# .357 Magnum load for M608



## DWFan (Apr 23, 2008)

Owners of a Taurus 608 know that the cylinders of their revolvers are a bit longer than most .357's and this can be used to an advantage. I am not going to give out load data here as what works for my weapon may not work in yours and all handloads should worked up to maximum with an eye toward safety. Be that as it may, here's how it goes.

The Hornady 180gr XTP-HP has two crimp grooves. The upper groove is meant for normal loading in the .357 Magnum and the .357 Maximum when used in the Ruger Super Blackhawk. The lower crimp groove is for the .357 Magnum in Freedom Arm's revolvers and the .357 Maximum when used in the Dan Wesson SuperMag.

The 1.29" .357 Magnum case with the Hornady 180gr XTP-HP seated to the lower crimp groove and the 1.415" .360 Dan Wesson case with the same bullet seated to the upper crimp groove have exactly the same overall length of 1.70". What does this mean? It means that the two cartridges have identical case volumes under the bullet so the same load data can be used for both.

What is the cylinder length of the the Taurus M608? *1.70"*"

The present SAAMI maximum for the .357 Magnum is 35,000 psi. The site www.handloads.com has .360 Dan Wesson data using a 180gr bullet that operates at much less than 35,000 psi with velocities above a typical 180gr .357 Magnum load.

Use this infomation as you will and, again, approach maximum loads with caution.


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