Jim March
Member
Got my Vaquero back from the gunsmith today with a very custom sight setup. Rear channel hogged out some, new front base and dovetailed blade. Last step will be to send the blade off for a Tritium insert but meanwhile I needed to dial in the elevation and get the blade cut down more.
So I tried a variety of defensive loads, looking for where they print.
This is a 4.68" barrel gun. Unfortunately I wasn't able to find any quality 357 hollowpoints in 158gr weight, I wanted to try Gold Dots or XTPs. I had to make do with some American Eagle (sigh) SJHP 158gr in 357 "high velocity". They felt pretty snappy but the groups were nothing to write home about, running about 3" at 15 yards.
Next up: Doubletap Gold Dot 125gr full house. Very brisk, very small JHP cavity that was more of a "dimple". Accuracy flat stank...at least 4" or so at 15yds. No signs of overpressure, ejection was easy, no funky primers. Not impressive.
I had scored a box of the new "short barrel" 357Mag load, in 135gr. JHP cavity was almost as big as that of the 135gr 38+P and was clearly part of the same design process. Recoil felt milder but still "magnum". Group of six was under 2". NOW we're talkin'. Should expand fast as hell and being a Gold Dot should be able to survive 2" to 3" more barrel than supposedly "optimum".
I also shot some of the Gold Dot 135 38+P - seemed to be less recoil than the 357 version by a fair amount so the magnum version really is a magnum. Accuracy was just under 3" groups at 15yds.
------------
What I *think* is going on (mean, this is SPECULATION) is this:
The Gold Dots are generally known for decent accuracy.
Hollowpoints are often more accurate than other designs in handguns, for reasons involving both weight balance and the amount of "bearing surface" - the surface area of bullet skin that rubs on the inside of the barrel. When that surface area is large for the bullet weight, and everything else is good, you get accuracy (err, if the powder charge is set up right!).
The Gold Dot 135 with it's giant hollowpoint is providing a lot of bearing surface, much moreso than the Gold Dot 125 with it's "barely a hollowpoint" mini-cavity that isn't doing the weight balance much good and isn't increasing the bearing surface.
Or, my gun just loves that one load, dunno.
In any case, I strongly suspect that while this new mild 357 Gold Dot isn't "the hottest thing out there" it's more than adequate for defense, it's controllable and very accurate.
Oh, one more thing: the average point of impact between the two 135gr loads was negligible, possibly non-existant. There was more variance between the 158 and 135s, about an inch at 15 yards. Which makes me all the more comfy with setting this gun up with fixed sights.
So I tried a variety of defensive loads, looking for where they print.
This is a 4.68" barrel gun. Unfortunately I wasn't able to find any quality 357 hollowpoints in 158gr weight, I wanted to try Gold Dots or XTPs. I had to make do with some American Eagle (sigh) SJHP 158gr in 357 "high velocity". They felt pretty snappy but the groups were nothing to write home about, running about 3" at 15 yards.
Next up: Doubletap Gold Dot 125gr full house. Very brisk, very small JHP cavity that was more of a "dimple". Accuracy flat stank...at least 4" or so at 15yds. No signs of overpressure, ejection was easy, no funky primers. Not impressive.
I had scored a box of the new "short barrel" 357Mag load, in 135gr. JHP cavity was almost as big as that of the 135gr 38+P and was clearly part of the same design process. Recoil felt milder but still "magnum". Group of six was under 2". NOW we're talkin'. Should expand fast as hell and being a Gold Dot should be able to survive 2" to 3" more barrel than supposedly "optimum".
I also shot some of the Gold Dot 135 38+P - seemed to be less recoil than the 357 version by a fair amount so the magnum version really is a magnum. Accuracy was just under 3" groups at 15yds.
------------
What I *think* is going on (mean, this is SPECULATION) is this:
The Gold Dots are generally known for decent accuracy.
Hollowpoints are often more accurate than other designs in handguns, for reasons involving both weight balance and the amount of "bearing surface" - the surface area of bullet skin that rubs on the inside of the barrel. When that surface area is large for the bullet weight, and everything else is good, you get accuracy (err, if the powder charge is set up right!).
The Gold Dot 135 with it's giant hollowpoint is providing a lot of bearing surface, much moreso than the Gold Dot 125 with it's "barely a hollowpoint" mini-cavity that isn't doing the weight balance much good and isn't increasing the bearing surface.
Or, my gun just loves that one load, dunno.
In any case, I strongly suspect that while this new mild 357 Gold Dot isn't "the hottest thing out there" it's more than adequate for defense, it's controllable and very accurate.
Oh, one more thing: the average point of impact between the two 135gr loads was negligible, possibly non-existant. There was more variance between the 158 and 135s, about an inch at 15 yards. Which makes me all the more comfy with setting this gun up with fixed sights.
. Meanwhile I'll order up some better grips - Eagle should have "gunfighters" for the New Vaq by now. Also a stainless Belt Mountain pin in the "#5" head type to match the stainless SBH hammer in there already.