HOT .357 Magnum Factory Ammo Question

[Ala Dan]

Quite simply, which is (and whose brand) is the hottest
commerically available ammo? I know that all of the 125
grain .357 factory rounds are "smokers"; but where do
the major manufactuer's fall, starting with #1 being the
hottest.

Question #2- where would the 158 grain JHP as made
by Smith & Wesson (sorry, can't recall the other name ?)
fit into the equation? Seems like it is pretty darn HOT in
its own right.

Thanks in advance for all opinion's and reply's!

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member

 

[PO2Hammer]

Federal and Remington 125 gr. JHP's are probably the hottest run of the mill load (at least if you go by energy).
Corbon makes a smokin' 180 gr. softpoint that is amazing. it's in their hunting lineup. I forget the velocity, but it's way above any other 180 gr. load, including my personal favorite- Winchesters 180 gr. Supreme Nosler Partition Gold. I think it beats out most 158 gr. loads too.
It may not have the energy of hot 125's, but in momentum, nothing touches it. The heavier loads carry their velocity and accuracy better at longer ranges, so that mabey by 100 yards the heavier bullets have more energy as well.
Mabey the new Buffalo Bore loads in .357 are up there with the Corbon load.
Federal 158 gr. JHP/JSP's are tops in that weight.
For me the heavier the better. In my Marlin or in my Python, the 180's shoot way better at distance (100 yds), and if you look at the ballistic tables, start to look a lot better than the 125's or the 158's.

 

[LeonCarr]

Fiocchi makes a .357 Magnum 142 Truncated Cone FMJ that is awesome. Mucho Gusto Power .

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[who me]

I thought the Winchester winclean 125gr JSP was pretty hot.

 

[PO2Hammer]

Yeah that's right, 125 Winclean is HOT!. I really hate shooting out of a revolver, the muzzle blast is awful. Even with a 6" barrel, the fireball is huge and my face gets perlted with unburned powder. In a carbine you can really feel the recoil.
I bought a case of it when I had a Desert Eagle, to help keep the gas system clean, and finally finished it off last year.
I'll never buy it again. 180's are much more pleasant to shoot.

 

[Boats]

What the heck is meant by hottest? If it means fastest projectile that probably is some 110gr loading. If it means most impressively wasted energy in the form of a useless fireball again that is probably a 110 or 125. If it means hardest hitting that honor most likely belongs to a 158 or 180 grain loading or some specialty loading from Cor-Bon or Buffalo Bore.

Whatever the answer is, I have found this to be of interest:
Terminal Performance Comparisons in .357 Magnum

For self-defense I stay with the .45 ACP for a variety of reasons, the foremost being Gold Dots.

 

[Tropical Z]

Fiocchi is really a smokin round.Ive used it in my Windicators and a friends S&W.You know it when that trigger trips!

 

[Blueduck]

Most major companies 125's are faster than their 110's. Not sure about wasted energy. Heard several folks who use 357 carbines say the 125 grain bullet in hot rounds are great for varmints they shoot. YMMV

I'd vote for Buffalo Bore ammo hands down. Velocities on website have been confirmed by several posters on other forums, while winchester and Fed generally seem to fall short by a bit to lot in the real world.

http://www.buffalobore.com/ammunition/default.htm#357

1. 3 inch S&W J frame

a. Item 19A/20-180gr. Hard cast LFN = 1302 fps
b. Item 19B/20-170gr. JHC (jacketed hollow cavity) = 1299 fps
c. Item 19C/20-158gr. Gold Dot = 1398 fps
d. Item 19D/20-125gr. Gold Dot = 1476 fps

2. 4 inch S&W L frame Mt. Gun

a. Item 19A/20-180gr. Hard cast LFN = 1375 fps
b. Item 19B/20-170gr JHC = 1411 fps
c. Item 19C/20-158gr. Gold Dot = 1485 fps
d. Item 19D/20-125gr. Gold Dot = 1603 fps

