Is There A Favorite .357 Mag Defensive Round?

[Air,Land&Sea]

Looking for the "best" choice .357 Mag personal defense ammo.
My carry .357 is a 2 1/4" SP101 and I usually practice with 158 gr. American Eagle.
Thanks.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Pete Zaria]

Just my two cents, but...

I prefer lighter loads in the .357 to begin with because of the higher potential energy with most loads, but this is particularly true for short barrels. With a short barrel, the round doesn't have as much time to get up to speed, so to speak. I'd seriously consider checking out the 125gr and even 110gr loadings. Do a little math and see which has the most muzzle energy.

For instance...

158gr. 357 Mag @ 1235fps (supposedly out of a 4" barrel) = 535ft/lb of energy
Move down to a 110gr and...
110gr .357 Mag @ 1695fps (also supposedly from a 4") = 702ft/lb of energy.

The ballistics will favor the lighter load even more with a shorter barrel.

I'd see if you can get some Speer Gold Dots, Corbon DPX's, or HydraShocks in 125gr or 110gr. But again, just my opinion.

BTW, great site to calculate muzzle energy for any given round: Muzzle Energy Computer

Peace,
Pete Zaria.

Edit: Just Google'd it, and yes indeed, Speer makes Gold Dots in 110gr and 125gr for .357 Mag. I'd pick some up and stop worrying :)

[senseiturtle]

125 grain hydrashocks, or other "current generation" expanding round such as the Golden Saber, SXT, etc. They do not offer a +P variant (thank god :) )

The 125 grain hollowpoint is legendary in the .357 for its "stopping power." It's pretty much the best you're going to get in a handgun round for taking down an attacker. The 158's are for deeper penetration/hunting.

The only downside is handling the blast and noise, but I see you're addressing that already.

[SatCong]

I don't think that I would go below 125 gr, just my 2 cents.

[BikerRN]

The round that gave the .357 Magnum it's reputation was the old Federal 125 Grain JHP and the Remington 125 Grain SJHP.

You can now get the Remington round in 100 round value packs at WalMart. Lots of recoil, muzzle blast and unburned powder left over out of a "snubbie".

I shoot Black Hills 125 Grain .357 Magnum JHP's out of my 3" Ruger GP100. It's my #1 load.

Biker

[chiboxer]

I load my .357 at home (Ruger GP-100 4" barrel) with 125gr. Speer Gold Dots seem to work well for me. I also like the Cor-Bon DPX loads as well, also in the 125gr. variation. YMMV

[Supertac45]

I use 125 grain Golden Sabers in the same pistol as a BUG.

[pgrass101]

I use 125 gr Speer Gold Dots

[Air,Land&Sea]

The winner is 158 gr. Black Hills. Now to try and figure out which 9mm to go with. That's the tough one. Maybe just a non +P 124 gr. of some sort.

[Sig 210]

When I carry my S@W model 66, which is very infrequently, it is loaded with the Speer 140 grain load called the Deputy: It has a pentagonal hollowpoint. This was one of the loads in the old Speer Lawman series.

[Philbert]

I use 125 grain Golden Sabers in the same pistol as a BUG.

I use 125 gr Speer Gold Dots

By too many tests to name over at least the last 25yrs. or so, a good 125gr. hollowpoint has proven to be THE most effective defensive round in a .357 Magnum, and in fact many of the tests say it is the best manstopper of all the common self defense used handgun cartridges, even if it is "by a hair."

[Air,Land&Sea]

Would 158 gr. be "better" than a 125 gr. out of a snubby?

[SatCong]

When I carry my S@W model 66, which is very infrequently, it is loaded with the Speer 140 grain load called the Deputy: It has a pentagonal hollowpoint. This was one of the loads in the old Speer Lawman series.

That's a good load, as I recall.

[falcon1]

Would 158 gr. be "better" than a 125 gr. out of a snubby?

I do not have a .357 snubnose, but do have a .38 Special +P Colt SF-VI. In it, I use the Remington 158-grain LSWC-HP +P. If it were a .357 Magnum, I would use the Remington Golden Saber 125-grain BJHP load. I have no experience with the Speer Gold Dot Short-Barrel cartridge, but many folks here really like them. To be honest, I believe either grain weight would work well out of a snubbie, but YMMV.

Good luck with whatever you choose!

[BikerRN]

Would 158 gr. be "better" than a 125 gr. out of a snubby?

No

Why don't you go over to Evan Marshall - Handgun Stopping Power and browse that site and read some of the threads there? Lot's of good information on different loads and a good bunch of people. I like this site and Evan's.

Biker