.357 magnum rounds run into the same problems that .22 magnums run into. The length of the case, combined with the case rim, make them very problematic in so far as feeding reliability is concerned.
To expand on Carver's explanation, rimmed cartridges do not work well in vertical magazines (like you would find in a normal auto pistol). Because of the rim, the shell does not lay flat, but points slightly downward. And the cartridges have to be stacked in a slanted position, so that the rim of #2 is in front of the rim of #1, and the rim of #3 is in front of the rim of #2, etc. If it is not designed like that, the rims can lock and jam the gun.
With a 22, with a cartridge an inch long, that's not too bad, but the longer the cartridge, the correspondingly longer the magazine has to be to hold it, and the longer the pistol grip has to be to take the magazine. With a 357-length round, the grip is now too large for many people to hold comfortably.
With a rifle, you don't have the "size problem" that you would with a pistol, but you still have the "rims problem". Ruger solved that by using a rotary magazine. I suppose they could make a 357 auto rifle if they wished.
But I think that mainly no one makes one because they don't see the demand for one. Takes a lot of money to bring out a new gun. If they only sell a few, or even a few thousand, they lost money on the project. Losing money is always bad.
To expand on Carver's explanation, rimmed cartridges do not work well in vertical magazines (like you would find in a normal auto pistol). Because of the rim, the shell does not lay flat, but points slightly downward. And the cartridges have to be stacked in a slanted position, so that the rim of #2 is in front of the rim of #1, and the rim of #3 is in front of the rim of #2, etc. If it is not designed like that, the rims can lock and jam the gun.
Well stated Alpo! Even with the rotary magazine, which was a big help in designing a semi-auto rifle, or pistol in the .22 magnum caliber, there were other problems that we run into. Ruger tried to produce a .22 magnum semi-auto rifle, but gave up on it. They had good reasons, and their legal advisers could explain them to you a whole lot better than I can.
While all that is true the S&W 52 uses rimmed 38 Special ammo with no problem at all. But.....
The ammo is a wad cutter hollow base bullet pushed all the way into the case, just below flush, and the case is crimped over the edge of the top of the bullet. Mine feeds this ammo perfectly.
There were also versions of the Colt 1911 custom made for 38 Special wad cutter ammo too, I believe, at the peak of the Bullseye Target shooting craze of the 1950's and 1960's.
As stated above the Coonan and the Desert Eagle had or have(??) 357Mag version guns. I lusted after both these guns but never bought one because one never showed up where I bought guns.
The blunt nose and big rim of the 357 round are actually advantages in a tubular magazine. There was a pump-action rifle called the Timberwolf made that way, and a number of Winchester-lever-action style rifles, but no semi-auto I can think of.
I think that once you get into cartridges too powerful to handle in a blowback action, semi-autos get way more difficult and expensive to make than lever or bolt guns. I don't know enough about manufacturing to really say, though.
Maybe there just isn't much point to 357 Magnum rifles outside of cowboy action shooting. The Timberwolf didn't last very long. IIRC, even 30 Carbine is substantially more powerful than 357 Magnum when both are fired from rifles. (30 Carbine is 1,200 ft-lbs from a rifle? And 357 Magnum is 500 ft-lbs from a pistol? So unless firing 357 Magnum from rifle more than doubles its power, 30 Carbine has the edge.)
My dad has a black Desert Eagle in .357 Mag. Of course I used to prefer shooting his Lone Eagle pistol in .30-06. It was ported so as you can imagine it turned lots of heads at the range when fired.
I love my Coonan with the 6" barrel. It never misses a beat. Being able to shoot 38 specials by just changing a spring is nice also. It complements my Marlin and Python too.
Another note about the model 52 Smith & Wesson and the Colt National Match - both chambered in .38 Special - is the magazines are designed to hold only five rounds. They do 'angle' in the magazine, but with five rounds it doesn't get in the way of magazine shape or function.
Unlike the thirty round magazines of a AK 47, for instance.
[QUOTE=" Losing money is always bad. [/QUOTE]
Not to the US government
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