S&W 640-1 .357 magnum loads?

[Robb_Jensen]

I carry Speer GD 135gr .38Spec +P short barrel in my 3" S&W model 60. And 125gr Win PDX1 .38Spec in my Ruger LCR.

[Jake_sDad]

@DireWulf

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.

At least in the .45 vs 9mm, one can argue sectional density. With .38 vs .357, we’re mainly arguing velocity, (with the exception of tpd223’s example of heavier bullets available in some .357’s).

Some projectiles driven at faster speeds may perform better for defensive use. Some don’t.

I’ve been amazed at how many .357 loads I’ve seen shot, are still over-driving the bullet’s performance window. A lot of manufacturers .357 products, haven’t caught up with technology. Perhaps given what many buyers are basing their choice on, that’s by design.

After all, the .357 Mag 125 grain JHP, has the highest number of one shot stops, in actual street shootings…:rolleyes:

[tpd223]

I know what I know now, and what I didn’t know then (because basically none of us did), but having carried a .357mag on duty, loaded with the “legendary” 125gr Remington, I can see where the rep came from.

I saw some dramatic gunshot wounds from that load.
In one case an off-duty officer returned fire on a bad guy who shot the hell out of his POV (with, strangely enough, a 4" .357mag) after he stopped to check on the female victim of a domestic assault .
Bad guy was hit right in the center of the shin, the bullet destroyed about 4" of bone on the tibia on the way through, broke the fibula, left an exit hole the size of a tennis ball in the guy’s calf. He collapsed incoherent on the hit.

We can argue the why’s and how’s all day, but there is no doubt that every cop who responded to that OIS was damn impressed with what they saw, and told people about it afterwards.

Scientific? No, but this is how these things take on a life of their own.

I would also dare say with THAT hit, in THAT fight, the .357 worked far better than the same bullet launched from a .38 would have worked, even if the .38 normally tests better due to the bullet not being driven too fast.

Please note that I am not advocating, just observing.

[Jake_sDad]

@tpd223

I know what I know now, and what I didn’t know then )because basically none of us did), but having carried a .357mag on duty, loaded with the “legendary” 125gr Remington, I can see where the rep came from.

I saw some dramatic gunshot wounds from that load.
In one case an off-duty officer returned fire on a bad guy who shot the hell out of his POV (with, strangely enough, a 4" .357mag) after he stopped to check on the female victim of a domestic assault .
Bad guy was hit right in the center of the shin, the bullet destroyed about 4" of bone on the tibia on the way through, broke the fibula, left an exit hole the size of a tennis ball in the guy’s calf. He collapsed incoherent on the hit.

We can argue the why’s and how’s all day, but there is no doubt that every cop who responded to that OIS was damn impressed with what they saw, and told people about it afterwards.

Scientific? No, but this is how these things take on a life of their own.

I would also dare say with THAT hit, in THAT fight, the .357 worked far better than the same bullet launched from a .38 would have worked, even if the .38 normally tests better due to the bullet not being driven too fast.

Please note that I am not advocating, just observing.

I was around then too, observed similar things, and worshiped at the .357 altar. Some of those 1970’s .357’s were clocking at 1500++ out of 4" barrels, and under some conditions, the wounds from the lightweight HP’s, that virtually blew up after impact, looked pretty spectacular, especially on smaller subjects. I saw the same thing with a Glaser Safety slug shooting, that pureed a skinny girl’s insides. But today, we know that’s not going to be the case in a lot of circumstances.