Most of the "studies" of stopping power or percentage of one shot stops show 357 Mag (usually 125 gr HPs) performs best of just about every handgun round?

I'm wondering why it beats out 44 Special, 44 Magnum, 41 Magnum, 45 Colt, 45 ACP etc.

Modern ammo is available, along with +P versions for all those bigger rounds, yet 357 mag seems to come out on top in every article I've read.

There are books, lots of them, written about the topic of what round is the best "stopper." I doubt this question is capable of a complete answer in a few lines on any forum.

While it has a great track record, the 125 grain JHP .357 Magnum load has plenty of disdvantages, and I while I might still agree it is the best "stopper," it is certainly NOT now the best load for defense.

Back in the 50's there was nothing that could touch it........

Someone had to be king of the hill and even the 38 Super had to bow to the larger round.

Today there are better designs and materials that could change that around but that goes for a lot of things.

Take a look how golf clubs and golf balls have improved things.
Even letting air out of a football can do wonders.

Remember that the number of actual, recorded one shot stops with 357 Magnum 125 JHPs has been adding up for close to half a century now.

Take a newer cartridge or an improved projectile design and it still has to overcome that half century of one shot stops before it can claim to be King of the Hill. Anything other than recorded shootings is just speculation and educated guesses based on whatever arbitrary tests can be devised

Even if you feel in your heart that this other cartridge might be better or this newfangled projectile might be better that still will never take away the incredible track record that the 357 Magnum 125 JHP enjoys.

So it is hard to be wrong when telling someone that the 357 Magnum 125 JHP is a great man stopper.

The cartridge has always looked good on paper,and in real life LE shootings.I would prefer a double tap of 185 gr jhp out of any 1911 platform over any.

Don't believe everything you read, its really not.

Many law enforcement officers carried .357 magnum revolvers for many years. Now they mostly carry Glocks in several different calibers. The law of averages will catch up over time.

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U.S. Navy - U.S. Army, ret

It flat works. Ask the agencies that USED it,... not armchair types who offer their opinions. You would be hard pressed to find a better round. There may be some but you are well armed with a .357 magnum.

Just FYI, of those you listed, only the 45 ACP has a +P version.

Also, I assume the .44 Magnum is skewed because it's often a 0 shot stop. At least in the movies. It seems few perps feel lucky.

Let's see: terrific power, but hard recoil, possibly slower second-shot recovery, and godawful flash (which would seem to be a distinct disadvantage in a night shooting situation). I'm not sure that for many shooters the .357 Magnum is the best defensive load, particularly in a snubby.

It's moot for me now, as I can no longer shoot Magnum stuff for medical reasons. But when I could, and owned .357's, the hottest round I carried for self defense was 165 grain .40 S&W. Feel free to consider me a wimp, but I thought through the pros and cons pretty carefully after shooting both calibers.

Now, in bunged-up old age, I'm quite content with the old FBI loading in .38 Special.

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Oh well, what the hell.

Not only were moat of those in 4in barrels but they,we're carried by police. The 44 mag may be better but not many, if any ant all, agencies issued 44. Even the,9x25 Dillon has more energy than the 357 but it's a rarely seen caliber

Cite/quote ?

While I have read plenty of opinions about this-and-that caliber being equal (or better) to .357, I have yet to see anyone advocating against its use due to poor performance.

I carried a .357 for over 15 years before having to switch to a plastic bottom feeder. I never felt under gunned and accuracy was much better, even though the .357 had gutter sights. If I was in sho' nuff fight for my life I'd love to have a high cap 10mm Auto but the truth is an L-Frame .357 will accomplish the same job if I do my part.

I do not have the article to cite but from what I remember, there was a very popular and public study compiled by two fellows who proclaimed the 357/125grain load the leading round in one stop shots. It took a few years to come out but, the fellows systematically were able to pick and choose the data they used to come to the conclusion. In other words, they stacked the deck in the favor of the result they were seeking.

Doesn't make it a bad round, just throws it in a different light. Me, I prefer big, heavy and slow for my choice.

Kevin

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Unshared knowledge is wasted.