158 gr .357 magnum SD rounds?

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I have been feeding my K frames tons of full house magnums of every weight for years, and I haven't seen any sign of forcing cone damage yet. I run full house hand loaded JHP 110 gr., 125 gr., 140 gr., and 158 gr.. And it's actually the 110's and 125's that have been labeled as the forcing cone destroyers, which S&W performed extensive testing that pretty much proved other wise.

As for strap damage, all revolvers will get a certain amount of gas cutting to the top strap. I've never seen it continue cutting beyond the initial stage.

GS
 
Ben, that was sort of my point amigo. Not sure what you are missing.
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No missing anything and not disagreeing with you. Just clarifying and elaborating.
It is a real pity that most of the ammo makers aren't developing new .357mag loads, and especially not in 158gr. The Gold Dot is the only one I can think of in that weight. All the others I can think of (Barnes XPB, Hornady FTX, Winchester PDX1) are all in the 125 grain range.
 
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It sounds as though you need to think about reloading. There are far more bullet weight options, and power levels one can choose from if reloading. XTP's are offered in 110, 125, 140, and 158. I don't know about factory offerings though, I haven't bought factory in ions.

GS
 
It is a real pity that most of the ammo makers aren't developing new .357mag loads, and especially not in 158gr. The Gold Dot is the only one I can think of in that weight.
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I'm pretty sure 158 gr is a really common weight for a lot of ammo companies to load their .357 ammo in. It's just that they tend to market their 125 gr loads for SD.

http://www.black-hills.com/handgun_calibers.php
https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_list&c=20
http://www.federalpremium.com/products/details/handgun.aspx?id=326
http://www.hornady.com/store/357-Mag-158-gr-XTP/

Just a few exapmles. Are they new loadings? No I don't think so. But 158 gr loadings are out there.

If you only meant "new" loadings, then nevermind.
 
I don't know for sure if Speer is still updating .357 ammo including the Gold Dots. It is probably safe to say that some of the Short Barrel stuff is updated, but Gold Dots as a brand have been around at least 20 years. I am sure they continue to update and revise Gold Dots in the modern police calibers, but I'd be surprised if that 158 has changed a lot recently. That is why you find HPs with the latest and greatest advancements that will demonstrate greater expansion and penetration with less recoil. For instance the few modern .357 125 hps that I am aware of are all mid-velocity loads that still get better expansion/penetration than their old school full power equivalents.
 
It always seemed to me the ballistic advantage of the .357
over 9mm was heavy bullets since from a 4 inch or less barrel 125 Gr and below are a few hundred FPS faster than a 9.
When you add in flash,ear splitting noise modern bullet design and 6 round vs 10 and up rounds for SD advantage for 125 gr and lower ?
 
I have reloaded and researched a lot of .38 Special and .357 mag loads for many years and built on the data my Father in Law worked with in these calibers. For me, 158 gr. lead and Unique are classic .38 and .357 loads.

158 gr. .357 bullets driven hard out of a 4" or 6" barrel will stop pretty much anything and if there is such a thing as "knockdown power" or a "one shot stop" in a hand gun (there isn't) the 158 gr. .357 is very close to that.

I had to shoot a feral dog that was part of a pack that had decided to chase me down while on the Farm walking the woods one day long ago....what one single round of 158 gr .357 magnum hollow point did to that poor mangy Shepherd mix (pushing 100 lbs of dog) pretty much stunned me.

One shot stop with prejudice I'd call it out of a 6" barreled Dan Wesson at about 25' or so. I'm a big believer in 158 gr. .358 mag and in .38 Special it is nothing to sniff at either. I prefer the 158 gr but load 125 gr. for my Wife's LCR so it doesn't sterilize us with recoil.

VooDoo
 
.357 SD loads

When the Kentucky State Police carried .357's (K Frame Smiths), they used the 125 load. The 125 gr JHP gave them very good stopping power. I never met a KSP Trooper who felt under powered with that load. They may have felt out-gunned by automatics, but never under powered.

I use the 125 Golden Sabers in my SD .357. ( house gun).
 
Schutzen said:
I use the 125 Golden Sabers in my SD .357. ( house gun).
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Personally, I don't care for the GD .357 loadings at all. At a rated MV of only 1220FPS they can easily be matched with 9mm +P loads, in guns that have more rounds and are easier and faster to reload.

When I carry a .357 (and I do) I want a load that will throw a 125gr pill at least 1400+ FPS. Some of the specialty loads from makers like BB which can exceed 1600 FPS are IMO even more attractive.
 
I prefer lead HP 158 grain loads or 158 grain JHP loads (factory or handloads), for the most part. I've killed deer with both the 158 JHP and 125 grain JHP loads and the deer dropped about as quickly with one as with the other, which wasn't far, by the way.
 
Like the XTPs in both. It is my wife's HD and my side arm when hunting. She is getting a 32 S&W long for Christmas--her choice--not mine. Have her 4 boxes of ammo and about 100 cases so she is set to plink her little heart out. Now I can get my 357 back--lol.
 
I know this is white noise and has been said before but for me unless in the woods I load up gold dot 38+p's, usually in my 357's. Just me of course. I think the less bang and flash and recoil is an advantage. And in the woods any 357 158 gr will do, but I like gold dots or corbon 200 gr hunters if I can find them.
 
As far as expansion and penetration goes, the mid-level Golden Saber and the Corbon DPX 125 gr loads are some of the best. They both only go about 1200 fps as stated. It does seem contrary to logic to go with loads that don't do what the .357 is typically thought of as doing best, but if you go with a more powerful load with more recoil and less performance, are you really helping yourself with anything? Slower follow up shots?
 
"125's are the way to go"

"Sometimes."

____________

I bought a box of Black Hills' 125gr @ 1450 and let a group of 4 12- and 14-year-olds shoot it in my 4" '67 Python.

That's some brisk ammo, but they shot it well.
 
158 grainers are your best choice - because 125 grainers are for girls.
 
"...Originally Posted by Water-Man
Winchester Silvertips 145gr. STHP.
love that round but almost impossible to obtain at present..."

The last time I actually saw some of this ammo for sale was about five years ago...other than some scalper priced boxes on gunbroker.
Winchester still lists it in their catalog, but only seems to make a small run per year.
Sad, as it is a great 357 load, highly regarded by those who have shot it.

In my 3" GP100, I go back and forth between Hornady 158gn XTP and Critical Defense 125gn FTX. If my 357mag is loaded for SD use, it's 357mag all the way.
I have no problem controlling recoil with magnum loads in the GP.
 
For a heavy bullet I like the Speer Gold Dot in 158 grn. or the Federal Hydra-Shok in 158 grn. They both give good penetration and expansion.

In a light bullet load, the Hornady Critical Defense 125 grn is excellent.

Just my $0.02. YMMV
 
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