[megatronrules]

125 grain maybe? Any particular brand? Thanks.

[Robert inOregon]

They all hurt! Just pick one that functions reliably in your gun.

[bpisler]

I think it depends more on the shooter than the gun.They must be accurate and quick with whatever load they chose.Full power loads like 125gr HP's from federal,winchester or remington are great performers but have plenty of muzzle blast and recoil.Reduced 357's like the 125gr golden sabres or the 130 hydroshock
offer better performance than 38spl +P's without the noise and recoil of full power 357's.I tried a few and ended up with 125gr golden sabres in my 3" 65-3,in my 3" 60-15 i carry 158gr LSWC+P's cause i haven't found a 357 load i like.

[braindead0]

Depends on situation. For home defense, the lighter bullets would have a lesser tendancy to overpenetrate. By the same token, if you have to shoot through cover (glass for example) a heavier bullet would have less tendancy to deflect...

When I go camping, I carry 180gr XTP's loaded pretty hot. Granted, a .357 isn't the caliber of choice for bears.. but just in case, these load levels have proven effective (breakin' bones). Never plan on having to use them (I've had hundreds of run-ins with bears, all settled peacefull), but just in case.

[Whit]

When I carried a GP-100 I got used to , and liked the 158 gr. Hydra-Shoks, now that I carry a Smith 640, I spent about $75 on more 158 grainers and they're still my carry load. Some people think that the gun will recoil too much but I practice alot. My follow up shots are still fairly quick. The biggest thing, I would say, is hold on to the darn gun (it's not an egg). ......Whit

[DeltaElite]

I think the Gold Dots are purdy. :D

[TheFrontRange]

I liked 110-grain JHPs in my Model 19s and 66s in both 2-1/2 and 4-inch trim...so if I had a 3-incher, that's what I'd use!

If you're interested, I think Winchester offers this load in their USA "white box" brand, plus I've seen the same load by Remington. It's a fast-mover but easier in the recoil and muzzle blast department than the 125ers, at least in my experience.

[bpisler]

Cor-bon also loads a 110gr jhp to 1500fps with little flash.There's lots of loads to pick from,try a few and see which one works best for you.

[Dr.Who]

For Home protection.... The biggest heaviest .357 Mag Hollow Point round that will shoot reliably in my gun. (Factory Round) You may only get one shot... Make it count! :evil: Enjoy

[Abner]

I thought that megatron was a walther p38? ;)

I carry Winchester white box 110 grain .357 in my 3" M65. According to my "out the back door at night" meter, they have less flash than the Federal 110 gr loads and are cheap enough to practice a bunch with them. When it gets warmer outside I'm going to chrono the Winchester load but would guess that you loose ~60 fps on the claimed 1295 fps.
I shot the full house 125s and the federal pers def 130 which kick too much for me. The Rem Golden Sabres recoil like the Winchester 110s but I can get 50 Winchesters for less than 20 Remingtons.

[gumshoe4]

Until recently, I loaded .38 +P Gold Dots in my SP101, because the 110 grain mag loads gave too much recoil and muzzle flash, resulting in poor recovery times.

I just discovered the Remington 125-grain Medium Velocity mag loads. For me, these are much better than the 110-grain mag loads in this gun and have replaced the .38 +P loads for defense in the SP101.

Bob
TFL# 8032

[Mannlicher]

I am building a load for my Model 65, that is off at the factory for a new three inch heavy barrel. I am testing in my 4 inch Mod. 19. I have decided on either the 140 grain Speer JHP, or the 146 grain Speer JHPSWC. I have had really good luck in years past with the 146 grain.

My old load with that bullet was 7.5 grains of Unique for about 1200 fps from a 4 inch Smith. With the 140, I think I will get about the same. The accuracy still needs to be determined in the new Mod 65 barrel. I have seen good results with H110 also.

A second choice would be the 160 grain Speer JSP SWC, with the same powders. I anticipate about 1100 fps with H110 powder.

