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Thread: .360 Buckhammer

  1. #26
    Basic Member Magnum Mike's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by J.Baker View Post
    I never did understand the logic behind the .350 Legend using .355" (9mm) bullets.
    It was all about what is readily available in AR-15 barrels and there was/is a tremendous number of manufacturers of 9mm (.355") barrels whereas there is a complete lack of .357" AR-15 barrels.

    The new 8.6 Blackout, .338" bullets, looks promising. Subsonic 200 - 300 grain bullets will surely bring down a lot of critters with some serious authority!

  2. #27
    Basic Member bootsmcguire's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mjshell View Post
    Boots,
    Having spent my first 22 years in Iowa I commend you on a great perspective on how Iowegions hunt and think. I have two brothers that still live and hunt deer in Iowa. They switched to the 350 legend as soon as it came out.
    Mark
    Thanks, it seemed to be an accurate depiction to me LOL. With that crowd I always seem to be in the spot light as I have always marched to a different beat. When I decided to try my hand at deer hunting I modified a Westernfield 12ga (was a model 12 clone IIRC) that had a 2-3/4 chamber and a 30in barrel. Trimmed it down to 28in to remove the full choke and drilled and tapped the receiver for a 1pc weaver base, mounted a 3x9x40 and shooting plain old Winchester Rifled Slugs I made a 2in group at 150yds. After harvesting deer out to 175yds many of my hunting buddies labeled me the deer sniper. I later modified a Charles Daly semi-auto 12ga in a similar fashion, had a Marlin M55 bolt 12ga in a similar setup, a 60s era Mossberg 20ga bolt gun that I scoped and trimmed down to 18" and made a muzzle brake for it. Then came the special rifle season for a few years and finally got to take my Savage 12FV in 308 to the field for some antlerless management hunts. The buddies were feeling proud with their centerfires and making 200yd shots 'til I got my chances and was harvesting out to almost 500yds. Even now they all have their 350 Legends and I am showing up with my CVA 444 Marlin and my Savage 110 in 375 H&H. Do I build these to show off? No not really, I just enjoy being a bit different and it works for me but they will spend a couple hours every season comparing and doing some metaphorical d!@k measuring but I am usually excluded from such comparisons LOL.

    Quote Originally Posted by J.Baker View Post
    As for the .360 Buckhammer, looks like Federal's answer to the .350 Legend. Big downside is that it's based on the .30-30's rimmed case which means it's not going to be compatible with most of today's most popular rifle platforms.
    Agreed Jim, however it is likely a marketing downside I for one however am glad to see the old lever guns are not left out in the modern straightwall race. Will it flop? Most Likely, but maybe it will bring another viable option for a resurging lever market.

    Quote Originally Posted by J.Baker View Post
    Personally I'd still like to see an updated version of the .375 Winchester cartridge - maybe based off a 7mm Rem Mag case to retain the straight wall? Plenty of good .375cal bullets out there already with higher B.C.'s, and you could even come up with some good subsonic loads with the VLD-style bullets for hunting suppressed.
    I was thinking about something similar on my way home this evening. Maybe like a 350 Rem Mag necked up for a 375 bullet. Should be a nice little thumper.
    204, 22 K-Hornet, 222, 223, 22-250, 22-250AI, 6BR, 243, 243AI, 6-06, 6-WSM, 250-3000AI, 270, 7-08, 7RM, 30BR, 308, 30-06, 375 H&H, 444 Marlin, 450BM, 458WM

  3. #28
    Administrator J.Baker's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bootsmcguire View Post
    Agreed Jim, however it is likely a marketing downside I for one however am glad to see the old lever guns are not left out in the modern straightwall race. Will it flop? Most Likely, but maybe it will bring another viable option for a resurging lever market.


    I was thinking about something similar on my way home this evening. Maybe like a 350 Rem Mag necked up for a 375 bullet. Should be a nice little thumper.
    I'm a big lever gun fan, but this new cartridge just isn't tripping my trigger. I'm getting about 2300fps out of my .375 Win with a 200gr Sierra bullet and it will put three shots in just over an inch at 100 yards when I do my part. If/when the lighter and faster 150gr load comes out for the .360 Buckhammer it might be more appealing, but it's still a low BC round nosed bullet.

