OK, I'm a new guy to this forum but have 5 S&W 357 Mag revolvers. Your opinion is welcome in determining which of the two is the best cary load for 357 carry gun. If neither please inform. Thanks for your help. Bob

Are you walking in the woods or on a city street? This has been pretty well beaten to death but it seems most people tend to carry the .38s due to lower recoil, less noise and flash and less chance of over penetration. A recent thread on hearing damage covered many of the points. My personal choice is the Speer .38+P short barrel. It's good enough for most major city PDs that still carry revolvers.

If my revolver says ".357" on the barrel, it carries .357 ammo. I will practice with .38s, and my 340PD and K-frame magnums get less intense loads, but they all get .357s. Also, I've not been particularly impressed with reports on the Critical Defense ammo.

I guess it depends on whether its a J, K, L, or N....
For me, any J frame gets 135g gold dots. K frame on up I use either 125g Golden Saber, or 145g Silvertip...

I'm talking city carry. I think Critical defense clame a 50mm whole in there testing because of the expansion. The 357 load might go through 3 people but do I need that power or a bigger hole in my target?

No, a .357 won't "go through three people," if you are using good self-defense ammo, and likely not even with hunting ammo, but overpenetration could be an issue with some hunting loads. As for the Critical Defense, the feedback I'm getting from sources I trust is that its expansion is okay, but not great, and adequate penetration may be lacking. In fairness, though, it likely has not been out there long enough for much in the way of "street results" to accumulate. The Speer 135gr. Gold Dot loads, both .38 and .357, have been, as has the Remington 125gr. Golden Saber in .357. All are mild-recoiling loads. If it's an L or N frame gun, I'd keep it stoked with full-power 125gr. JHPs or SJHPs, both of which are good stoppers, and neither of which is prone to overpenetration. A "50mm hole" is pretty irrelevant if it doesn't get to the goodies in which you need to poke a hole.

Well a lot depends on what 357 Revolver are you carrying. The ammunition suitable for a 4" (or longer) barrel K/L frame is not the best choice for a 1⅞ - 2½" J Frame. Touching off a 357 Magnum round inside your home or other building can permanently damage your hearing! For my Airweight® J Frames I carry THIS. In my steel J Frame guns I load This +P ammunition. It is also what is in my 4" 686 home defense handgun. Lastly when I am in the woods I carry THIS HEAVY LOAD.

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David
CW3 USA (Ret) 1968-1990

50mm is just under 2 inches..........1.96 inches

How many of your sources have been shot with it? Did it just sting?

IMO the answer is all on you. If you can control a .357 Magnum round well enough to attain accurate hits with quick follow-ups use .357 Magnum ammo. If the recoil from .357 Magnum ammo is too much for you to personally handle use .38 Special +P or .38 Special ammo.

It's all about good accurate hits. The best and most powerful ammo in the world will do you no good unless you get hits!

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Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

Thank You All.

That looks like great defense ammo.
Buffalo Bore is tops but I never saw this. It will be on order Mon morning. Again... Thanks for those links!

I'm carrying the BB +p 158 grain load in all my 2" and 3" j-frames, as well as in my 2.5" Model 19. I want to try some of the reduced recoil/flash .357 "tactical short barrel" loads in the Model 19.
Tactical Short Barrel Lower Recoil Low Flash 357 Magnum Pistol & Handgun Ammunition

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Georgia On My Mind

I too like Buffalo Bore ammo. In my 3" model 65 I usually carry .357 180 grain GC (Heavy) lead BB ammo when I am in Bear Country. When I am on the streets, I will carry BB 158 grain JHP. In hot weather I usually carry my M-60 and I stoke that with BB 38 spl. 158 gr. SWCLHP +P (Heavy) ammo. I did some testing a year ago with my chronograph and the results I got just blew away what Winchester, Federal & Remington could offer as results.

chief38