3. 5 inch S&W model 27

a. Item 19A/20-180gr. Hard Cast =1398 fps
b. Item 19B/20-170gr. JHC = 1380 fps
c. Item 19C/20-158gr. Gold Dot = 1457 fps
d. Item 19D/20-125gr. Gold Dot = 1543 fps

4. 6 inch Ruger GP 100

a. Item 19D/20-125gr. Gold Dot = 1707 fps

5. 18.5 inch Marlin 1894

a. Item 19A/20-180gr. Hard Cast = 1851 fps
b. Item 19B/20-170gr. JHC = 1860 fps
c. Item 19C/20-158gr. Gold Dot = 2153 fps---- Can you believe this?!!!
d. Item 19D/20-125gr. Gold Dot = 2298 fps---- Or this?!!!

Genereally if I want more power I go to bigger gun not special ammo, though I can see a use for this stuff in several situations. A 12 oz scandium revolver ain't one of them

 

[Ala Dan]

Greeting's All-

Many thanks for the responses thus far.

Boats, you make a valid point! What is meant
by "Hotest"? Quite honestly, I think it means
different things to different people; but most
inexperienced shooter's would probably say
the massive fireball that appears upon the
ignition of a cartridge would suffice as being
the hotest.


Blueduck, thanks very much for the informative post's
with tables; as this is very interesting!


Fiocchi thats the name I couldn't think of!

And I've never tried any Winchester Win Clean ammo?

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member

 

[who me]

Originally posted by PO2HAMMER
Yeah that's right, 125 Winclean is HOT!. I really hate shooting out of a revolver, the muzzle blast is awful. Even with a 6" barrel, the fireball is huge and my face gets perlted with unburned powder.

Yeah I was shooting it out of my 3" SP101 and I could clearly see a fireball during broad daylight. Fun stuff though.

 

[BluesBear]

Question #2- where would the 158 grain JHP as made by Smith & Wesson (sorry, can't recall the other name ?)

Are you referring to the old S&W brand of ammo, in the blue & white boxes?

Before S&W bought the company it was known as Alcan Inc. They were located in Alton, Illinois. Alcan originally made only Shotgun Shells, primers and powder.
S&W expanded the line into handgun and rifle ammo. All Alcan handgun or Rifle ammo was in fact a Pangor Punta product.
The early S&W ammunition with S&W-F headstamp utilized components supplied by Fiocchi. Later S&W brass was supplied by bid from various manufacturers

 

[Dr.Rob]

125 gr Remington .357 jhp is too hot for my Colt snubby. No blown cases or backed out primers or stuck cases.. it's just hard to hold onto letting those head downrange.

 

[45crittergitter]

Note that Remington made two 125 SJHP .357 loads. One is hot, one is "medium velocity." The current website offers a 125 gr SJHP Express @ 1450 fps and a 125 Golden Saber @ 1220 fps.

 

[Erich]

I'm a big fan of the Buffalo Bore stuff. Worth every penny.

 

[Marshall]

Ala Dan.....Fiocchi

.357 mag 148 gr 1500 fps 720 ft lbs at the muzzel

 

[Mark whiz]

The Fiocchi Truncated cone rounds DO shoot well.

About the most impressive factory rounds I've shot out of my Security Six was Winchester 145gr silvertips...................LOTS of kick and lots of flame!!! Get within 5ft of a perp and you don't need to hit him - the muzzle flash will set him on fire.

The Corbon rounds probably ARE the "hottest" though - they make a point of putting LOTS of punch in their stuff.

 

[seed]

In my limited experience with .357 magnum, the hottest rounds I have ever fired or heard of were Armscor 125 gr. They were very fun. Here are some of the specs on it from a 7.7 inch barrel (listed on their website):

Muzzle velocity: 1775
velocity at 50 yards: 1625
velocity at 100 yards: 1523

Energy at muzzle: 874
Energy at 50 yards: 732
Energy at 100 yards: 643

And I believe them.

seed.

