An Informal Look at Corbon 125-gr. 357 Magnum DPX Ammunition...

[Stephen A. Camp]

Hello. Today I got the opportunity to run several rounds of this new mid-power .357 Magnum load through 3 revolvers.

I used a 4" Model 28 to see how the load handled from this barrel length and this large frame revolver. I didn't go longer than 4" since this ammo is intended for self-protection and barrels are usually 4" or less. The shortest barrel tried was on a 2 1/2" S&W Model 19 and it was used to "represent" the snubs out there as well as to see how recoil was from the mid-sized magnum revolver that was so popular for decades. Finally, my 3 1/16" Ruger SP101 was used as an example of the more compact 3" guns toted by many revolver fans. Certainly this won't be an "exact fit" for everyone, but it's as close as I could come.


Corbon has been expanding its line of DPX ammunition, which uses the Barne's homogeneous copper alloy hollow point bullet. It is not intended as a full-power load, but one that can be shot rapidly in smaller revolvers now popular with some shooters.


The DPX was fired into super-saturated newsprint as well as water and compared to several other .357 loads, including the mid-range .357 Remington 125-gr. Golden Saber and the full-power Remington 125-gr. SJHP as well as Winchester's 145-gr. Silvertip.


The expanded DPX at the bottom of the picture was fired into water. The next one was recovered from super-saturated newsprint. All the rest were fired into the wet newsprint. From top to bottom: Remington 125-gr. Golden Saber, Winchester 145-gr. STHP, and Remington 125-gr. SJHP (fragmented).

Accuracy testing was done slow-fire while seated using a rest at both 15 and 25 yards. If it is accurate at these distances, it should be plenty accurate at the distances that most private citizens might find themselves in a deadly force scenario.


Corbon's 125-gr. DPX load grouped nicely with all three test revolvers.

Based on 10 shots fired 10' from the chronograph, the following results were obtained:

S&W Model 19 w/2 1/2" bbl:
Average Velocity: 1133 ft/sec
Std. Deviation: 21

Ruger SP101 w/3 1/16" bbl:
Average Velocity: 1176 ft/sec
Std. Deviation: 24

S&W Model 28 w/4" bbl:
Average Velocity: 1196 ft/sec
Std. Deviation: 27

Felt recoil, albeit subjective, was not bad in any of the weapons. It was a tiny bit "snappier" in the Ruger with its smaller frame and grip, pleasant in the K-frame snub, and literally a "cream puff" out of the N-frame.

For those having an interest in this ammunition, a more detailed report on all aspects of my informal look at this load, follow the link below:

http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/Corbon 357 Magnum 125 gr DPX Ammo.htm

Best.

 

[phoglund]

Looks like pretty good stuff. I'll have to look into getting some. Thanks for the report

 

[Jim March]

Whoa. That's VERY good.

Low deviation means good powder charge design plus good QC - you don't see that unless BOTH are in good shape.

 

[Jim March]

Followup:

In looking over the longer review on your site, I think there's something you're missing: classic S&Ws like the 27 for some reason seem to shoot "slower" than more modern barrels by both Ruger and S&W.

Compare with some of Buffalo Bore's published numbers:

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

You'll note that a newer-era 4" barrel S&W is shooting some rounds significantly faster than the 5" classic S&W. And the Ruger is just cleaning up, with a 6" GP100 shooting one load over 150fps faster than the same load in a 5" classic S&W.

1" worth of barrel should NOT mean a 150fps speed boost!!! And it doesn't - there's factors affecting speed here that have nothing to do with barrel length. In one example the same load from a modern S&W 3" barrel is shooting less than 60fps under the speed of the same load in the classic S&W 5" barrel, and the 4" modern S&W is shooting faster than the 5" classic.

You're seeing the same thing in these tests. Your 4" gun in particular is "ballpark similar" to the Ruger SP101 3" but you conclude from your data that the ammo doesn't care about barrel length.

I beg to differ! That ammo damned well DOES care, it's just that you can't measure it with the gun collection you've got on hand due to barrel variation.

Race the same ammo from 3", 4" and 6" Ruger GP100s and a different tale will be told.

 

[Master Blaster]

Hi Mr. Camp, thank you for the review, you always do a great job with the writing and the photos.

Just curious, but has cobon overcome their crimping problem??????

If you could please load 6 in that 2.5" 19 and fire five of them. Then take round number 6 out and examine the crimp.

Has the bullet moved out of the case some under recoil?????

Thanks

 

[P. Plainsman]

Thoroughly helpful and well done review, from text to photos.

 

[Stephen A. Camp]

Hello. I actually did do that but forgot to write that in the article. No movement at all...as in zero according to the caliphers. Of course the DPX load wasn't all that hardl-recoiling.

Best.

PS. Thank you very much, P. Plainsman.

 

[Sistema1927]

I was recently given (yes, given) a short barrel, round butt, M19. It has been a tad bit more uncomfortable to shoot than my Speed-Six, and especially so compared to a 686. I will have to get some of this ammo and see the difference.

 

[Rangie]

Can you tell us about penetration depth? How did it compare to the remmington loads in the same media?

Thanks!

 

[Stephen A. Camp]

Hello. I didn't include that in the report as I don't know how it translates to actual tissue, but here's what I got when shooting these 357's into newsprint that soaked 24 hours and was allowed to drain 30 minutes before shooting with a 2 1/2" Model 19:

Corbon 125-gr. DPX: 4 5/8"

Remington 125-gr. SJHP: 4 1/4"

Remington 125-gr. Golden Saber: 4 1/2"

Winchester 145-gr. STHP: 5 7/8"

Best.

 

[JohnKSa]

Jim,

I've noticed the same thing in other tests. The Ruger revolvers seem to have a bit of velocity edge for whatever reason...