Federal 357B

[HowieG]

I was going through some of my old records and ran across a test where I shot off five rounds of 357 Magnum Federal 125 grain JHP, part number 357B. Yes, the magical stuff that has been touted as the best manstopper on the planet. At the time, I was working for a federal law enforcement agency in a non-LEO capacity. The agents were clearing out their ammo locker, and knowing I was a shooter, they kicked some 357B my way. I still have most of it and am saving it for a REALLY rainy day.

The test gun was my six inch Ruger GP100. I don't recall how far out I put my chronograph, but surely far enough out that the muzzle blast wouldn't screw things up. At the time (2009), I was using a Shooting Chrony.

The result: Average Velocity 5 rounds = 1550 fps. Energy 667 foot pounds.

I have read test results where the same load spit out of a 4 inch Smith at 1442 fps. So, 100 fps less with 2 inches less barrel. I would say that 50 fps per inch is about right. Your mileage may vary of course.

I have read Marshall Sanow, but I am not going to make any great pronouncements concerning the magical stopping power of 357B, or any handgun cartridge for that matter. I will say that my Ruger is at the top edge of what I call "handy", and it doesn't pain me to wear it on my hip. That being said, if I really really need to get serious, and I have the time, I will grab a rifle. For a handgun though, 357B is kind of stout. Hate to fire it in a snubby. That would be brutal.

 

[.455_Hunter]

As teen in the 90's who read all the gun magazines (a couple by subscription, most in the grocery store), I definitely remember the 125 gr Federal 357B being touted as "King of the Hill", with the Remington version right behind.

 

[GooseGestapo]

Being an L.E. Officer from ‘79 til ‘04, I can attest to the efficacy of the 357B and analogs.
However, the 158 JSP and JHP had better reputations for dealing with car glass and car doors.

My hands down preference was the 145gr Winchester Silver Tip. Mainly because of the use of WC297 powder, which had a flash suprescent. It flashed only a little more than a 148 wad cutter load.
Before the trend to 9mm there was little need for flash-bang grenades. You just fired a round of that 357B into the ceiling or ground! (Just joking, maybe...)
Never did it myself be heard it done...

 

[HowieG]

Being an L.E. Officer from ‘79 til ‘04, I can attest to the efficacy of the 357B and analogs.
However, the 158 JSP and JHP had better reputations for dealing with car glass and car doors.

My hands down preference was the 145gr Winchester Silver Tip. Mainly because of the use of WC297 powder, which had a flash suprescent. It flashed only a little more than a 148 wad cutter load.
Before the trend to 9mm there was little need for flash-bang grenades. You just fired a round of that 357B into the ceiling or ground! (Just joking, maybe...)
Never did it myself be heard it done...

I wholeheartedly agree about 158 grain JSP for penetrating barriers. Or FMJ, for that matter. You have to decide to load something in your gun though. You can't exactly be swapping out ammo based on what you see in front of you at the time. I do have a cousin who liked to mix. He would load a round of shot, followed by a JHP, and repeat as necessary for six. I guess you could come up with your own blend. Perhaps a 125 JHP first, followed by a 158 JSP second, followed by you name it. And so on and so on for six rounds, or eight if you have one of those revolvers. That sort of thing would play hell with sight settings though. Anyway, on really modern cars, I am pretty sure I would aim at the thin, possibly non-metallic, door panel rather than the probably tougher tempered glass. Perhaps a 125 JHP would work just fine. An engine block/windshield is a different problem.

I also agree that 357B has a muzzle flash, and one hell of a bang. You certainly wouldn't hear anybody sneaking up on you after you fired that first round.

 

[HowieG]

As teen in the 90's who read all the gun magazines (a couple by subscription, most in the grocery store), I definitely remember the 125 gr Federal 357B being touted as "King of the Hill", with the Remington version right behind.

I have heard and read the same things. I remember the Remington load being listed a equal to the 357B. Never shot the Remington myself, nor 357B at an attacker, so I can't speak from experience. Mostly, I shoot lead 158 SWC bullets at a nice sedate 1100 fps out of my Ruger. Very accurate and pleasant to shoot. I do keep a pretty good supple of various heavy duty stuff around for anytime things get serious. Haven't needed any so far though.