 

[Ala Dan]

Many thanks for all the info folk's! Since I originally posted
this thread, I've been given almost a complete box of the
Smith & Wesson-F (blue and white box) 158 grain jacketed
soft point ammo, by my aunt who was cleaning out her late
sons room. There is no telling how old this stuff is, but it
looks as if to be in decent shape.

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member

 

[Hal]

I've been given almost a complete box of the
Smith & Wesson-F (blue and white box) 158 grain jacketed
soft point ammo,

Dan ole buddy,
Personally I wouldn't just shoot up that old S&W ammo if it's a full box and it's in decent shape. Set it aside for the grandkids. I figure it's about halfway to being a collectable.

Anyhow, I'm 100% with Blueduck here on stepping up to something different. The Buf-Bore 180's seem to be the biggest and baddest K frame disintegrators you can get commercially (IIRC, Georiga Arms also has a baddy in 180 the deer-something or other). Personally I can't see the point of beating up a .357 to get ~ 1300 fps w/180 gr slugs, when a .44mag will better it by ~ 300 fps w/out all the fuss.

If it just a fireball generator you want, load up anything of any weight using Alliant Blue Dot.

 

[Ala Dan]

Greeting's Hal

No sir, I'm not going to shoot the old S&W ammo; not cuz
its close to being a collectable, but I don't shoot magnums
much at all these day's. I prefer the mid-range .38 caliber
target type handloads. Many thanks for your input there
my friend!

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member

 

[P. Plainsman]

I haven't shot enough different .357 to know what's the hottest, but I can second Seed's comment that Armscor 125 gr FMJs are really freaking hot. They produce a thick curtain of flame and a wall-rattling blast! They freaked out the other shooters at my range.

I didn't like the experience, for the same reason I don't like .44 Mag. Personally, .45 ACP and mid-strength .357 are the hardest-kicking rounds that I can enjoy shooting.

Haven't tried .40.

 

[seed]

P. Plainsman,

How could you not like that? I understand, not liking it at first but after I finished the box (two range trips, admittedly) I wanted some more... It was like lead crack.

I will say though that when I shot the first round, which was before I had any idea that they were as hot as they were, it did catch me just a bit off guard. I had just shot off a couple of cylinders full of .38 Speer Lawmans out of my SP101, which felt like a very mild round and then loaded up the Armscor. I was used to a sort of a bang from the .38's... And then, BOOOOM!!! Big hot bright flash, from which I could actually feel the heat. It definitely kicked. I then finished off the cylinder but much more attentively...actually I sort of braced myself. And each time, it was like, "Goddamn!" I estimated that it was three times more powerful than the .38's. Upon further investigation on the internet in the following days, I found out I was right.

It was unnerving for a little while. A cylinder of Armscor and then one of .38... The .38's felt like .22's. I actually was a little concerned that the gun was gonna blow up, but it of course held up...I know it made me believe in the durability and strength of the SP101, instantly afterwards. But even so: when I ran out after the second range trip, I went looking for more. For some reason, the store from which I bought them stopped carrying them... And so, it is off to Gunbroker.com when I get through this little money crisis I have to deal with. But I do not plan on firing a ton of them at a time... I plan on using them sparingly...don't want to wear out my gun too quickly.

seed.

 

[WonderNine]

The hottest loaded .357's that I know of are the Buffalo Bore, Fiocchi 148gr., CorBon and Georgia Arms DeerStompers. These you wanna shoot out of a strong framed gun.

 

[Bill B.]

The Winchester Win Clean ammo seems to be a story in itself! This is some hot ammo regardless in any caliber I have shot. The difference between a factory Federal round and the Winchester Win Clean is about the same as going from a regular load to a +p+ in a J frame snub! The gun will literally come "alive" in your hand! Why Winchester has loaded ammo to this level for indoor range work is beyond me but it seems to equal and then pass their Silvertip loads.

 

[WonderNine]

It's not that hot according to Winchester's website. It probably just flashes alot.