Whichever shoots best, will be the new load. It may well turn out to be the heavier bullet choice.

[WonderNine]

gumshoe, I've shot several hundred rounds of the medium velocity Remingtons. They are loaded exactly the same as the 125gr. Golden Sabers. I'd go so far as to call them the poor man's Golden Saber.

I recommend 125gr. Golden Sabers for all short barreled .357's. The noise level is definately lower which is the biggest plus in my book. My ears just can't handle full house .357's out of a short barrel at the range, I can't imagine having to fire one indoors or in an alley.

[twoblink]

125 grain JHP will do you well..

Try a few different ones, I have found some guns "digest" certain brands better then others.

Whatever is most reliable. If you are going to shoot a perp with it, don't worry, whatever 125 grain, they will feel it.... Reliability first.

[V-fib]

The win "white box" 110gr. jhp's fire nicely out of my 3" Sp101.
They have less recoil and for me that means more control for follow up shots. :cool:

[LIProgun]

Winchester 145 grain Silvertip HP is my preference. I also like the Rem 125 grain Golden Saber. IIRC, the Rem medium-velocity 125 grain SJHP load referenced by WonderNine are discontinued.

[WonderNine]

Winchester 145 grain Silvertip HP is my preference. I also like the Rem 125 grain Golden Saber. IIRC, the Rem medium-velocity 125 grain SJHP load referenced by WonderNine are discontinued.

What??? I just bought some yesterday! When did they decide to discontinue it??? That's my favorite round!!!! Noooooo!!!!

I better stock up.

[Dr.Rob]

I always liked the heavier bullets-the 158 gr variety. Federal and Speer both made a good "heavy" load. I like hydrashocks, but just about anything launched at 357 velocity with a hollowpoint ought to do the job.

I have a buddy who uses the 148gr silvertip exclusively.

We both shoot what seems to be the most accurate load for each of us.

Try a bunch of different loads.

[Quantrill]

From an old timer; the original Elmer Keith .357 load is still one of the top (I think it is the top) loads for the .357. 168gr Keith semi-wad cutter (358429 Lyman) with 13gr of 2400 powder. Elmer said 13.5 but I hear 2400 has gotten a little faster lately. Quantrill

[Dave T]

Quantrill,

Found out many years ago that load won't work in Model 27s or 28s if crimped in the crimping groove. Cylinder is too short. They will load in a Model 19 but kick like heck in the K-Frame. Best shooting (for fun) is in a Ruger Blackhawk - preferably a three screw!

[WonderNine]

Guys, I also much prefer 158 grain in a 5" or longer revolver, but for CCW in a short barreled gun.....125 grain Golden Saber are BY FAR the best choice in my experience. I still can't believe they discontinued them. This is hard for me to believe. And a very dumb marketing decision IMO.

[Tamara]

I've got, um, let's see...

*rummage* *shuffle*

...125gr Gold Dots in the 3" K-frame, and 158gr Deerstoppers in the 3" N-frame. (But I'm pretty sure the stuff in the N-frame was picked more for its loudenboomer factor while plinking than to use for CCW...)

[Gary A]

Wondernine - I thought it was the older medium velocity 125 grain load, not the newer Golden Saber, that they discontinued. They were both loaded to the same specs. Of course, GS is the more expensive of the two.

[Brian Williams]

158 gr LSWC over 6.5 grs win 231, fed primers, pmc 357 cases in my S&W 13 3".
158 gr LSWC over 4.5 grs win 231, fed primers, win 38 spec cases in S&W 60 3"

[WonderNine]

Wondernine - I thought it was the older medium velocity 125 grain load, not the newer Golden Saber, that they discontinued

I think you're right, because all of the Medium velocity Remington .357's I've shot were in old boxes. Looked like about 15 years old.

And yes they are loaded to identical specs.