 

[Jonesy814]

I have a 100 round box of the Remington 125gr SJHP in my ammo box, for a rainy day

 

[WestKentucky]

I recently sold 500 rounds of 357 factory ammo. I didn’t want to split it up so when guys started trying to only buy the good stuff I had I told them they had to buy the cheap stuff to get the good stuff. 100 rds of 357B and 150 rds of Remington JHP got some attention. I had buyers lined up at 80 cents a shot. I could have got more, but I felt bad at that price. 400 bucks was nice. Now if I could only figure out where the money went… that ammo never ran away and sat in my storage area for 2 decades. Oh well.

 

[JCooperfan1911]

I would hate to fire any of it indoors. It and the Remington load are tremendously loud with an intense muzzle flash.

For a house revolver (or carry for that matter) with a 3” to 6” barrel, give me the 158 grain .38 special +P LSWCHP FBI load any day and twice on Sunday. Proven highly effective yet dramatically less ear shattering noise and mild recoil.

 

[HowieG]

I have a 100 round box of the Remington 125gr SJHP in my ammo box, for a rainy day

Why is it we all want to go shooting on rainy days??

 

[HowieG]

I would hate to fire any of it indoors. It and the Remington load are tremendously loud with an intense muzzle flash.

For a house revolver (or carry for that matter) with a 3” to 6” barrel, give me the 158 grain .38 special +P LSWCHP FBI load any day and twice on Sunday. Proven highly effective yet dramatically less ear shattering noise and mild recoil.

That's why I prefer my magnums with 6 inch tubes. Muzzle blast goes up as length goes down. Anyway, my Ruger is my kill stuff for sure gun. My carry around gun is a 4 inch Smith 67 38 SPCL. I load Plus P 125 JHPs for it. I have some 110 factory Hydro Shock stuff laying around for it, but I found out from experience that they don't expand if you shoot them through sheet rock. One of these days I'll expend it punching holes in paper.

 

[HowieG]

I recently sold 500 rounds of 357 factory ammo. I didn’t want to split it up so when guys started trying to only buy the good stuff I had I told them they had to buy the cheap stuff to get the good stuff. 100 rds of 357B and 150 rds of Remington JHP got some attention. I had buyers lined up at 80 cents a shot. I could have got more, but I felt bad at that price. 400 bucks was nice. Now if I could only figure out where the money went… that ammo never ran away and sat in my storage area for 2 decades. Oh well.

Sell the stuff now, or trade it for food and meds when stuff really gets bad.

 

[JCooperfan1911]

That's why I prefer my magnums with 6 inch tubes. Muzzle blast goes up as length goes down. Anyway, my Ruger is my kill stuff for sure gun. My carry around gun is a 4 inch Smith 67 38 SPCL. I load Plus P 125 JHPs for it. I have some 110 factory Hydro Shock stuff laying around for it, but I found out from experience that they don't expand if you shoot them through sheet rock. One of these days I'll expend it punching holes in paper.

I had a 6” GP100 years ago. Most accurate handgun I’ve owned.

 

[WestKentucky]

Why is it we all want to go shooting on rainy days??

That may contribute to the plague of boating accidents that the group seems to be afflicted with.

 

[JTHunter]

Being an L.E. Officer from ‘79 til ‘04, I can attest to the efficacy of the 357B and analogs.
However, the 158 JSP and JHP had better reputations for dealing with car glass and car doors.

Once primers are available again, I can get back to reloading. And, I am using the 158 gr. bullets as they are being fired out of a 4" GP-100 and a Marlin 1894 lever gun. It's good to know the 158s have better penetration.

 

[HowieG]

I had a 6” GP100 years ago. Most accurate handgun I’ve owned.

Mine definitely shoots better than minute of people. Better than I can shoot a handgun also. What did you do with it? Sell it?

Once primers are available again, I can get back to reloading. And, I am using the 158 gr. bullets as they are being fired out of a 4" GP-100 and a Marlin 1894 lever gun. It's good to know the 158s have better penetration.

That they do. I shot a coyote once in the chest with a Winchester 94 Trapper 357 and a 158 grain JHP (Hornady XTP). It whistled right on through. Dropped him, but didn't kill him. Had to shoot him again. I always keep some 158s around. I use lead 158s for targets. If I was going for deer, I'd use a jacketed 158. Bear would probably get a 180. My serious defense loads are 125s though. I don't make a habit of shooting cars and trucks.

