Recently acquired a 4" Ruger GP-100 .357 (price too good to pass up). Primarily a .45 guy, so .357 is untrod ground for me. Thanks in no small part to the search function on these forums I’m fairly solid on ‘standard’ JHP ammunition choices. However I’m looking for input on the heavier rounds. Specifically hard-cast.
I’ve noted the 180gr WFNGC rates high marks. I’m curious about the general consensus on the 200gr offerings. As an example: DT states (YMMV) 1300fps on the 180 vs 1200fps on the 200. I tend to live by the bigger-is-better mantra, but figured I’d ask the question.
Is there a specific reason not to go with the 200gr WFNGC? Would either of these weights outperform more standard quality JHP offerings in a defensive role as opposed to strictly woods carry?
They’ll probably give you better penetration than a JHP.
Of the two choices you have described, the .357 200 gr. WFNGC @ 1200 fps will give you slightly better penetration (about 50" in soft tissue) than the 180 gr. WFNGC @ 1300 fps (about 47") assuming that neither round suffers significant deformation.
Since they are of identical configuration, both WFNGCs will crush the same amount of tissue over the same distance so I doubt that there is much to gained from the heavier load since a bullet that exits a body ceases to crush tissue at that point. The 200 gr. WFNGC might have an edge against heavy bone if that is a concern.
Might wanna check those DT velocities for yourself over a chronograph before taking DT’s word for it, too. That 4" tube may bleed off some of that steam.
Without knowing where you are and the critters that you are likely to encounter it’s hard to say what you ought to be using for “woods carry”, but I’d go with the heavier load as a general rule of thumb.
We cast and load a 185gr WFN-GC in the .357 Magnum. It’s a local favorite for deer and bear hunting. 1215fps from a 4 inch revolver and 1732fps from the Marlin 1894C lever. It’s rare that a hunter recovers a bullet on a deer, getting complete pass through. I doubt it would stay inside the body cavity of the average adult human.
The 200gr versions I’ve seen would have better sectional density and will theoretically penetrate deeper. Leaving published versus actual velocities alone, 20gr more at 100fps faster I don’t think is going to mean much difference to the animal or human. I have shot whitetail inside 50y with a bullet cast from the Lyman 358627 mould, which is a 215gr SWC-GC that weighs 230gr when cast from wheel weight alloy, sized, lubed, and gas check seated. Bang-flop both times.
Buy a box of each and use what shoots best from your gun.
My take-away thus far: the difference between 180-200gr hard-cast is the distance of the tree behind the target that soaks up the round. Non-deform is non-deform.
For the record, potential woodland adversaries: coyote, cougar, bear, and deer. Yes… deer as an adversary. A rutting buck ran across a busy four lane highway to target the driver’s door of my sedan (scared the bejesus out of my 16yr old son, who was driving). Crazy amount of damage to the car… the buck walked away. Laughing, I think.
They’re evil… don’t let anyone tell you any different.