I bought a .357 Magnum BF some time back which is marked "Match" on the barrel. Trouble is that it won't take any load that has a 0.358" bullet!
Which would indicate that ammo with 0.357" bullets have only 0.001" clearance or less. Brass thickness seems fairly consistent between brands and lots on hand at the case mouth, running 0.009" or 0.010".

I'd rather run heavier bullets, which are usually 0.358", but I'm not sure if case neck turning is a viable option for a straight walled round. It's probably been 20 years since i turned ANY case necks, for that matter, and only then to get uniform thickness.

For safety I seem to recall that about 0.002" minimum clearance is usual to avoid unwanted pressure spikes.

Anybody have any experience with a .357 BF or tight chambers in .357?

Jmoore
PM sent
Melvin

I've found both 0.355" and 0.358" pilots for my old Forster case neck turner, so we'll see how that does.

Lapping the chamber is a distant second option at this point. Last time I did that was with a Type 99 Japanese LMG that I was converting to 7,62x39 for a fellow I knew. Took ages! He seemed too like it, though. (The cylindrical chamber insert made from an AK barrel had a bit too much pinch, so the heavy LMG barrel shrank the chamber just enough to be troublesome. The insert stayed put, however!)

What brass are you using ?? This was a different animal, but we had a shooter who bought a EABCO TC barrel in 357 Magnum "Match" . The only brass that he could use was Remington, because the wall thickness was a bit thinner. WW, Starline and Federal would not chamber a loaded round ! (I do not think that he could use .358 bullets in it at all ! He ended up using Hornady 158 XTP's - and it was a "40" shooter.

braud357 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 22, 2023 9:06 am What brass are you using ?? This was a different animal, but we had a shooter who bought a EABCO TC barrel in 357 Magnum "Match" . The only brass that he could use was Remington, because the wall thickness was a bit thinner. WW, Starline and Federal would not chamber a loaded round ! (I do not think that he could use .358 bullets in it at all ! He ended up using Hornady 158 XTP's - and it was a "40" shooter.

The same reamer was probably used on that EABCO TC barrel that was used on the BF357

Jmoore
Here is a pic of the .358 Forster inside reamer.couldn’t get it to post on the PM