Poll: What's in your .357 for defensive use?

[bullseye308]

WInchester Silvertips in a stainless 6" GP-100.

It doesn't matter what you hit a BG with, it's a 357 Shot placement is everything no matter the caliber.

 

[nachosgrande]

Nobody mentioned the Remington Golden Saber. Anybody have any experience with them?

 

[blindhari]

Handgun?

125 grain jhp out of a Winchester trapper. 9 rounds of intruder alert trveling down a 16" barrel at maximum muzzle velocity. No intruder, no problem, intruder, still no problem.

blindhari

 

[loneviking]

The load depends on the gun. I'll usually load 158 gr. flat nose HP's in the big Colt, with handloaded 125 gr.s/8.0 gr. Unique in the speedloaders.

The Mod. 65/3" barrel gets 148 gr. .38 spcl. Silvertips, including speedloaders.

The Mod. 19 gets 148 gr. .357 Silvertips, with 158 gr. handloaded Speer HP's in the speedloaders.

 

[sidheshooter]

Even with the poll I started in my thread I'm still not sure which to stick with. For now though I'm still loaded up with 158gr XTP @ 1250fps. Figure I can't go wrong with a good full-power 158gr JHP by a reputable company

I think you're dead right.

That's the thing though, novaDAK, even with both threads going, it's still pretty open; lots of good options. I'm personally leaning towards 158 gr. GDHP loaded either by parent co speer, or buffalo bore's low-flash version of the same–although everything that I have read in the gunporn monthlies and been told in classes is "125 Federal or Remington."

Personally, I'm not really sure I want to be touching off FatMan, LittleBoy and 4 of their friends indoors, however...

It's interesting to see the 158 and 125 full meal deals running virtually neck and neck, with the saner +P .38 crowd bringing up the bronze; I thought there'd be more silvertip users.

Wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of any of them.

 

[Deputy25]

My 19 and/or 66 are loaded with Federal or Remington 125 JHP .357 when they are on my belt for SD. The 125 IS why God invented the .357.

 

[sidheshooter]

Nobody mentioned the Remington Golden Saber. Anybody have any experience with them?

I had a couple of boxes that I settled on when I still had my taurus 605 "carry pack" (a 5-shot snubby factory customized with Jack Weigand's "tame the beast" sp101 package; action job, hybra-porting, bead blast, etc...).

That was a good load for that gun; definitely lighter than the 125 Federal–a load that made the taurus recoil downward, there was so much gas, flame and detritus coming out of the ports.

Golden saber 125 was easier to deal with.

Sold the gun (way too loud); never bought any more golden sabers-although I may try and find a box to shoot in my 65, now that it has come up again. Sort of spendy, like all the designer bullets, though.

FWIW.

 

[pps]

Other. 158gr sjhp Remington express. 1265 out of a 5" pipe.

 

[BIGTAZ351]

I'm sure all of them will get-r-done but, I personally like a 12ga with 3 1/2" BB at 50 feet or less they're Hamburger. My .357 is loaded with 158 XTPs and in the drawer.

 

[Dragk913]

So I have to ask, why are so many people using 158gr?
Take Buffalo Bore for example:

125 gr. JHC (1700 fps ME 802 ft lbs.)
&
158 gr. JHC (1475 fps ME 763 ft. lbs.)

I would think the 125gr would be a better choice..

Any insight would be appreciated!

 

[loneviking]

So I have to ask, why are so many people using 158gr?
Take Buffalo Bore for example:

125 gr. JHC (1700 fps ME 802 ft lbs.)
&
158 gr. JHC (1475 fps ME 763 ft. lbs.)

I would think the 125gr would be a better choice..

Any insight would be appreciated!

Couple of reasons. First, the 125 gr. slugs are hard on the K frames with the flat spot on the bottom of the forcing cone. The shorter slugs cause a 'jump' between the cylinder and the barrel, which causes wear on that flat spot which can cause it to crack. You can also get flame cutting from using those high velocity, shorter rounds that can also reduce the life of the gun.

Second, those heavier slugs, although they don't supposedly have as much energy, in real life do much greater damage from what I've seen.

