FullEffect1911
Member
after spending a few hours today trying to find out a few things about .38/.357 caliber ballistics and hollow point stopping power, I've come to a theory that I would like to discuss with my fellow high roaders.
In General:
"the most effective" .38+p rounds are "usually" shot out of snub nose revolvers, which are not known for their velocity. So this leads to the top two types or bullet designs. The short barrel gold dot with its rather large for the caliber hollow point, and the soft lead swc-hp affectionately referred to as the fbi round.
"the most effective" .357 mag rounds are "usually" capable of a comparably high velocity and the concern is usually so called over penetration. The standard load seems to be the 125 grain barn burner going somewhere in the neighborhood of 1450 fps. A round at this speed doesn't need such a large hollow point as the velocity will expand the bullet.
Now I am the type of person to be concerned with the blast that is associated with the 125 grain magnums and I usually tend towards the heavy for the caliber weights (158 in this case... not 180 grain). However at the same time, I feel like I am robbing myself of performance using a .38 +p in a .357 magnum revolver.
Now, of course it can be debated that the .38 is fine for self defense etc, but that isn't what I want to discuss.
One of my burning questions is a comparison of the blasts in the magnum round? I have heard that 158 grain rounds have less blast then the 125 grain loadings. Assuming they were both loaded to the same pressures, would a 158 grain magnum really have less blast? Or is this just a case that the 158 grain loadings are just loaded to a lesser performance?
The other question I would like to pose is why has the 125 grain magnum loadings become so much more popular then it's 158 grain competitor? Do the 158 grain bullets not expand as reliably due to the comparatively small potential for a hollow point cavity?
It can be theorized that the .38/.357 needs its velocity to expand because it's a smaller diameter to start. The .40 and .45 have comparatively large "openings" in them (is that what a meplat is?) to start thereby in theory not requiring the magnums speed to preform well. Could there be much truth in this?
And lastly since blast is a concern for me, and I like launching heavy projectiles, is there a good performing .357 magnum round in the 158 grain area that has less blast then the famous 125 grain loads?
If anyone has a .357 mag decibel chart for various loadings that would be fantastic... but I fear one doesn't exist.
Anyway, I know it's a bit of a ramble but I am curious of the other thoughts I may receive on the subject.
In General:
"the most effective" .38+p rounds are "usually" shot out of snub nose revolvers, which are not known for their velocity. So this leads to the top two types or bullet designs. The short barrel gold dot with its rather large for the caliber hollow point, and the soft lead swc-hp affectionately referred to as the fbi round.
"the most effective" .357 mag rounds are "usually" capable of a comparably high velocity and the concern is usually so called over penetration. The standard load seems to be the 125 grain barn burner going somewhere in the neighborhood of 1450 fps. A round at this speed doesn't need such a large hollow point as the velocity will expand the bullet.
Now I am the type of person to be concerned with the blast that is associated with the 125 grain magnums and I usually tend towards the heavy for the caliber weights (158 in this case... not 180 grain). However at the same time, I feel like I am robbing myself of performance using a .38 +p in a .357 magnum revolver.
Now, of course it can be debated that the .38 is fine for self defense etc, but that isn't what I want to discuss.
One of my burning questions is a comparison of the blasts in the magnum round? I have heard that 158 grain rounds have less blast then the 125 grain loadings. Assuming they were both loaded to the same pressures, would a 158 grain magnum really have less blast? Or is this just a case that the 158 grain loadings are just loaded to a lesser performance?
The other question I would like to pose is why has the 125 grain magnum loadings become so much more popular then it's 158 grain competitor? Do the 158 grain bullets not expand as reliably due to the comparatively small potential for a hollow point cavity?
It can be theorized that the .38/.357 needs its velocity to expand because it's a smaller diameter to start. The .40 and .45 have comparatively large "openings" in them (is that what a meplat is?) to start thereby in theory not requiring the magnums speed to preform well. Could there be much truth in this?
And lastly since blast is a concern for me, and I like launching heavy projectiles, is there a good performing .357 magnum round in the 158 grain area that has less blast then the famous 125 grain loads?
If anyone has a .357 mag decibel chart for various loadings that would be fantastic... but I fear one doesn't exist.
Anyway, I know it's a bit of a ramble but I am curious of the other thoughts I may receive on the subject.