357- not so magnum anymore?
I have been told that the 357 magnum is not loaded as hot as it originally was when it was first developed, and over the years has been loaded down by the ammunition companies. Is this true? If so for what reason? Are there any current factory loads that duplicate the power of the original 357 magnum?
Thanks
J Wilson
Thanks
J Wilson
0
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Liability is the disease and handloading is the cure.
~Secret Select Society Of Suave Stylish Smoking Jackets~
Will270win@nraonline.com0 -
Will270 Is pretty much right,there was a time when Remington was giving false ballistics.For nothing else but liability reasons.But when the chronograph become popular among shooters,all of that changed you can chronograph pretty much any ammo now days and it does whats on the box.
Good luck.
Rugster0 -
Yup, handloading is the cure.
If I'm wrong please correct me, I won't be offended.
The sound of a 12 gauge pump clears a house fatser than Rosie O eats a Big Mac !0 -
I f the new factory ammo is down loaded what was the oringinal specs of the round?They sell some rounds now which appear pretty ot but if I can handload something hotter I will.What was the original powder weight?I have also seen people advertise +p .357 ammo arethey really +p I have had a few people tell me there is no such thing and if there is would this be the original specs for the round?Thanks
Eric S. Williams0 -
I knew I remembered seeing this!
Eric S. Williams0 -
Haven't seen factory ammo yet that duplicates what it says on the box from any of my firearms that shoots factory ammo. The factories use test barrels that are of tighter tolerances than the run of the mill mass produced factory barrels. Unless you have what can be termed a fast barrel, I doubt anybody can equal factory velocities from there run of the mill firearm. Now the difference between a Fast and a Slow barrel can be as much as 200 FPS or so. Even if they came from the same piece of bar stock you can have that difference.
AlleninAlaska
He who dares not offend cannot be honest.
-- Thomas Paine0 -
Aglore what do you meen by a fast and slow barrel?I have never heard that before.
Eric S. Williams0 -
Eric let's say you have 2 30-06's both with the standard 22" barrel length. One shoots a 180 bullet at 2750 with a particular load and the other will only do 2600 with the same load. Let's also say that both were made from the same piece of bar stock and at one time were actually end to end with each other before the bar stock was cut to length for the barrels. Well that is an example of a Fast barrel and a Slow barrel.
AlleninAlaska
He who dares not offend cannot be honest.
-- Thomas Paine0 -
So its not with a peticular gun or manufacturer its just by luck to get the faster barrel?
Eric S. Williams0 -
I haven't fired a factory .357 load in years. But, the hottest
ready rolled I have ever used was the 110 gn. Norma. I don't load
mine that hot. Also, their 240 gn. .44 mag. load was hot out
of an 8 3/8 in. Smith.
Don't send flowers when I die. Send money now, I can buy more ammo.0 -
I wouldn't go quite that far. The gun reviewers routinely chronograph ammo and they usually find ammo within 50 fps or less of the box claim, and sometimes a few feet hotter, depending on what they shoot it out of. And they certainly don't use special guns, just whatever they have lying around. In fact, in the past readers have written the gun mags every so often asking why they aren't more scientific, thorough and comprehensive in their reviews. The answer always runs something like, we don't have the money for all that, and besides, each gun is a little different from every other example of the same gun. Unless you're going from a 629 8 1/2" to a 629 2 1/2" snubbie, I don't think you're going to be able to slow any handgun factory load down anything like 200 fps. Sorry for taking another view on it.
- Life NRA Member
"If cowardly & dishonorable men shoot unarmed men with army guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary...and not by general deprivation of constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 18780 -
I'm using Eldorado Starfire in my .357. I just looked at the box, and they don't give any FPS info. They do say "Maximum accuracy and energy at normal shooting ranges". The bullet weight is 150 grains. I never thought of checking on FPS. Is there a minimum powder charge for factory .357 rounds?
Rameleni10 -
rameleni1, there are not standard ballistics / powder charges. The only standards are dimensions. Each company loads as they see fit. I do think most lean toward fairly conservative pressure levels even for relatively modern calibers such as the .40 S&W. There are industry standard pressures of a general nature. The firearm manufacturers make their weapons to operate safely within that range and the ammo guys make sure they don't push the envelope. With tort lawyers circling like sharks, no one really loads "hot" factory ammo these days.
One difference between the chronograph results reported by factories and the rest of the world for revolver cartridges is that the tests of factory ammo are done with specially chambered fixtures, not wheelguns with cylinder gaps. These results *will* show higher velocities than one would see with the typical revolver.
Think I shot my last factory .357 round sometime in the late 1970s . . . . I've used up a heck of a lot of Unique in the last 25+ years.0 -
Another thing to remember is that the manufacturers can use and mix powders that aren't available to the reloader to get the pressure and burn rate they require for the load they are designing. These are things a handloader cannot get access to. 0
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