    If I can ever manage to catch them in stock I'd really like to try the 250gr Sierra Gameking and maybe the relatively new 250gr Hornady CX bullets. These are sleeker pointed boattail bullets so I'm not sure if they would stabilize in my 94 Big-Bore's 1-12" twist barrel at .375 Win velocities (1900-2000fps). I'd also have to test to see how expand at these lower velocities since both are primarily designed to be used at faster .375 H&H velocities. Another option would be the 255gr Barnes Original designed for the .38-55, but it's a blunt-nosed bullet so not really going to help me extend the usable range of this cartridge.

    And before anyone says anything, yes - I know not to stack pointy nosed bullets in a tubular magazine. However, if I'm only loading one in the pipe and one in the magazine that concern is a non-issue.

    Staying within the straight walled case parameter without having too much or too little body taper is the difficult part when it comes to dreaming up a new cartridge. Starting with a 7mm Rem Mag you have a base body diameter of 0.550" (at least on paper). Given the bullet diameter would be .375" and figuring on about a 0.009" neck wall thickness, the case mouth outer diameter would come out to roughly 0.393" resulting in the case body tapering by roughly 0.157" on the diameter, or 0.0785" on the radius. That's not much body taper and could make extracting a fired case a little more difficult necessitating more mechanical advantage from the primary extraction and/or a more robust extractor arrangement.
    "Life' is tough. It's even tougher if you're stupid." ~ John Wayne
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  4. #29
    Basic Member bootsmcguire's Avatar
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    Jim, all valid points. This 360 may not be the new cat's azz of cartridges but I guess I like the thought behind it. For myself I hadn't really considered a 375 Win just because I was under the impression (unfounded as it could be) that nobody chambered for the 375 Win anymore, and certainly not in a rifle of a price-point that I am willing to throw it on my gun rack of an ATV and carry it through the brush anyways LOL. However staying with the 375 bore would not hurt my feelings, and a lighter duty 375 cartridge (lighter duty than my 375 H&H anyways) would be handy as some of the terrain that I hunt gets the deer up within 75yds which if using my H&H would likely do a fair bit of meat damage. Also at those ranges of 0-125yds the round or flat nose bullets don't bother me just because I would imagine that the gains from a "pointy" bullet would be minimal in that scenario.

    Yeah .157" of diameter difference seems like a mile when figuring that like 444 Marlin case only tapers about .020" when comparing base dia. to mouth dia.

    And I should clarify that my previously mentioned thought of a 350 Rem Mag Necked up to 375 would still have a bottleneck since here in Iowa ATM that bottleneck would be legal for use. Maybe a 375 WSM would be a better fit perhaps....... I dunno just thoughts running through my head lol.

    And maybe I am just too tired this evening where I shouldn't even be thinking up such ideas LOL
    204, 22 K-Hornet, 222, 223, 22-250, 22-250AI, 6BR, 243, 243AI, 6-06, 6-WSM, 250-3000AI, 270, 7-08, 7RM, 30BR, 308, 30-06, 375 H&H, 444 Marlin, 450BM, 458WM

  5. #30
    Administrator J.Baker's Avatar
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    I don't think anyone chambers for the 375 Win anymore. My 94 Big-Bore dates to the early 1980's and predates the angled eject so I can't even put an optic on it. Not that I likely would as I've never cared for the look of an optic on a Winchester or Marlin lever gun. I'd probably opt for a .38-55 if building something on a modern break-action single shot as there's some pretty stout +P load data out there for it now. Basically the same cartridge, but the .375 Win is just a hair shorter to ensure it couldn't be chambered in an older 38-55 rifle due to it's higher pressure. IIRC originally the 38-55 was rated at 32K PSI with black powder and I think the +P loads are around 38k PSI while the 375 Win is 52K PSI.
    "Life' is tough. It's even tougher if you're stupid." ~ John Wayne
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urgent circumstances, desperate circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer.” —Mark Twain

  6. #31
    Basic Member bootsmcguire's Avatar
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    Quite a notable difference in pressure there, I may just have to keep an eye out for one. Never know, somebody may have inherited one and be will to part ways for a reasonable price.
    204, 22 K-Hornet, 222, 223, 22-250, 22-250AI, 6BR, 243, 243AI, 6-06, 6-WSM, 250-3000AI, 270, 7-08, 7RM, 30BR, 308, 30-06, 375 H&H, 444 Marlin, 450BM, 458WM

