Factory .357 mag with most consistent velocity?

[.455_Hunter]

Who makes the most consistent .357 Mag loads in respect to velocity? My company is doing some ballistics research and we need some control rounds that have very low SD with which to compare our custom hand loads. It does not matter what the velocity is, just as long as it it consistent from round to round. I would assume that Hornady "Custom" 158 gr XTP loads would be more consistent than American Eagle or Magtech 158 gr JSP load based on price, but who knows... Thanks!

 

[DPris]

Price isn't necessarily an indicator and SD consistency can vary from gun to gun.
If your stuff can produce consistent single digit standard deviations, that's excellent. If it can stay below 15 FPS, that's still good.
And, even a very low standard deviation is not a cast iron guarantee of good accuracy.

In a test run of 230-grain .45 ACP lead handloads late last year, for example, the best produced a 6 FPS SD, but only mediocre accuracy. The load that gave the most consistently accuracy was one using the same bullet with a different powder that chronographed at an SD of 12 FPS.

Denis

 

[squarles67]

The only factory stuff I've run is American Eagle 158 JSP - Avg 1282, ES 50.88, SD 17.77. That was 6 shots out of a 4" S&W model 66.