tipoc
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- Mar 9, 2006
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Brassfetcher seemed to be of the opinion that the light projectiles were going too fast, causing seperation, and bullet failure. That might actually be a reason for thier effectiveness, since secondary projectiles caused by bullet fragmentation can cause considerable damage.
I'm not sure that brassfetcher did make that point. They were commenting only on a specific load and bullet, the Hornady 125 gr. load. Most ammo manufacturers have for the last 20 or so years been struggling to meet the FBI specs of 12-14" of penetration in 10% ballistic gelatin with expansion for jhp rounds no matter what caliber. Brassfetcher's point was that they preferred a round that expanded more at shallower depths even if the trade off was less penetration than the Hornady round. If the round expands more, and causes more damage by doing so, it slows down some thus utilizing more kinetic energy. They preferred a round that made a bigger hole even at the expense of an inch or so penetration. They made no mention of fragmentation because the fragmentation of the Hornady round was within normal parameters.
Penetration depths were sufficiently deep but we would have liked to have seen greater expansion and penetration depths around ten inches maximum in order to increase the kinetic energy transferred to more shallow structures in the body... Muzzle velocities on the tested lot were very tight, helping to increase the consistency of the bullets terminal effects on the target. We would not hesitate to recommend this cartridge for self-defense usage in a four-inch .357 Magnum revolver, though we caution that there is a trade-off present to increase penetration depths through a reduction in the kinetic energy transferred to shallow tissues in the body. This reduces the potential for damaging more tissue on the vast majority of possible shotlines, while adding the benefit of being able to moderately damage any tissue in the body on any conceivable shotline.
They recommend the Hornady load for self defense and carry especially from a 4" wheelgun.
Take some time over at the Brassfetcher site and compare the expansion and penetration of various rounds and calibers. Much of it does as well or better than a number of loads for the 357.
tipoc