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    On the subject of state regs, the southern 1/3 of MI. use to be a shot gun only state for deer season except you could use a pistol w/ straight wall cartridge (tapered case is fine) in that same area, then when they recently adopted the straight wall regs to include rifles it got really screwed up. Back in 2007 I bought an Encore pistol to use instead of the 12 ga. The regs. state that it needs to be straight wall (taper is fine) and .35 cal. or larger, so I've been using a .444 Marlin in a 15" barrel since then. Fast forward to the inclusion of rifles in the same area and for rifles they need to be the 1.8" case or smaller. So, you are good to shoot a rifle cartridge as long as it's straight walled and fired from a pistol, but you have to use a pistol cartridge (1.8" or shorter case) from a rifle. Love these politicians.

  8. #33
    Basic Member BT's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gman628 View Post
    On the subject of state regs, the southern 1/3 of MI. use to be a shot gun only state for deer season except you could use a pistol w/ straight wall cartridge (tapered case is fine) in that same area, then when they recently adopted the straight wall regs to include rifles it got really screwed up. Back in 2007 I bought an Encore pistol to use instead of the 12 ga. The regs. state that it needs to be straight wall (taper is fine) and .35 cal. or larger, so I've been using a .444 Marlin in a 15" barrel since then. Fast forward to the inclusion of rifles in the same area and for rifles they need to be the 1.8" case or smaller. So, you are good to shoot a rifle cartridge as long as it's straight walled and fired from a pistol, but you have to use a pistol cartridge (1.8" or shorter case) from a rifle. Love these politicians.
    Wow! How frustrating and senseless.

  9. #34
    Basic Member bootsmcguire's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gman628 View Post
    On the subject of state regs, the southern 1/3 of MI. use to be a shot gun only state for deer season except you could use a pistol w/ straight wall cartridge (tapered case is fine) in that same area, then when they recently adopted the straight wall regs to include rifles it got really screwed up. Back in 2007 I bought an Encore pistol to use instead of the 12 ga. The regs. state that it needs to be straight wall (taper is fine) and .35 cal. or larger, so I've been using a .444 Marlin in a 15" barrel since then. Fast forward to the inclusion of rifles in the same area and for rifles they need to be the 1.8" case or smaller. So, you are good to shoot a rifle cartridge as long as it's straight walled and fired from a pistol, but you have to use a pistol cartridge (1.8" or shorter case) from a rifle. Love these politicians.
    It was the same here for the first couple of years, and then they just opened it up. Decades before that we could use pistols from a specific list of cartridges ranging from the 357 mag up to 444 and 45-70. Never understood that one, use a TC or a Striker and could get rifle level performance. Oh well they basically fixed it now. Hope y'all up there get it more straightened out in time.
    204, 22 K-Hornet, 222, 223, 22-250, 22-250AI, 6BR, 243, 243AI, 6-06, 6-WSM, 250-3000AI, 270, 7-08, 7RM, 30BR, 308, 30-06, 375 H&H, 444 Marlin, 450BM, 458WM

  10. #35
    Team Savage Stumpkiller's Avatar
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    I was actually astonished when my local management unit in upstate NY opened the legal implements to "any centerfire rifle". We had been shotgun slug only for living memory. This was a great win for hunters . . . though with the Hornady SST slugs and Hastings rifled barrel w/4X scope I had been using in my 11-87 it didn't open much additional practical usage is was well covered to 150 yards with 2" five-shot groups. Still, I am more comfortable with an accurate (and lighter) Savage rifle and proven bullets and added accuracy out to 400 yards. Though I have yet to exceed 160 yards on whitetail.
    "They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance." Last words of Gen. Sedgwik

  11. #36
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    Does anybody know for sure if the Buckhammer is going to be safe for original Contender frames? I assume it is since they list the operating pressure as 50 K PSI. The 375 Win. is listed at 55 K PSI. Sure would hate to get one and stretch a frame.

