Speer GD 38/357 Short Barrel

Those rounds will work just fine in a 4" barrel. The NYPD has approved the .38 Special +P SB load for use in 4" barrels.

BUT

If you want to buy a supply of Remington FBI Load ammo for only $23.95/box of 50, they are in stock at Ammunition-To-Go. I would hurry if I were you.

In reality the SB .357 Magnum load is hardly a magnum load at all. It's only rated at 990 fps with a 135gr bullet. It is very good for what it is though.

Brassfetcher wasn't too kind on the .357 version of the round but take it as you will

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_BPDmy4SfQ

This:
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/60...5-grain-brass-jacketed-hollow-point-box-of-25

It's a .357 all right.
But kinder & gentler then full-bore peddle to the metal 125 grain stuff.

rc

CCantu357 said:

I would like to have better than 9mm stopping power without the terrible blast of the 1300-1400 screamers.

Click to expand...

Then a 135g 9mm/357" bullet at 1000 fps is velocity isn't what you're looking for. 9x19 trumps these figures quite handily.

Take a look at the 125g Remington golden saber. These are true midrange magnums vs the long loaded special of the gold dots.

In a 4" revolver you should be looking at around 1300fps give or take with fairly mild recoil and report.

The real Screamers like the rem 125g sjhp load I carry are good for nearly 1600 fps from a 6" barrel. These ARE a fist full of fury





posted via that mobile app with the sig lines everyone complains about

The Corbon DPX rounds are worth considering as a mid-range .357 as well.

One of my particular favorites is the Buffalo Bore 158 +P's. They leave a 3" barrel at 1100 FPS. The have a nice thump to them but are not unpleasant and have a low flash in low light situations.

I've shot the Gold Dot .357 short barrel loads out of my Ruger LCR, and I found them very unpleasant. A very sharp recoil impulse, which I assume was a result of the fast-burning powder used in that round.

Surprisingly, the Hornady Critical Defense (125gr) isn't too terrible out of the LCR. It's more of a hard push than a sharp snap. I wouldn't want to shoot 50 of them all at once I don't think, but they seem milder than their ballistics suggest.

Anyway, I've been carrying the .38+P Golden Saber just because I want to be sure I could fire one-handed with the LCR without the recoil tossing the gun all over the place. (haven't tried the Critical Defense one-handed, and won't be able to until the gunshop/range madness dies down )

I keep hoping TNoutdoors9 will test the .357 Golden Saber in the gel block. He shot some of it when he first got his GP100 but so far he hasn't tested the round in gel. If it performs well, I might very well switch to that in the LCR.