AEA .357 CHALLENGER STANDARD BIG BORE W/SIDE LEAVER

[Aetheral-Sniper]

Maybe those AEA have a true 9mm barrel and that is why they like these smaller calibers ?

I had a ton of .357s in the past decade and a half, still have 3 and the .358 has always been the way to go, and so the .360 roundball from Ballistic Product ( 000 lead buckshot ) 8# jar for 30 some bucks,....awesome

yeah well i am working on that .358 situation the airgun says .355-356 on the side/ and quite frankly i dont wish to mess up this wonderful air rifle so i am figureing it out slow and persistently thank you for opening my mind to what you know.

 

[Aetheral-Sniper]

This was a order i got from NSA 110 gr HP-DB, 35 Cal - 100 / 358 I know use only slugs from horseshoemtncasting on E-Bay check him out, there as good as any hands down.

hmmm 110gr, yeah bet thayt was safe to try. they shot? how did they sound as they travel down the barrel? no issues with the dony fl? if all those are good a thumbs up will suffice ill order the lead and try it. course i want those 180gr and 220gr gt bullets has. and i dream about the 245gr there at gt bullets it is .358

 

[357cal]

hmmm 110gr, yeah bet thayt was safe to try. they shot? how did they sound as they travel down the barrel? no issues with the dony fl? if all those are good a thumbs up will suffice ill order the lead and try it. course i want those 180gr and 220gr gt bullets has. and i dream about the 245gr there at gt bullets it is .358

hmmm 110gr, yeah bet thayt was safe to try. they shot? how did they sound as they travel down the barrel? no issues with the dony fl? if all those are good a thumbs up will suffice ill order the lead and try it. course i want those 180gr and 220gr gt bullets has. and i dream about the 245gr there at gt bullets it is .358

This is what i ended up with on 110 gr.

 

[Aetheral-Sniper]

thanks, guess i was asking you if those shot well in our air guns in your opinion? because id rather not be the first to try that caliber. smirks.but that 110 gr does not sound as dangerous as the ones i wanna try, but it may be a good idea for me to get some 125gr in .358 and shoot them since i shoot 125 already in .356..

that way it wouldnt be wasted money for me and if they dont fit i can swage them smaller later. so thanks for helping me decide on a plan ..

 

[357cal]

thanks, guess i was asking you if those shot well in our air guns in your opinion? because id rather not be the first to try that caliber. smirks.but that 110 gr does not sound as dangerous as the ones i wanna try, but it may be a good idea for me to get some 125gr in .358 and shoot them since i shoot 125 already in .356..

that way it wouldnt be wasted money for me and if they dont fit i can swage them smaller later. so thanks for helping me decide on a plan ..

Dose your have the 3 washers for more tension on the hammer spring and a 4500 fill rate?

 

[Scotay42]

Flanigans 163g hp .356 cal slugs. Works best for benji bulldog and .357 aea. 300fpe at 3000psi on big bore 9 and 200 fpe with bulldog.

 

[357cal]

I have chronograph heaver slugs,

 

[Outer_Rondacker]

I have over a dozen molds for .357 and half a dozen for .355. About 2 tons lead sitting around. I was wondering if you guys could give me a honest opinion on the AEA big bore in 9mm/357. Is it worth the money. Honestly I am shooting steel at ranges from 30yrds to 160yrds. I have targets set up in the yard and .22 is getting old. Not to mention I can not afford a FX or any other 2k gun. I have PBs of all shapes and sizes for that.

Here is my questions, How loud is this? I shoot airguns so I do not need to HEAR the bang. Secondly I only wish to cast bullets for this gun and well after reading this entire thread I feel this is the route I should take. Can the side lever be moved to the left? Do you have a place to recommend to purchase one from? Any sales this weekend? Thanks and sorry to derail this but not much info out there.

 

[357cal]

I have over a dozen molds for .357 and half a dozen for .355. About 2 tons lead sitting around. I was wondering if you guys could give me a honest opinion on the AEA big bore in 9mm/357. Is it worth the money. Honestly I am shooting steel at ranges from 30yrds to 160yrds. I have targets set up in the yard and .22 is getting old. Not to mention I can not afford a FX or any other 2k gun. I have PBs of all shapes and sizes for that.

Here is my questions, How loud is this? I shoot airguns so I do not need to HEAR the bang. Secondly I only wish to cast bullets for this gun and well after reading this entire thread I feel this is the route I should take. Can the side lever be moved to the left? Do you have a place to recommend to purchase one from? Any sales this weekend? Thanks and sorry to derail this but not much info out there.

I think all big bores are going to be loud un lee you have a good moderator. should be able to make ammo for it. ITS GOT SOME POWER for a 357!!! the side lever cant be moved, i shoot lefty and i have zero problems. Terry Fox https://foxairpower.com/collections/aea-air-guns., I LOVE mine!!. I do have to say when i first got mine,, it came with a power kick (3 washer) and 4500 fill. I had taken out one of the washers, I thought it made the trigger to stiff, after someone here said, have you lubed the trigger? did that, replaced washer and WOW, more power and the trigger is a lot better!