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    The 375 Win is borderline in the Contender. I have never fired a factory round in mine and load them conservatively, all 4 of them are factory TC barrels. If I were going to order a barrel I would go with the Encore. If TC was still in business we could for sure expect to see barrels in the standard factory line up for both pistol and rifle by the fall hunting season. Thanks a lot Greg Ritz and S&W for intentionally destroying a great company.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Iowa Fox View Post
    The 375 Win is borderline in the Contender. I have never fired a factory round in mine and load them conservatively, all 4 of them are factory TC barrels. If I were going to order a barrel I would go with the Encore. If TC was still in business we could for sure expect to see barrels in the standard factory line up for both pistol and rifle by the fall hunting season. Thanks a lot Greg Ritz and S&W for intentionally destroying a great company.
    I was thinking that it would be best to keep loads no hotter than middle of the road. Definitely wouldn't want to hotrod it in an orig. frame.

  14. #39
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    BTW, I was looking at the 355 GNR and they look very similar ballistically. Anybody here have any experience with one.

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    In an original Contender, I would go with the 357 Max for a 14" or longer and a 360 Dan Wesson for 10".

    In a G2 or Encore carbine/rifle, the 360 BH is probably a better choice for most uses.

  16. #41
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    I am very interested in this, but not for the cartridge itself. The possibility of using the unprimed brass has my attention.

    A case of 1.8" with a 30-30-sized rim is good news for folks who'll wildcat it in into other cartridges. Take the 6.5 Bullberry IMP, for example. Necking down in a full-length die will render a case that needs little to no actual fireforming since a shoulder won't have to be blown forward as with conventional 30-30 brass. Then, too, the brass should finish up near the proper length and negate the need of heavy trimming chores.

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    The 38-55 and 375 Winchester both popped into my mind
    Too. They could have saved some development money
    By just using a 375 Winchester and changing the name on the Headstamp
    To something catchy like ​.375 BANGFLOP. Or maybe 38/55 DIRTNAP. ​ They would sell like crazy!

  18. #43
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    Quote Originally Posted by Outdoors1968 View Post
    The 38-55 and 375 Winchester both popped into my mind
    Too. They could have saved some development money
    By just using a 375 Winchester and changing the name on the Headstamp
    To something catchy like ​.375 BANGFLOP. Or maybe 38/55 DIRTNAP. ​ They would sell like crazy!
    LOL sounds better than 360 Buckhamburger.

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    360 Buckhammer is a complete waste of time to me. Maybe it I really wanted a lever gun. It it a good round, but rimmed rounds have too limited of gun choice.

    The key to the 350 Legend is its application to AR15 and bolt actions with pointed or semi-pointed rounds. 360 B is not going to encroach on that market….and THAT is the new straight wall market.

  20. #45
    Team Savage BobT's Avatar
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    Got an email from Mike Bellm yesterday, he has a .360 Buckhammer reamer and is ready to cut chambers.
    It's better to shoot for the moon and hit the fencepost than to shoot for the fencepost and hit the ground!

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    Funny thing about that ledgend crt. specs are about what the original 357 max was before big green modified by shortning it up. Right now I can't remember the gentlemans name that came up with it but that was back in early era of pistol silly-wet. rem. carved .1" off the original and called it the 357 maxium. ruger was involved with this as well. Then came the gas etching of the top strap on revolvers- blown out of proportion which more less spelled a death bell for it. yes it was happening but no where near what various publications were claiming. heck all revolvers experience top strap gas etching- nature of the beast.

  22. #47
    Basic Member Magnum Mike's Avatar
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    The reason for the use of .355" diameter was the fact that AR15 barrels already existed for 9mm, that is what prompted them to use that diameter for the Legend.

    As a side note, we have Redding dies in stock for the 360 Buckhammer.

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    My thoughts exactly. Must have been prompted by the firearms manufacturers that can capitalize on a rimmed case.

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    I suppose from the perspective of the newer hunter I can appreciate the some of the excitement. As a Marlin owner, TC shooter, handloader and bullet caster sitting on a mountain of 35 Rem brass, bullets and molds it seems like I already have one.

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    TC, 35Rem, Poor man's Herrit -- that is what we used to call it. 180 or 200 gr pills knocked those rams over real well- 14" TC barrel

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