Ruger KLCR velocity results with five factory loads

[Tony_the_tiger]

Interesting that the 140 XPB Federal branded ammunition came out that slow. Buffalo Bore makes a low-flash short barrel XPB .357 using the same bullet that pushed over 1150 consistently in an SP101. I'd wager that Buffalo Bore's short barrel round can match the Federal round in your KLCR in terms of velocity but we'd have to test it to be sure. Of course recoil in the LCR, accuracy, and followup shots may be more important considerations than speed.

My own experience has been that hot loads in a lightweight .357 may not be the most appropriate round for the purpose of self defense.

 

[MCMXI]

Tony_the_tiger, I'll PM you the raw data.

I noticed that I had a typo for 6. and 7. I had the velocity loss showing as 31 fps for both which is incorrect. Here's the corrected data.

6. Remington UMC .38 Spl 125gr SJHP (L38S2B, 945fps)

AVG 851
MAX 887
MIN 817
EV 70
SD 18
VEL LOSS 94 (10%)
FT-LB 201

7. Federal Premium Vital-Shok 140gr Barnes Expander (P357XB1, 1400fps)

AVG 1144
MAX 1163
MIN 1116
EV 47
SD 18
VEL LOSS 256 (18%)
FT-LB 406

 

[Tony_the_tiger]

For comparison purposes I've used 1858's data with permission and constructed the following figures by caliber and cartridge.

We can visualize this data using box plots with whiskers.

Distributions of .38 Special and .38 Special + P from the KLCR:



Distributions of .357 Magnum from the KLCR:



The shaded areas in each box are inclusive of 50% of the data for that round. The dark lines in the boxes are the median values from the chronograph readings for each round. Any circles occurring outside of the boxes and whisker lines are considered mathematically as potential outliers, however they were included in this graphic since they are within the parameters of how we might expect these rounds to function.

We might infer from these figures that 1858 has alot of Remington branded ammunition

 

[MCMXI]

Tony_the_tiger, thanks for plotting the data. It makes it easier to compare performance. Maybe R.W.Dale will send you his raw data so that you can add it to the .38 Spl plot.

We might infer from these figures that 1858 has alot of Remington branded ammunition

Not surprising considering where I work ... for the next few weeks at least.

 

[MCMXI]

I tested three more loads in the KLCR today which included the following:

Hornady .38 Spl +P 110gr FTX (90311)
Remington .357 Mag 158gr SJHP HTP (RTP357M2)
Remington .357 Mag 180gr SJHP HTP (RTP357M10)



I shot the Hornady load and some Remington Golden Saber .357 Mag 125gr BJHP through my new KLCR with Crimson Trace grips to see if the velocity was similar to the other KLCR. The results are shown below. The ammunition is ranked based on muzzle energy. The Hornady is really, really nice to shoot and would be my ammo of choice if going with .38 Spl.

 

[MCMXI]

Here are the Rugers in question. I changed the front sight on the Crimson Trace model to the same XS sight that I installed on the Hogue grip model. The Hogue grip definitely does a better job of taming some of the recoil when shooting the more powerful .357 Mag loads. Even so, I found Remington Golden Saber .357 Mag 125gr BJHP ammo to still be very manageable with the CT grip. As I mentioned though, that Hornady ammo is awesome to shoot. I'm going to test some of it in the next couple of weeks using an LCR and will shoot bare gel and gel covered with what the FBI calls heavy clothing. I'm curious to see how it does.