.357 mag ammo question

[1Pocket]

what would be some good "low power" .357 ammo for use in a 3" Ruger SP101

 

[Eagles6]

.38 Special or reload the .357 Mag yourself.

 

[rcmodel]

Both Winchester & Remington make mid-level .357 Mag ammo especially suited to little guns.

It's hotter then +P .38 Spl, but milder then full-tilt booge .357 Mag.

Rem Golden-Saber is a 125 @ 1,220 FPS.
Winchesters is 145 Silver-Tip @ 1,290.

Of course, you can also shoot any .38 Special standard, +P, or +P+ in your .357.

That gives you the ability to go all the way from mild to wild.

rc

 

[sidheshooter]

As above, that Rem Golden Saber is a good match for an SP101, IMHO.

http://www.ammunitiontogo.com/catalog1/index.php/cName/357-magnum-hollow-point-ammo

 

[Cougfan2]

A timely thread. I just got my 3" SP101 back from Gemini Customs and intend to use if as my primary carry piece. I'll have to try the Golden Saber. I have some .38 spl 125Gr HSM (commercial reloads) and some Speer Gold Dot 135gr .38 spl to try, but short of rolling my own I was looking for a good lower recoil .357 Mag load.

 

[zxcvbob]

what would be some good "low power" .357 ammo for use in a 3" Ruger SP101

The hottest .38 Special +P's you can find. Or you can roll your own using something like 140 grain bullets with a boatload of Bullseye or Unique or AA#2 powder.

 

[psyopspec]

I use the .357 Speer Short Barrel loads in my JFrame. I would suggest avoiding the Federal Reduced Recoil loads if you're trying to cut recoil. I couldn't tell the difference between those and full house .357.

 

[sherman123]

.357 magnum 158 grain federal hydrashoks dont seem to have too much recoil in my 340pd. Honestly its feels like less kick than when i shot .38 spl +p158 grain buffalo bore fbi loads

 

[iblong]

I shot some of the B.B +p 158's out of my Airweight 638,They will get your attention,lol. and would probably be a good load for a 357 mag.

 

[RatDrall]

The best low power ammo for a .357 is the old "FBI" load, still available from Remington (code R38S12).

It's a 158 grain all lead hollow point loaded to +P velocity. It hardly recoils out of a steel revolver, if you try it you'll love it out of an SP101. It's also very cheap, easy to stock up on and affordable to practice with every once in a while.

http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/38 Special 158gr LSWCHP.htm

 

[prescobd]

Low Power .357

I carry 110 grain .357 Magnums in most of my snubbie .357 revolvers.

This is usually the Federal load. I used to use the less expensive Winchester USA brand until I found a good amount of the Federal load.

The 110 is loaded to lower power levels than the 125 or heavier loads. From a 4" barrel it is usually rated at about 1300 fps.

It probably is between a .38+P and a full powered .357.

Back before the recent ammo shortage, the Wincherster USA load was relatively inexpensive and was both a good range and carry load.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

WWB .357 110-gr. JHP.

 

[Marvin KNox]

http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/can_less_be_more.htm

http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/Corbon 357 Magnum 125 gr DPX Ammo.htm

I like the little extra that a fairly low power .357 gives over the 38+p's. But I lose accuracy and between shot recover ability with full house loads. I use the DPX in my all steel model 60 and my lighter weight 340M&P. I figure I get around 1100 fps from a snub.

Expensive for sure! But I use a reloaded 125 gr. hollow point from Mastercast for practice. I kicks and hits pretty close to the DPX IMO. It provides for .357 practice without breaking the bank. Most of my practice is with .38 spl. ammo though.

 

[Quoheleth]

CCI Aluminum is inexpensive and nice for general magnum shooting.

My Rugers love it - no problems.

Q

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Speer has a 135gr .357 Magnum Gold Dot Short Barrel Ammo out that's specifically made for use in light snub nose revolvers. (Part #23917) It generated just under 1,000 fps and felt recoil is fairly light.

 

[Elvishead]

38 +p

 

[Travis Bickle]

In descending order of severity of recoil (i.e. the Silvertip kicks the most) I recommend the Winchester Silvertip 145 grain JHP (X357SHP), The Remington Golden Saber 125 grain JHP (GS357MA), Federal 110 gr. JHP (357D), Remington Medium Velocity 125 grain Semi-Jacketed Hollowpoint (R357M11) and the Cor-Bon 110 grain JHP. The latter two are excellent rounds I strongly recommend for .357 Magnum 2.5" and 3" barrel snub-nose revolvers like the S&W Models 66, 19, 65, 13, the Colt King Cobra, the Ruger GP100 and especially the small-frame Ruger SP101. If you still find that your .357 kicks too much, carry the Cor-Bon .38 Special+P 110 grain JHP discussed above. Two or three hits with good .38+P slugs beat any number of misses with .357 slugs.

link

 

[Larry Burchfield]

low power loads

I found out years ago that you could load 6.0 grains of unique in a magnum case behind a 158 SWC hard cast bullet and it shot well. I like to load or reload every thing in a magnum case because it won't leave the carbon ring that you have to scrub out to shoot 38's in your gun.
I think that if you look around at some of the cowboy action powders you will find one that will work for light loads in your magnum cases.
MHO
Larry Burchfield
SEABEES/RVN/67/68/69
DAV

I just bought me a SP101 3" today so I may help work up a load.