Glory be- Winchester must have completed a production run of .357 Magnum Silvertips. Check AmmoSeek- seems like every dealer is offering it for sale now but it isn't cheap- lowest price I saw was $42.00 a box of 50, plus shipping. Load up on it while you can.

A good, very lethal load.

A detective whom I got to check morgue results said it performed VERY well in police and FBI shootings.

The velocity is about 1200 FPS from a three-inch barrel and over 1300 FPS from a four-inch. That's from real revolvers, not pressure barrels.

Two weeks ago I took several boxes of 20+ year old ammo to the range including a box of .357 Silvertips (145 gr.) and fired them thru a 16" Model 94. No failures or issues. GREAT FUN!!!
(I might need to resupply with new! )

Thanks for that information Mike. I did not realize Winchester still made that load...Always carried them in my belt loops when I carried a revolver on duty..

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NRA Benefactor

Very old design, but it was my bowling pin round back in the 1980s.
Geoff
Who wouldn't carry it today, but I wouldn't feel disarmed if I did.

Yes that is a periodic production round for Winny. I emailed them about it a year or so back and they mentioned it was a periodical.

Good stuff. I have a vintage 1990s box of it with the styrofoam at the bottom. Still shiny. Potent loads for sure and for certain.

In the 1990 era this was issue ammo for the agency I was with

I'd love to get my hands on some...but there is no way I'm spending that much on their stuff. Pushing $1/rd or more for many of their offerings is just too much in my opinion.

I will say that at the moment, SGA does have some really solid .38 +P Win Ranger ammo for a VERY affordable price.

The entire time I had a .357 Magnum revolver I could never find STHP. It was the one type of ammo I wanted to try but couldn't. In the 5 years or so since I sold my .357 I've seen STHP available for sale twice.

Typical.

*sigh*

I have most of a couple of boxes of the 145 ST along with some other Winchester .357 magnum ammo. All of it is at least ten years old. It's hard to imagine any .357 ammo being ineffective, particularly something like a 158 jacketed soft point or hollow point.

Seems that shooting the most accurate ammunition (and maybe that is the 145 ST) would be the best way to go. If not the best from an accuracy standpoint, anyone have first hand knowledge of the advantage of the 145 ST over comparable .357 ammo?

I think I have some .357 Black Talon somewhere that I saved just because and I KNOW that I have an unopened box of .308 Black Talon - so I understand saving the good ammunition!!!

No first hand experience (see my post above ), but from what I've read it established a very impressive reputation as a fight stopper, but without the concerns of running full-power 125gr JHP loads through a K-frame (I had a 3" 65).

I'm down to less than a box, but I can usually find some at gun shows for that price.

Not that I shoot alot of them, but when I have my 60-15 around town, that's what's in her...

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Because of the metric system?

Thanks! I just bit the bullet and ordered a box for my snubby 19-3.

This was the Bureau’s issued magnum round at the end of the .357 era. You could carry it your speedloaders but were supposed to have the +P+ stuff in the gun unless you had specific permission from the ASAC to load with it. I was way the hell out in Indian Country and just loaded with it anyway.

I think it perfectly splits the difference between the 125s I’m leery of using in my K-frame and the 158s that I’m not sure will open up. I know one guy who shot a dude with it, and I’ve read the shooting reports of several others. I’m fine with it.

I suspect it will also kill werewolves, which is a plus.

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

umm yeh no thanks,, grossly over priced. I'll load my own or buy bulk remanufactured..
357158's moving at around 1200 fps,, really dont need fancy name bullets.
Ask a hunter what he shoots.

When I got my Model 19-4 just recently that was the ammo I ordered first thing for it.

Back when I was a rookie paramedic and a newlywed I moon lit on my 48hrs off after a 24 hr shift and this was the most accurate load out of my Taurus M-66 (M19 copy) and later my Model 19 (unknown dash #). Shot many thousands of this round over the years in various K and L frames and was always the most consistent and usually the most accurate round I've tried.

Winchester SILVERTIPS 145gr... one of my best 357 Mag shooters. I still have 9 factory boxes and about 1200 self loaded rounds: Powder - W296 @ 17.5gr - 1540 fps (New Starline Brass) - Some Like it Hot!

also in 44 Mag- Winchester 210gr Silver Tips, Powder – Accurate #5 @ 15gr (1325 fps W-W New Brass)

Love the stuff. Load-shoot-repeat.

Same here. My department only issued WW Silvertips whether 9mm, .38 Special or .357 Magnum. Felt well armed with my Model 66 loaded with the 145 grain Silvertips and four speedloaders!

