the 357Max Encore. Both suppressed. The AR load was a 208gr AMAX with 1680, and some 220smk's also with 1680. The Max was a 250gr Hunters supply 250gr cast over American Select. I'll take the Max any day over the 300blk. Or at least over an AR in 300blk. Recoil in either one is practically non-existent, accuracy is comparable, but man them AR's are just louder. Too much action and port noise when compared to the Encore's platform, and 1680 is a "loud" powder. But that is what it takes to cycle an AR action. Those 250gr boolits in the Max hit with some authority. Next I'll be on the hunt for something like a 77/357.

A question. I've been having to buy my cast boolits for the Max as I don't have a real heavy weight mold in 358. Does anyone make a plain base mold in a 250 to 300 grain 358 boolit?

[HARRYMPOPE]

I use an RCBS 250 GC bullet without GC.its a special order mold and expensive.Best bet would be Accurate molds,he has quite a few heavy designs.