Is the .357 Magnum a better stopper than the .45 ACP?

which is the better stopper?

  • .357 Magnum

    Votes: 47 54.7%

  • .45 ACP

    Votes: 39 45.3%
  • Total voters
    86
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15 years ago it would have been the 357 hands down. Even 10, or 5, it wouldn't be as close.

It's projectile technology that's narrowed the gap; the Gold Dot is just superb, the Pow'R'Ball is almost enough to tip my opinion over.

And with hollowpoints more common and more trusted, more of the 45ACP guns coming out are designed for JHPs right off the bat, so overall reliability is up. NOT to revolver levels yet, but certainly better than the days when most serious shooters carried hardball because they knew it'll feed.
 
I like both, but in my experience (having seen both used to dispatch wounded game) I'd say the 357 hits harder.

Until recently I never owned a 357 of my own, I'd feel safe using it for defense, provided I can get better at using speedloaders.
 
PUSH vs SHOVE

"Caliber of shooter"

Both great, but if limited (yeah right) to ONLY ONE GUN it would be a 357 Magnum revolver.
With a fast-stepping 125g JHP.

My personal OH-**** choice (9/12) was a 230g GS in my Caspian.

I don't see much difference when comparing the best choices in these two calibers........

My always is a 22LR.
 
The criteria invalidate the query. Assuming a 4" barrel means handicapping the .45 acp round. The round was designed to be brought up to speed in a 5" barrel, not 4, not 6, but 5. Most manufacturers load powder amounts and burn speeds accordingly.

9 mm, on the other hand, was actually designed for a 4" barrel. As such, a lot of 9 mm guns can be made smaller and don't appear to suffer a loss of velocity in guns with 4" barrels because that is the actual design.

I have no idea what length barrel was used with the .357.

I didn't vote. It matters not what people think is the better stopping round. All that matters are the results in real life applications.

.357 more accurate than .45? I am not sure that matters. What is 0.5" at 25 yards better accuracy going to matter in most shootings that occur in 0-7 yards? At 7 yards, the better accuracy translates to 0.14", inconsequential.
 
OK, DoubleNaught, you can vote based on the 5" barrel for the .45 if you want.

I thought the 4" barrel for the .45 is more common than a 5" barrel for the .357, so I chose 4" for the standard.

Nitpick, nitpick. Its supposed to a be a general question, durn it.

I can do readin', writin', and some cipherin'.
 
Per shot, the. 357 magnum, 158 grain hollowpoint is the number one man stopper. However, you will only be equipped with six shots when carrying any standard revolver. With the .45ACP, you could have as many as ten shots when carrying a semi-atuo pistol; perhaps more, if your magazine is a pre-ban. 185 or 200 grain .45ACP hollowpoints might bring better results than the standard 230 grain hollowpoints.
 
What police departments are carrying 357 mag revolvers anymore?

Sorry but the world is now 9mm, 40SW, 357 sig, 10mm, and 45 ACP.

357 mag is a better close in deer hunting round than 45 ACP.

With its recoil and limited number of semi auto's chambered in 357 mag, the question is moot.

Ballistically 357 mag is the better hitter but 45 ACP carries and shoots easier for recruits and occassional shooters.
 
Duncan, who cares what police departments are using?

The question certainly isn't moot to the millions of people that carry .357s to protect themselves, either.

If you were going to base your choices based on what police departments use, then you'd assume that 9x19mm is the better stopper. After all, many police departments dumped .357 revolvers for 9mm autoloaders.

Guess most of them just couldn't spray ammo fast enough with a revolver. :rolleyes:
 
Duncan,

Most police departments actually dumped the revolver for several reasons, but few of them were really related to actual need.

Most of it was related to perception -- the perception that police all over the nation were outgunned, that the streets were littered with the rotting corpses of cops who were killed by bad guys with automatics after the cop had shot his puny 6-shooter dry, and that in order to be a "real" cop you had to have a semi-auto on your belt.

Raw power or stopping ability had little to do with it, but media hyped fears, and the positioning of companies like Glock, had a lot to do with it.
 
Speaking of police, our police are about 10 years behind those of the USA:

Nationwide, our police have just begun the transition from .38 Special and .357 Magnum revolvers to Glock 17 wondernines.

Considering most of our police are crap shots, they need the extra rounds and reduced flash/bang to be able to spray and pray more effectively. :rolleyes:
 
A virtual dead-heat and I came to this thread thinking I'd find the answer to a question that's been on my mind for years :rolleyes:

These are my two favorite calibers in handguns. Why seems fairly obvious; I like apples and oranges.
 
SkunkApe, while it may be more common to find 4" 1911 .45 acp barrels than .357 5" barrels, the issue really isn't about barrel length. The way to make more valid comparisons is to have each shoot from the proper length barrels for which they were designed. The .357 mag apparently was made for a 4" barrel from what I find elsewhere on the net.

By comparing data from proper length barrels, only then can you evaluate the full potential for each cartridge. This is going to represent the ideal.

From there, comparisions could be made as to which is better out of a given barrel length.

This all comes into play when considering calibers and real life performance for stopping bad guys. What such studies don't seem to take into consideration beyond the caliber is barrel length. Some of the failures to stop for a given caliber may be partially blamed on firing the round out of a gun that has a barrel shorter than for what the cartridge needs to reach full potential velocity.

So, the .357 mag is supposed to be a little bit better of a stop cartridge over the .45. You have to wonder, if this miniscule and statistically indistinguishable stop rates in these calibers where the .45 got nosed out, just how many of the .45 failures to stop were from short barrels such as from commander or officer-sized guns.
 
IIRC the .357 Mag was designed with longer barrel lengths in mind. I get about 1800 FPS using 158gr JSP ammo in my Marlin carbine. 4" is a good minimum length barrel, 6' is better, 8 3/8" better yet although a bit unwieldy.

OTOH, IMO the .45ACP works relatively well from short 3'-5" barrels.
 
I picked .45 ACP which tied the score at 37 each :)

These are my two favorite general purpose calibers, and I believe that they each represent the best defensive cartridges in their respective action types.

I chose .45 ACP because I can personally hit better and faster with my Colt Goverment Model and Officer's Model than I can with any of my .357's. The revolvers are more accurate in slow fire, however.
 
Jim,
.357 mag works with short 4" barrels or eben shorter. The result is lots of muzzle flash (which is potential increased velocity) going downrange. IMO, .357 Mag almost always benefits from a longer barrel.
 
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