.357 magnum carbine ammunition

General Firearms Terminal Ballistic Information
1

Hi all

I have searched for but cannot find any tests on .357 mag ammunition launched from 16’’ or 20’’ lever action rifles. I would like to be able to compare it’s terminal ballistics to the top end .223 ammo at ranges below 100m.

The reason - where we live semi-auto rifles are mostly not allowed, except in very rare circumstances & so was wondering how a lever action .357 mag would stack up as a home defence carbine. (I have found some .44 mag lever action test results though.)

Thanks in advance.

2

See DocGKR’s sticky in this forum on Home Defense Long Guns.

3

Hi DocH

I have already done so and cannot find any info regarding .357 mag terminal ballistic tests for lever actions.

4

This may help… Or perhaps not…

B

Relative killing power at 100 yards, taken from the “Guns and Shooting Online Rifle Cartridge Killing Power Formula and List” and based on published Winchester factory load ballistics taken in a 20" test barrel:

.223 Remington, 60 grain @ 3000 fps - 6.3 killing relative power
.30 Carbine, 110 grain @ 1990 fps - 7.4 relative killing power
.357 Magnum, 158 grain @ 1830 fps - 12.7 relative killing power

Recoil energy and velocity taken from the “Expanded Rifle Recoil Table”:

.223 Remington, 62 grain @ 3025 fps, 7.0 lb. rifle - 3.9 ft. lbs. recoil energy, 6.0 fps recoil velocity
.30 Carbine, 110 grain @ 1990 fps, 7.0 lb. rifle - 3.5 ft. lbs. recoil energy, 5.7 fps recoil velocity
.357 Magnum, 158 grain @ 1757 fps, 7.0 lb. rifle - 5.2 ft. lbs. recoil energy, 6.9 fps recoil velocity
.357 Magnum, 158 grain @ 1757 fps, 5.5 lb. rifle - 6.6 ft. lbs. recoil energy, 8.8 fps recoil velocity
.243 Winchester, 100 grain @ 2960 fps, 7.5 lb. rifle - 9.9 ft. lbs. recoil energy, 9.2 fps recoil velocity
.308 Winchester, 180 grain @ 2600 fps, 7.5 lb. rifle - 19.2 ft. lbs. recoil energy, 12.9 fps recoil velocity

These .357 figures are based on a maximum .357 Magnum handload fired in an 18.5 inch barrel as per the Hodgdon 2009 Annual Reloading Manual. The .357 Magnum carbine has almost twice the recoil of the .223, but no matter how you slice it, these are very low recoil numbers. Note the recoil figures for typical .243 and .308 rifles added for comparison.

5

Good info,Buck.I like the little lever .357’s for a lot of purposes.
Didn’t have any info handy on it. Still a pistol caliber carbine,but can be very effective with good heavy bullet loads.

6

I have a 20" Marlin lever gun in .44 mag and have had a Ruger bolt-action in .44 mag also. Let me tell you these handgun rounds really come alive out of a rifle. They hit hard and velocity is definitely improved by 200-300 fps depending on the load. I think I got 1700 fps out of a 240 gr JHP with a carbine - nothing to scoff at.

I had a 16" lever action Rossi in .357 and really liked that gun. Don’t have ballistics on them but trust me it’s a noticeable big difference.

7

I dont have my notes right here in front of me but my win 94 carbine puts my 158 handloads out at somewhere around 1650 fps. The .357 ia already a good stopper out of a handgun so the extra 350-400 fps would only add to that.

8

It’s my understanding that not actually the case. Do we have some .357 mag - vs other standard modern duty loads - data via DocGR or to compare?

My understanding is, .357mag out of a handgun is way overrated as a ‘stopper’

9

While I know a deer is not a human, I have seen what a .357 revolver will do to several deer on heart/lung shots. I sure wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end if one!

10

The Win 180 gr Partition is a pretty decent .357 Mag carbine load. All in all, I’d much rather be shooting a .44 Mag or .45 Colt carbine over one in .357 Mag…

11

I agree 100%. I’m just saying that a .357 will work if it’s all one has.