Full Power 357 Load

[Sport45]

For a inexpensive Hot Load, Try the 125gr Rem. UMC Got one heck of a kick ; )

Agreed. Or just about any other off-the-shelf 125gr .357mag JHP cartridges. You'll get a heck of a kick and a tremendous flash in the SP101. Do wear your hearing protection.

But as Cosmoline said, it still ain't the same as a .44mag. Of course dpending on what you put in it, a .44mag can be mild to wild too.

 

[oldfool]

"I am looking for something particularly deadly for the person on the grip end."

I just don't think the lad will ever ring his wind chimes with a revolver, 454 being a tad tame for young 'uns
might oughta' think about a Contender in a fat magnum rifle round, or 45-70 wildcat load, or mebbe something in a 700 NitroExpress
(fewer rounds required "to get the feel of it", you know, and don't really matter if you flinch or not, cause you don't have to do it twice nohow, unless you shoot both right handed and left handed)

thinking I have seen a handgun somewhere on some gun forum chambered in 50 BMG, that might be memorable

not everybody who likes guns is truly destined to enjoy 'em for all that long anyway
"live fast, die young, and leave a beautiful memory"
why wait for old age to ruin your hands and hearing ???
time and tide waits on no man
no thrill, no drill, no point in it

PS
who woulda' thunk it, just the thing, and in a revolver, too... google that
Zeliska 600 Nitro Express Revolver
start saving up !

 

[zxcvbob]

For a inexspencive Hot Load, Try the 125gr Rem. UMC Got one heck of a kick ; )

Those are the ones I use to compare my reloads with to make sure I'm not fooling myself.

 

[wanderinwalker]

Sounds like you need to try a .44 Magnum. Heck, I'm not much older than you sound and my first handgun at 21 was a S&W 629 in .44 Magnum with a 6" barre. If you were closer, I'd take you to the range and let you try it. The only thing in .357 that comes close to the experience would be a light weight J-frame S&W, or maybe one of the new Ruger LCRs. The SP-101 is just heavy enough to tame out the recoil impulse. Actually, I enjoy shooting my .44, but my favorite reload is about equivalent to a full-power .357 in recoil, without the flash and noise.

Second, get a .22! You will enjoy shooting it more, more often, and the only way to get rid of your flinch is to work it out with dry-firing and low-recoil practice. You don't want to make it worse, or it will be impossible to correct in the future. And it's not a macho thing, I've seen big burly guys flinch when shooting their magnum revolvers and rifles.

And girls DIG shooting with .22s. Trust me. I have a couple of ex-girlfriends who enjoyed going to the range with a semi-auto .22 and would shoot all of the magazines I could load and hand them. And they were pretty decent shots too.

Lastly, double up the hearing protection. This will help more with the flinch than you might believe. Guns are loud, and humans are preconditioned to jump at loud noises. Training and experience help tone this down; I've seen people fall asleep behind a hot line at the National Matches, and have taken a couple of naps there myself... But just cutting the noise to start with helps tremendously.

Oh, and if you really, really want to punish yourself with recoil, you have to try a .45-70 Encore pistol. It's fun, in some strange way. I would do it again, but I won't buy one of them myself. All I can describe the sensation as is like catching a fast ball, bare-handed.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

The closest thing would be some of the 180-grain hunting loads put out by various manufacturers. There is only so much you can do with the caliber as far as making the bullets heavier, before the round becomes too long to fit in the cylinder. The lighter weight of the GP vs. the Redhawk is a factor as well.

 

[ArtP]

Washambala - I was recently in your shoes and didn't know what exactly to expect for recoil in a fullhouse 44 mag load. No amount of forum-ing or talking about it is ever going to satisfy your need to know. In my opinion neither will the hottest 357 loads - you'll still wonder.

I have a super blackhawk and shoot full power 240 & 270 grain loads. There is no comparison to it and a friends Colt 4" 357. They're in two different leagues.

I think just about any person can physically handle the power of the 44. The real question is, can you become proficient with it and not fear it? Again, you'll never know until you try.

For the record, I do not think the 44 mag is overrated. For woods protection and hog hunting with a lever 44, it is hands down more adequate than a 357.

 

[oldfool]

all "humor" aside, ArtP is dead on target

you never will know what wicked recoil is w/ 357, unless shot out of way too little gun (which GPs and SPs ain't, meaning not too little), but 357 is just not inherently that harsh, just loud
shoot what you can, when you can, but you need look to 44mag, 45 long colt, or 454 to feel real deal recoil, try to find somebody that will let you try one (safely)
I never shot a S&W 500, but they say it a heavy, soft, slow recoil, not that harsh, but I really wouldn't know
the 44mag is a lot more gun than you really need for a lot of things that 357 can do plenty well enough on
but for certain, it most certainly is more gun, not overrated, and will kill pretty much anything smaller than Godzilla

 

[washambala]

Art-I think you are right. Maybe I can convince my dad to take me down the the big range in Phoenix to shoot one.

oldfool- same as above. From what I understand, The 500 isnt as bad as it sounds because the standard gun has a 10" barrel, a big comp and ways more than I do. My friends dad has a snubbie model and said that is absolutely murderous to shoot. That being said, he has gone bear hunting with it. Also, your post got me wondering how the 44 stacks up against the 454 for recoil.

 

[zxcvbob]

I've never shot a .44 Magnum, but I do load a .45LC Ruger to the same energy levels. I would like to shoot a .44 sometime just to make sure I'm not fooling myself, but I have no desire to shoot anything stronger like a .454.

Just plain vanilla (but full power, not "cowboy") .45 Colt loads have more recoil than a .357, although the recoil is different; not as sharp.

If you want a gun to punish yourself with, get one of the new lightweight tiny .380's. Or just get some firecrackers and light one in your hand, it's about the same thing.

 

[oldfool]

nah, the LCP/Keltec 380 ain't that harsh, just too "snappy", will sure enough "bite" the web of your hand, mostly just due to lack of enough handle, not that much fun for 50 in a row, but not the same hurt a big bore can put on you
the firecracker thing was a pretty good analogy, but not a real big firecracker

anybody who really likes shooting 50+ in a row of hot/fast 44 mags or 45 LCs is a way tougher dude than me !