The 125 grain is listed at 1450 fps. That's a bit too much noise for me.

What about a .357 Gold Dot 125 grain at 1220 or so? This would duplicate the 9mm 124 grain +P performance for those of us who can't take the boom of the full power stuff in our Model 19's, etc.

If you're looking for a Gold Dot .357 Magnum round that's low flash and won't sound like a cannon give their 135gr Short Barrel .357 Magnum round a try. (Part #23917) It will only develop about 1,000 fps from a snub nose but it's a good round and the bullet is designed to expand at 800 fps and above. You should get more velocity from a 4" barrel yet have a very controllable round.

What you just described was the Remington Golden Saber. A 125 grain HP at 1200 fps.
You should consider the Speer GD SB. A 135 HP at
1100 fps I think. I have some of both but just ordered some Buffalo Bore tactical lite 158 grain hp at 1100 fps. A nice heavy projectile with deep penetration. These are great rounds for personal defense. Hope that helps.
John!

If you're doing mostly range / target shooting; I strongly recommend staying with a heavier projectile. In fact if you are just range firing just use a .38 spl and clean well before loading the .357's for defense. It is the lighter 125gr and less full house .357's that may cause forcing cone degradation in the "K" frames. Some swear by that anomaly and some scoff at it, but just something to think about.

Speer Gold Dot 125s clocked 1475 fps at 10 feet from my 4 5/8ths Ruger Blackhawk. The Rossi 20" carbine hit 2189 fps with them. You could always load them lighter if you reload. The 158 Gold Dot was 1259 fps in the Ruger and 1877 fps in the Rossi.

Another option is the Corbon DPX 125gr which uses the Barnes XJB all copper bullet.

Corbon claims 1300fps, but one test chrono'd it at ~1200fps.

http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/Corbon%20357%20Magnu...0gr%20DPX%20Ammo.htm

A concern with the Golden Saber 125gr load is that the bullet design may be prone to jumping the crimp. Check the reviews on the loaded ammo and the bullet.

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=609030

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=581984

As a defensive round, I don't think I'm willing to gamble the chance of binding up the cylinder.

I'm currently looking for a relatively mild .357 load for my new 3" 686+.

I want to avoid the flash, boom, and flame cutting of the full-power 125gr 1450fps loads. And, full-power 158gr loads may or may not expand from a 3" barrel.

I'm going to test the Winchester 145gr Silvertips and the Corbon 125gr DPX for controllability. If it's still too much, I'll try the 135gr Gold Dot SB. But at ~1000fps, it might be a little too mild; it's virtually a standard pressure 9mm.

Buffalo Bore has a a couple faily new 357 magnum products called tactical lights. I recently got some but have not had the chance to test them.
The specs look pretty good. Reduced recoil and muzzle flash. They come in 125 and 158 grain.
They may become my new standard.

John!

8200, I wouldn't worry about Remington's 158 gr. SJHP not expanding from that 3" barrel. It might, however, be a little more "sporty" than you're looking for.

Also, I wouldn't be too concerned with Golden Sabres jumping crinp in a model 19.

quote:

I wouldn't worry about Remington's 158 gr. SJHP not expanding from that 3" barrel.

+1. This load clocks around 1330 fps from my 3" 686.

Mike

Where can I buy the 357 short barrel gold dots? I can't locate them.

Thanks
Paul

I've got the Speer 135 Short Barrel Gold Dot 357 and 38 spl on stock here in PA. Don't know where you are though.

A Buffalo Bore 158 gr 38 Special +P LSWCHP clocks 1170 fps more or less from a 4" K frame and delivers about 470 lb-ft to the target with significantly less recoil than any 357 Magnum.

I recently got some of that in and tried it side by side with Remingon 125 357s. The difference in follow up shot recovery is significant.

quote:

Originally posted by dr.paul:
Where can I buy the 357 short barrel gold dots? I can't locate them.

Thanks
Paul

Graafschap Hardware (616-396-7135). They're a local store and had a couple of boxes last time I was there. You could also try www.midwayusa.com .

Josp,
I am in Florida and will be happy to purchase from you if you can give me contact info. I am using short barrel for carry in 340 m&p in 357 and 38sp.+p.

Thanks
Paul

The shop I work for has both 357 and 38 spl in stock. You can call them at 724-925-1212. They are closed Mondays.