That 145gr Silvertip .357 Magnum load is scary accurate in my M640 and all I will feed it.

Winchester does a run about every two years and they have need available for about 5 weeks now. They usually cost $49.99/50 but seem to be on sale the coast few days for $44.99/50.

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Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

Glad to hear you can fill up on your favorite round.

They are just plain sexy, with that silver bullet.

That round can container is also sort of slick.

Nothing sexier in old school belt loop slide on a black leather river belt. Thanks for the heads up. I ordered a bunch last night. I hope they're still low flash like they used to be.

When I came on Pompano Beach PD issued them in the very early 80's. The loved them. I presently have 6 and they reside in my Colt Lawman 2". Low recoil and follow up's are a snap, at least for me.

IIRC, didn't the 'Lone Ranger' use Silvertips!???

Hey badge I got you beat, I have 12 left and I keep them in my 66 and a speed loader.

The round has eye appeal- no doubt about it- and does its job so well. Most of us grew up in the Lone Ranger era and never forgot his silver bullets.

Well played Sir,.........

My buck-a-round beauties showed up today, courtesy of the UPS man.



I'll launch 32 at the range to get little shiny sighted in right, put six in the gun, and 12 more in zip strips.

(Actually, I'll probably get another box while the gettin' is good.)

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

So I just ordered 100, Midway had the $45 price, free shipping today and btw, Winchester has a 25 % rebate right now!

Mine also arrived as well. It appears that the hollow point cavity is just a touch larger than some I have from about 10 and also 20 years old. They hit right about the same place at 25 yards. I'm G2G for wheel gun ammo for a while.

I’m glad I saw this thread. I had pretty much given up on ever getting any again. Just ordered two boxes, and I can’t wait to try them in my 3” GP100.

Need to get some. I'm down to 14 rounds of 1988 DEA issue stuff.

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I need ammo, not a ride.

This is pretty good stuff and the rebate makes it more appealing as well.

Free shipping on it from Midway, and last day for the rebate it tomorrow.

They have been out for a while now so I'm guessing the supplies for this run are getting low. Midway just raised the price which is another indication supplies are shrinking. It will probably be another two years till the next run.

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Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

MidwayUSA still has some now $53.99 per box, ouch. The Winchester 25% rebate is available though.

Went to the range today, and I brought a box of the New Silvertip with me to try in my 3” GP100.
Looking in my ammo stash, I found a ziplock bag with 5 rounds of 10yr old Silvertip, the last of my last box.
The new load does have a wider, deeper hollow point than the old. The old ammo had primers sealed with red sealant.
I shot the old ammo first, than switched to the new, and they felt identical. My GP is wearing a wood Hogue grip, so felt recoil is easy to perceive, and this load is pretty stout.

A really good field and SD load.
If I wasn't already sitting on about 10 boxes of some 90's vintage stuff picked up for near nothing....

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Ret'd LEO
SWCA #2275

Brother, you need an intervention! I cannot imagine a handgunner, especially one that is enough of an enthusiast that he posts in the Smith & Wesson forum... that doesn't own a .357 Magnum. I love the .357 Magnum! I have eight of 'em and it's not even my favorite round in the game.

A six inch 686-3 was the first handgun I ever bought with my own money, first "real" job and saved up paper route money.

Every moment you continue to meander through life while NOT owning a .357 Magnum... boy, I just can't imagine such a life.

What can I say? I'm a rebel...

STs are all I carried on duty when I carried a .357 mag. At a local gun show I found a box of 50 for $20. I didn’t open the box for several months, but when I did before I discovered someone had swapped the STs for Reminington SJHP.

Wish I could find some in .357 - I have plenty of .45 Colt and .44 mag, however.

It's all I've ever carried in a 19-3 2 1/2" that I bought new in the late 70s. Very accurate.

I few decades ago I found several boxes in a feed store in Prineville, OR. Still have some for the -3.

Just checked. I got 18 rounds leftover from duty ammo in the 90’s! I no longer have my Model 66 (unfortunately) from back then. Wish I still had it.......

I have used some of the ammo searches but which online retailer would you buy these from? I have tried local but none on the shelf. Thanks, Brian

I bought mine from Midway USA a while back when they had them on sale. They still have some, but the current price is $53.99 per box. Winchester has a 25% rebate (up to $50) right now.

Groo here
A quick search on that "cast boolet" sight will provide
a mold that is a replacement/pratice bullrt for the 145 gr Win silvertip.
"I helped in the design of it"