Growr,

Please note that this post is in no way derogatory to your statement, you have nearly sparked a few points that I feel I would like to share here - so thanks for bringing it up.

For this particular post I will limit my discussion to a 2" J Frame Chief's Special, a 2" Detective Special and alike - NOT guns with longer barrels.

It has long been my contention, my research findings and Chronograph results that I base these statements on. The Buffalo Bore #20A HEAVY 158 grain +P LSWCHP-GC consistently delivers a muzzle velocity (MV) ranging from 1025 - 1040 fps. from any of my 2" revolvers. It is consistently one of the most accurate bullets I have fired from said Revolvers. It is also a consistent performer with its 158 widemouth soft lead bullet. While recoil is stiff from a 19 ounce all steel Chief's Special it is certainly not terrible and is quite controllable. Muzzle flash is much much less than a .357 Magnum! While I will fully admit I have no way of testing the C.U.P (pressure) even if Tim Sundles loads it to the max let's call it 22,000 which to the best of my knowledge is the highest that the .38 Special +P SAAMI spec has ever been. I do believe it has now been lowered to 20,000.

NOW....... in contrast, the .357 Magnum cartridge was originally designed as a 158 grain bullet and meant for 6" barreled guns. For this purpose it is an outstanding and quite devastating round.
What has happened over time is that most people have looked at all the marvelous attributes of the .357 and liked it so much they wanted to carry that round in a convenient sized gun. The manufacturers pay attention to trends and they have come out with snub guns chambered for the .357. When you take a cartridge developed for a 6" K frame and stick it in a J frame half the size, weight and with a barrel 1/3 of the original design intent, performance, benefits and attributes greatly suffer. The huge muzzle flash and blast are clear evidence that a large portion of the powder is burning OUTSIDE the confines of the barrel and doing little to further accelerate the bullet.

I have actually Chronographed 158 grain .357 bullets shot from a 2" revolver at between 930 and 990 fps. These .357's are from the 3 major manufacturers, Remington, Winchester and Federal. NOW I have NOT used 125 grain bullets as we all know they are famous for flame cutting - which I avoid on 2" J frames as much as possible! Muzzle blast out of a 2" revolver is way way way more than the .38 Special, recoil is many times more violent - slowing down follow up shots, and because of those factors accuracy greatly suffers. NOT to mention the really really loud report of the Magnum loads! I also assume that we all at least shoot our carry loads to some extent, and shooting .357 magnums out of a J frame has to really excelorate wear and tear even though the gun is rated for them. .357 Magnum Pressure reaches up to 35,000 cup which is just under double that of even BB ,38 Specials - and that's a LOT MORE, not just a little! Performance of the Magnum load is NOT any better than from what I have seen on ballistic gelatin blocks with .38 Specials and I see no pluses and lots of minuses. AGAIN, I am talking about 158 grain Magnums (from the Big 3) out of 2" guns!

So as I have stated many times on this Forum for TWO INCH BARRELED J FRAME GUNS, the BB HEAVY #20A load actually outperforms 158 grain .357 Magnum from the Big 3 Manufacturers. The .357 pressure is NOT just a little more, but just under double! So to wrap it up here, I see NO benefit al all in shooting Magnum loads out of 2" J Frames. If guys want, they are still free to ignore all this and carry what they want, but unless someone else can prove all my testing is flawed, it just makes no sense at all to choose .357 Magnums over the BB HEAVY #20A .38 Special.

I am in NO WAY associated with Buffalo Bore or Tim Sundles. Other than to speak with him a few times, I have never met and do not know the man. Oh, just one other point, I've shot many of his products and not just in .38 Special. I have NEVER had a FTF of any kind. Just as an aside, the Speer Gold Dot 135 grain Short Barrel +P would be the next best (or even better if recoil sensitive) SD load in my personal opinion. No FTF have been encountered by me with that load either.