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Old 06-19-2020, 12:14 PM
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LoboGunLeather LoboGunLeather is offline
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Location: Colorado
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Real world experience:

Another cop and I chased an armed robbery suspect for several blocks, through alleys and back yards with him popping caps at us several times. Bozo popped out of an alley about 15 yards away, other officer nailed him with a S&W Model 19 4" .357 loaded with Remington .357 125-grain JHP. Through the shoulder joint (breaking bone), exited on a downward path, struck a concrete curb, passed through a 2X4 porch railing, through the exterior wall of a frame house, through an interior wall, then lodged in a 3rd wall within a few feet of a baby sleeping in a crib.

After that I never carried magnum ammunition on or off duty in an urban setting, always stuck with .38 Special +P (Federal 158-LSWC-HP "FBI load").

Over the past half-century I have shot a lot of .357 magnum ammo, and continue to do so. I have taken several Colorado mule deer (175-275 lbs. live weight) with .357 magnum 158 LSWC and LSWC-HP, all but one completely penetrated the body cavities from side to side (one was found just under the skin on the off-side).

It is my considered opinion that .357 magnum ammunition is seriously overpowered for defensive uses, particularly in revolvers with barrels under 4" length in which there is very little added velocity or energy achieved in spite of excessive recoil, muzzle blast, and muzzle flash that are detrimental to effective shooting. Good .38 Special ammunition is more than sufficient with proper shot placement, and proper shot placement is much more likely without the excesses of magnum ammo.

Now we can sit back and see all the "experts" quote statistics and jello tests.
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