westernrover
Member
- Joined
- May 4, 2018
- Messages
- 1,613
I need to go load a few hundred cartridges for practice. I have practice bullets in all the weights. I want to load the same weight I'll be carrying.
I used to carry 125 grain Golden Sabers in a snubby. Then I switched to Barnes 140 gr, and then a 5 inch barrel. With the longer barrel, it would seem velocities can be achieved with any bullet weight to give sufficient penetration.
So what's your take on the best .357 bullet weight for personal protection? I've seen the gel tests and read lots of anecdotes, but haven't made up my mind.
If I shoot wet targets like soda or water jugs, the 125 gr hollow points at over 1700 fps just explode them. Totally spectacular. They don't penetrate as well as the heavier bullets, but based on published gel tests, they still penetrate what many people consider to be more than enough.
I was happy to go to the heavier bullets because they penetrated more with the lower velocities out of the short barrel, but then I also switched to a longer barrel. I suppose now the answer is "it doesn't really matter," but I still have to choose one or the other.
I used to carry 125 grain Golden Sabers in a snubby. Then I switched to Barnes 140 gr, and then a 5 inch barrel. With the longer barrel, it would seem velocities can be achieved with any bullet weight to give sufficient penetration.
So what's your take on the best .357 bullet weight for personal protection? I've seen the gel tests and read lots of anecdotes, but haven't made up my mind.
If I shoot wet targets like soda or water jugs, the 125 gr hollow points at over 1700 fps just explode them. Totally spectacular. They don't penetrate as well as the heavier bullets, but based on published gel tests, they still penetrate what many people consider to be more than enough.
I was happy to go to the heavier bullets because they penetrated more with the lower velocities out of the short barrel, but then I also switched to a longer barrel. I suppose now the answer is "it doesn't really matter," but I still have to choose one or the other.