What are your perceptions of differences in recoil, blast and overall shooting experience across these two rounds? Is the 357 a lot hotter or pretty similar to the 38+p? Thank you.

Out of a real 2" barrel, the .38 +P is about 860fps, while the .357 is close to 1000fps.
The .357 is a mid-range load, and essentially duplicates a .357 handload I have been using in a model 65 for decades. Obviously, I like it for a K frame (or model 60), but do not in a 14oz ultralight J frame.

The .357 is like a +P+ in a .357 case, performance wise. It's recoil is about halfway between the SB +P and a full house 125 gr. .357.

I keep the Short Barrel .357s in my 340PD and my Colt Magnum Carry, while I generally keep Remington 125gr. Golden Sabres in my 3" 65s. I appreciate the comment above about the similarity of .38 +P+ and Short Barrel loads. I recently compared recoil between some Federal 147gr. +P+ .38s and the Speer Short Barrel .357s on my 340PD. The difference in felt recoil is perceptible, but not by much. However, the .357 SB load gets slightly better ballistics, having been engineered for, oddly enough, short barrels...

I shoot both SB's in my MP340CT and the 357 diffinately has more snap felt in the hand and also muzzle rise, but it is still very controlable to shoot. The recoil does not both me at all and it is my favorite round in this gun, it also is clean and low flash.