I had a thought...

[chopinbloc]

Maybe I shouldn't. Have a thought, that is, but it's too late.

I've got this mostly full box of 50 Speer .38 spl 135 gr Gold Dot "short barrel" load that I don't really plan to do anything with because they tested poorly in gelatin at low temperature (videos below, if you care). So I had the idea of pulling them and loading them in .357 mag. Obviously just a little bit more velocity gets them opening just fine but I wonder if they will open TOO much at .357 speeds and come apart or fail to penetrate deeply enough for defense. Only one way to know for sure what the result will be, but what are your predictions?

 

[gamestalker]

I've actually done some tests using that 135 gr. SB Gold Dot in the .357 mag with H110 / 296 full house charges. Speer warns that they can deform at those velocities and pressures, but I didn't have any problems from my snubby model 66's. I also tested some from a Taurus 608 4" compensated barrel, and they didn't seem to perform any different.

I fired them into 16" of tightly rolled up soaking wet denim, and then stopped them / retrieved them from very soft dirt berm, and also a very thin 5 gal. cooking oil jug filled with water. All did just fine, and none over expended or other wise fragmented.

I also tested them with +p Longshot powder charges loaded in 38 spcl. cases. Same denim test, and all performed very similar to the .357 mag. tests.

GS

 

[chopinbloc]

That's very encouraging. I'll post results when I do the test.

 

[Jesse Heywood]

Looks like two test loads. One full-house 357, the other a mid-range 357 which could provide enough penetration for self defense.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I replicated the short barrel .38 Special +P load and the short barrel Speer .357 Magnum load. My replica short barrel .357 Magnum load generates just under 1000 fps like the factory load and I get there using Power Pistol. That powder seems to replicate the feel of the recoil, not just the velocity.