 

[pps]

So I have to ask, why are so many people using 158gr?
Take Buffalo Bore for example:

125 gr. JHC (1700 fps ME 802 ft lbs.)
&
158 gr. JHC (1475 fps ME 763 ft. lbs.)

I would think the 125gr would be a better choice..

Any insight would be appreciated!

#1 158 hits to point of aim out to 25 yards on my fixed sight Ruger (the 125's a little lower)

#2 Don't discount momentum when it comes to penetration. Here are the common factory loadings.
Grains MV ME Momentum
125 1450 582 0.804125998225377
158 1250 547 0.876220053238687

Your Buffalo Bore loadings:
Grains MV ME Momentum
125 1700 801 0.942768411712511
158 1475 762 1.03393966282165

3. After providing medical care to inmates, I decided that I want to be able to his something vital even if I have to shoot a BG's heart by shooting through his arse to get there. Many would argue (quit validly I might add) that there is a risk of over penetration with the heavier round. I feel that since I own the rounds where I might miss the target, I'd be better served to make sure I dont have a bullet that might under penetrate. It would be a pity if the aim were spot on, only to have the bullet stop an inch short of the heart or spine if the BG needed to be stopped asafp.

4 It's the load I practice with (or an equivalent hand load) As such, there are no surprises in how the round feels, and where it hits.

Those are the reasons I choose what I choose.

 

[hoptob]

So I have to ask, why are so many people using 158gr?

Heavier bullets have an edge in shorter barrels. From 3" bbl. 158 gr. BB load has higher muzzle energy than 125 gr. load. Data from BB website:

Load......Bullet......Velocity......Energy.........PF
19C........158 gr......1398 fps......686 ft*lb.......221
19D........125 gr......1476 fps......605 ft*lb.......185

Mike

 

[Dragk913]

Ah. Well thanks for the replies, guys. I've always used 125gr. because I figured the higher general MV/ME was better (and because my dad always used 125gr).

I guess I will be reevaluating my loads.

 

[Guitarslinger46]

Yeh, I've thought of switching over to 158 gr. For now, my GP100 .357 stainless with the 4" barrel is loaded with 125 gr. Federal Hydra Shok. It's what I had handy at the time. 2 speed loaders also loaded with the same.

 

[adorable_harree]

145 gr. Silvertips. Just the right balance for my needs and my 681 seems to shoot it dead on than 158grs.

 

[chupacabrah]

Right now... I have my model 65 3" and all I have to load it with are some soft point 158gr .357s or some Hornady 158 gr .38 spl (std pressure).


Trying to decide if I want to order Buffalo Bore tactical/low flash .357 158 gr GDHP, or the .38spl +P LSWCHC.

Hard decision....

 

[sidheshooter]

I have a 3-inch 65 as well, and I'm going to order a box of each and see what I like best. I'd think either would work. I'm leaning towards the tactical 158GDHP (In part because of this thread, In part because I like 158 loads in general; may as well use *some* of that power) but I already know how remington's +P 158 gr LSWCHP shoots in my 65 already (quite well), so I'm sure the gas-checked BB version will be fine too.

 

[DawgFvr]

I prefer 125 grain Corbon DPX myself

 

[sidheshooter]

Tasty Ruger, Dawg... Gemini?

 

[harrygunner]

I took six different brands/weights of ammo to the range to see which worked best with my .357 Mag.

Winchester 145gr Silvertips and Buffalo Bore's 158gr ammo worked well in that gun. The Buffalo Bore ammo is impressive.

 

[FM12]

Handloaded .38 148 grain wadcutters. Might see about loading some 158 lead SWC, iff'n I can find some. I like them wadcutters. Low recoil, fast second shot, but smokey. The FBI's old LSWC was a hoss.

 

[altitude_19]

Gold Dot Short Barrel for my 340 M&P.

 

[DawgFvr]

Sidheshooter...yes sir...this was a special order from Marc.

 

[Travis Bickle]

No 3 for me. My .357 has a short barrel and the recoil with full-power loads is just too much. I'm ordering some of these 110 gr. rounds soon, and going to switch to them, as they're supposed to have the least recoil of any .357 load.