 

[Rexster]

I was slow to warm-up to the idea of carrying a “medium-bore” duty/defensive handgun, but had become comfortable with carrying 125-grain Federal JHC by the early Nineties, and one night in June 1993, fired one line-of-duty defensive shot with my GP100. Only one shot was necessary. It was not an immediate drop-to-the-ground, but his change of direction, and change of mental focus, seemed quite involuntary. The gaping entrance wound was unforgettable. (I had seen plenty of gunshot entrance wounds, by then, and have seen many more, since then.)

It was grim duty. Necessary. Nothing to celebrate. But, no nightmares, afterward, either.

Muzzle flash? What muzzle flash? Some time in the Eighties, flash retardants started being added to the powders used in duty/defensive ammo. The .41 Mag Winchester Silvertips that I used in my Model 58, from late 1985 to 1990, produced a dull orange burn, that did not harm my night vision. I tested them, in a dark, remote area, to see what would happen. The .357 Federals that I bought, in the early Nineties, may have burned a bit brighter than those .41 Silvertips. The above-mentioned .357 defensive shot was fired in an illuminated parking lot, at night. I perceived no muzzle flash, at all.

I still favor .357 Magnum defensive revolvers. It is just as well that the original-pattern GP100 factory grip fits my hands as if custom-made, and that long-stroke DA is my least-perishable trigger skill-set. A Speed Six, with a Pachmayr Compact Professional grip, fits me well, too, and is actually my most-carried individual .357 revolver, as it is slimmer.

 

[Rexster]

I would hate to fire any of it indoors. It and the Remington load are tremendously loud with an intense muzzle flash.

For a house revolver (or carry for that matter) with a 3” to 6” barrel, give me the 158 grain .38 special +P LSWCHP FBI load any day and twice on Sunday. Proven highly effective yet dramatically less ear shattering noise and mild recoil.

I agree. While I have long favored .357 Mag when out and about, I have tended to favor “house pistols” with other well-regarded, but less-concussive loads. The leader among these has been .45 ACP.

Of course, the .357 concussion would affect my opponent, too, and probably worse than me, as I would have been somewhat inoculated, in advance.

 

[sgt127]

There were some great loads for the .357.

For some reason, I really liked the CCI Lawman line. The Trooper, The Deputy. Hard yellow plastic boxes.

I did some informal testing (milk jugs, phone books)

I carried one load quite a bit. The 140 gr Penta Point .357. It was a five sided hollow point. No idea if it was better or worse than the others, but, it was a unique selling point as was the in between weight.

Dallas PD, until they phased out revolvers about a year ago, recommended and then only issued, the Winchester Silvertip. 145 gr.

 

[SeanSw]

I agree. While I have long favored .357 Mag when out and about, I have tended to favor “house pistols” with other well-regarded, but less-concussive loads. The leader among these has been .45 ACP.

Of course, the .357 concussion would affect my opponent, too, and probably worse than me, as I would have been somewhat inoculated, in advance.

One round of Barnes .357 140gr Vor-Tx fired indoors from a 3" barrel in a steel and cement range without hearing protection is the only lesson I need. It was very unpleasant. Far worse than firing anything similar outdoors. Somehow it's the high pitched echo that remains in memory, that loud hollow fish bowl sound that reverberated in my ears for days. I had been keeping a 185gr +p .45acp load at bedside for self defense but after that experience went back to 9mm. For me, the extra power isn't worth the punishment.

 

[golden]

My agency used the .357 magnum when I started. We used the 110 grain REMINGTON .357 sjhp and our field officers used the 125 grain, but they were issued RUGER GP-100's, while we had the S&W model 13 with 3 inch barrels. We had a S&W split the forcing cone when shooting the 125 grain ammo and were forbidden to shoot it in our K-frames. I had an L-frame 681 as a private purchase and when I went to qualify, the range offices were just thrilled and made my qualify with the 125 grain rounds. They had a pallet of it and could not shoot it in the model 13's. I walked away with 6 boxes of 125 grain .357 ammo for "practice" each time I went to the range before they shipped it off.

It had a foot long flash you could see at noon time in August in South Florida! On the other hand, it worked like a bolt of lightning in the field.

Jim