What load is the best choice for SD/CC use in a S&W 640-1 .357 mag 2"?
FWIW, I have access to these .357 mag loads…
.357 magnum Winchester White box 110 gr HP
.357 magnum Remington 125 gr HP
.357 magnum Corbon 125gr DPX
.357 magnum Speer 135 gr Gold Dot HP Short Barrel Load
Of those, I’d carry the 135gr Speer GDHP.
+1. In fact, that’s what my 640-1 is loaded with as I type this (albeit the 38 +P version).
Has anyone done any testing of the .357 magnum 135 gr Gold Dot Short Barrel load vs. the .38 special 135 gr +P Gold Dot Short Barrel load?
I NEVER shoot .357 mag out of 2" barrel J-frames, as it just does not make any sense since there is not a significant increase in terminal performance over a .38 +P load…
That or the DPX, I think either of these two are better choices than the GS, and much better than the 110gr WWB loading.
DocGKR, what is the performance (or at least what can be expected) from of the .357 magnum 135 gr Gold Dot Short Barrel load vs. the 38 special 135 gr +P Gold Dot Short Barrel load?
I am curious about this too.
As Doc said, I doubt you’re going to see much of a difference.
I hope to be chronoing the following out of my 640-1 in the upcoming weeks,
.357 magnum Corbon 125 gr DPX
.357 magnum Speer GDSB 135 gr
.38 special Corbon 110 gr +P DPX
.38 special Speer GDSB 135 gr +P
15 years back I had a 640 in 38. spl. ( I regret selling her, but that last semester of college money got tight.) It was a great gun, but a real handful with +P loads. I remember being able to shoot it well even rapid fire. I also remember the way my hand felt after 50-100 rounds. I don’t think I would want to shoot a whole lot of .357. Even choking up on the back-strap with decent grips, this has to be taxing. I can imagine all of that un-burned powder makes for some impressive muzzle flash from a 2" barrel.
What are you hoping to find?
Just because a .357 load may clock at a faster speed, doesn’t mean it will have better terminal performance.
Some .38’s will outperform some .357’s, even though the .357 may be significantly faster.
Save yourself some money and take Dr. Robert’s advice. The barrel of that gun is too short to give you any appreciable difference between .38 and .357 terminally and speed is not the end all be all. All you’re getting is more recoil, muzzle flash and less money in your wallet. The FBI and the good Doctor have studied this ad-nauseum so you wouldn’t have to. Go with the Speer 135 gr. +P and dont look back.
This will help:
.38 sp 110 gr +P DPX vs. .357 mag 125 gr DPX, is the load comparison that I’m really looking forward to seeing on the chrono.
I’m not hoping to find anything. I have yet to see any chrono numbers of the above loads when fired out of a 640-1’s 2 1/8" barrel.
Why is it that a 2 1/8" barrel is too short in a .357 mag, but many that carry a .357 mag with a 2 1/2" barrel (19,66,686) extol its virtues?
I’m very happy with the 135+P Gold Dot .38 load in my short K frame that I occasionally carry,but it’s a thumper even in this slightly heavier revolver. If I carried a j frame again I’d strongly consider the DPX load.
2, 2 1/8, 2 1/4 or 2 1/2 makes no difference. They’re all too short to for .357. Those extolling it’s virtues would be better served with the .38spl load that Dr Roberts recommends. It offers near identical terminal performance with better controllability and much less muzzle flash. But if a bigger boom and brighter flash are the criteria that those extolling it’s virtues are using to evaluate its efficacy for self defense, far be it from me to argue. 
Ignorance.
In some loads there is a difference.
I believe that there is enough difference in the .38 vs .357 DPX and 135gr Gold Dot loads to make the magnum worthwhile from a steel frame gun.
You can also use rounds such as the better .357 180gr loads if you choose, and some of these have a fairly significant increase in ability to create the type of wounding we want to see from defensive loads, from various tests that I have either seen or performed personally.
I also humbly submit that, if you can handle the blast and recoil, subjecting your bad guy to a small flash-bang at close range during the course of a defensive shooting doesn’t really hurt your cause.
I think that the .38 vs .357 debate is a lot like the 9mm vs .45 ACP debate. The difference in wounding potential between the two is not worth the trade offs. Just as I won’t give up a G17 for a 1911, I would not upload my 2 inch barreled revolvers to .357 mag. A few hundredths of an inch in expansion and negligible differences in penetration are not worth palm slapping recoil and flash blindness in a gun fight. That flash bang effect you described works both ways. Back in the day I carried a .357 mag for an B.U.G. and qualified with it in a night shoot yearly. It’s blinding when fired in the dark and that definitely hurt my cause.
Again, this boils down to a personal choice. For me, the trade off is not worth it.