 

[Outer_Rondacker]

Thank you 357cal. I should have asked how loud it was with a decent moderator. I see the bullpup is shrouded as the bigbore standard is not. Not sure I want a bullpup. I am looking for max power and shots as we all are but I also would like to not have hearing protection on. I will check out Foxairpower. Thanks

 

[Ironman482]

You don't have to worry about the rd balls falling into the transfer port , AEA uses a radial port , just a groove around the OD of the barrel with 5 or 6 small holes drilled in the groove ,I've chamfered these holes to improve air flow ( I hope ) but they are small ,around 1/8 inch so no way anything is going to fall through them

 

[357cal]

Thank you 357cal. I should have asked how loud it was with a decent moderator. I see the bullpup is shrouded as the bigbore standard is not. Not sure I want a bullpup. I am looking for max power and shots as we all are but I also would like to not have hearing protection on. I will check out Foxairpower. Thanks

Your welcomed, and good luck on finding a big bore that fills your need, let me know what you end up getting please?

 

[dragon0053]

you know, it really depends on which round ball you are trying to use.
if you try to put that .358 round ball in there i think it may not work so well for you.
but there are molds for .356round ball that will work fine. and yeah i agree with the archer , the gun just aint made that way. the 200 templars from ksi are wonderful and spit out smooth.i have not tried the lead from gt bullets yet.

The GT 88 grain hollow points group really well and I can actually hit soda cans at 100 yards repeatedly using the pro model. Anything over 105 grains has to be hand loaded and 120 grain shoots at 865 ft per second with 12 g of added weight to the Hammer. Deer season is gone so I reduced the regulator to 2500 PSI. I did have it cranked up to over 210 ft pounds but now I'm staying around 185. Raccoons hate me

 

[dragon0053]

hmmm 110gr, yeah bet thayt was safe to try. they shot? how did they sound as they travel down the barrel? no issues with the dony fl? if all those are good a thumbs up will suffice ill order the lead and try it. course i want those 180gr and 220gr gt bullets has. and i dream about the 245gr there at gt bullets it is .358

358 work but you're better with 356 or 7 so buy yourself a Lee sizing die for 357.
When I order from a large vendor I get 356 and when I make my own I size them to 357 because that's the sizer I have on my press. I even shoot hard cast 9mm round nose bullets well.
Shooting into a pail full of wet rags with the power down low I can measure the projectile with micrometers. 356 !
The bullpup is easier to carry and has exactly the same barrel and action just a different stock and trigger. Both are 24 inch barrel.

 

[dragon0053]

Thank you 357cal. I should have asked how loud it was with a decent moderator. I see the bullpup is shrouded as the bigbore standard is not. Not sure I want a bullpup. I am looking for max power and shots as we all are but I also would like to not have hearing protection on. I will check out Foxairpower. Thanks

I did have some problems with Fox air power and I bought my gun from thepelletshop.com .
I never could get a hold of Terry Fox but I can get a hold of the vendor at thepelletshop! You don't have to have a moderator but it is definitely nice on the ears to have one even though it's not like a powder burner!
I think there may be a benefit to getting a bullpup with the same barrel and action as the long rifle. I got the pro model with a regulator and modified it for over 200 ft pounds. If I was only going to use it for hunting a bullpup would make a lot of sense.

 

[357cal]

you know, it really depends on which round ball you are trying to use.
if you try to put that .358 round ball in there i think it may not work so well for you.
but there are molds for .356round ball that will work fine. and yeah i agree with the archer , the gun just aint made that way. the 200 templars from ksi are wonderful and spit out smooth.i have not tried the lead from gt bullets yet.

I really don't have the need to use round ball. I use either 125 or 130 gr solids. I have great range and killing power.

 

[357cal]

358 work but you're better with 356 or 7 so buy yourself a Lee sizing die for 357.
When I order from a large vendor I get 356 and when I make my own I size them to 357 because that's the sizer I have on my press. I even shoot hard cast 9mm round nose bullets well.
Shooting into a pail full of wet rags with the power down low I can measure the projectile with micrometers. 356 !
The bullpup is easier to carry and has exactly the same barrel and action just a different stock and trigger. Both are 24 inch barrel.

My 357 big bore has a 30 inch barrel that's why there is a power difference.

 

[Outer_Rondacker]

From what I read the 30 inch barrel is the way to go. Just saying..

 

[357cal]

From what I read the 30 inch barrel is the way to go. Just saying..

Far as power it is but, the dam thing is heavy! I shoot it from a portable table or a tripod. I use it mostly for hunting. Oh and i do have the 4500 fill rate and the 3 washers installed from the factory.

 

[Aetheral-Sniper]

hmmm 110gr, yeah bet thayt was safe to try. they shot? how did they sound as they travel down the barrel? no issues with the dony fl? if all those are good a thumbs up will suffice ill order the lead and try it. course i want those 180gr and 220gr gt bullets has. and i dream about the 245gr there at gt bullets it is .358

till this date i have not shot larger than .357 out of my standard buig bore. but i think it would shoot it regardless , just might lead the barrel a bit.
i have integrally suppressed mine and taken the external suppressor completely off. i used a dony a101 adapter and a threaded end cap from a benjui trail .25cal connected to that and a dony a99 converting it from 1/2 x 290unf to m14 female and i attached that to my big bore. just a buit of j b weld steel stick to hold the benji to the dony a101 and it is heavy duty and works as an air stripper and i add the aluminum shroud and my personal baffles and it shoots fine and is backyard friendly enough. wish i could do the same for my 51 cal but it puts out too much air.