The GS's are more expensive because they have the GS bullet, other than that, I believe the quality of the MV and GS's is identical. Really, this doesn't warrant the 2 times and + price difference over the old Medium Velocity. Perhaps there is more difference than just the bullet. Do the Golden Sabers use a more reliable primer or powder than the MV's? Are they subject to higher quality control? I doubt it.

All the Medium Velocity Remingtons I've shot were soft points.

[LIProgun]

I wrote "... the Rem medium-velocity 125 grain SJHP load referenced by WonderNine are discontinued." Just to be clear, I didn't write that the Golden Saber was discontined. Don't accuse me of starting vicious rumors! ;)

I think the med-vel 125 SJHP was discontinued at least 5 years ago. A quick check of the Rem web site confirms no such load catalogued. Of course, the .357 125 Golden Saber is still catalogued.

WonderNine, when you say they were all "soft points," do you mean a true soft point (no hollow point), or the partially exposed lead tip with the hollow point that Remington calls its "semi-jacketed HP"?

[WonderNine]

I also like the Rem 125 grain Golden Saber. IIRC, the Rem medium-velocity 125 grain SJHP load referenced by WonderNine are discontinued.

Sorry Progun, for some reason I thought you were referring to the Golden Sabers, not the Medium Velocity Remingtons. I read your original post wrong.

Yes, I believe you're right as I have not seen any Medium Velocity Remingtons in boxes that looked newer than from the Reagan years. Although I've shot quite a few in the last year...

They were very good quality.

[WonderNine]

WonderNine, when you say they were all "soft points," do you mean a true soft point (no hollow point), or the partially exposed lead tip with the hollow point that Remington calls its "semi-jacketed HP"?

I shot quite a few of them. About 250 or so, but that was last fall.

I'm almost 99% sure that it was a true softpoint, not a "semi-jacketed HP", but I'm not totally sure. I don't believe they had any hollowpoint of any kind. I should check my local gunstore to see if they have any more boxes left, but I think I bought all of them....

As I said the boxes looked pretty old like mid eighties old, so they may have produced SJHP's later on????

[craigz]

I chronographed three loads through my 2 1/8" Model 60 today. Proload .38 Special 125 gr +P averaged 973.5 fps. Proload .357 125 gr Tactical Lite averaged 1142. Proload .357 125 gr averaged 1294.

What is interesting about these results is that the difference in recoil/report/flash between the .38 and the .357 Lite was much less than the difference between the .357 Lite and the fullhouse .357, despite there being a greater difference in speed between the two lighter loads.

Seeing as how this is my stick-in-a-pocket-while-hanging-around-the-house gun, I'm going with the .357 Lite, because I stand a better chance of retaining what hearing I have left if I should ever have to fire it indoors, as compared to the faster .357 load.

[WESHOOT2]

Suggest Federal 'real-deal' 125g JHP as most effective, with the other brands within a percentage point.

I would not consider a 180g JHP @ 1200fps an ideal civilian defense load.
I consider a 125g JHP at significant speed the correct choice.

[ChristopherG]

In both of my 357s (a 2" and a 4"), nothing in 125 gr is nearly as accurate as a 158 gr JHP. Is this just my guns? I've heard at least some others express similar experience. In light of these experiences, I find it a bit strange that accuracy so rarely emerges as an issue in these 'best .38/.357 load' discussions. I mean, if the primary advantage of a 125 gr. JHP is that it will expand 1 or 2 tenths of an inch more than a 158 gr. bullet, but the 158 gr. will hit 3 or 4 inches closer to the point of aim, is there really any question about which is a better load? I've honestly tried to get my .357s to like a light load, but they just spit them right out. Comments?
cg

[WESHOOT2]

Get better gun?

[ChristopherG]

Ah, one might think so, but no. Both S&Ws, both capable of good accuracy. Just not with light bullets.

[WESHOOT2]

Get better light-bullet gun?

[Gordon]

Corbon hard cast 200grain wide flat point .357 chrongraphed 1150 from 3" and should go thru anything and keep going. Good .357 bear load or animal dispatch load when rifle hunting.