Magtech .357 158gr vs Geco recoil

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MXP

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I have used Magtech .357, 158gr FMJ in my 686-6 with 6" barrel for a long time. It feels and sounds like a real magnum round. People around me notice when I am shooting with it as most shooting .22LR. Then I tried Geco .357 FMJ and on paper it should be a bit more powerful (5 m/s higher velocity out of a 4" test barrel). When I tried it....it felt almost like a .38 SPL and the sound was much less......compared to Magtech.

Can it be the powder they use so the pressure curve is flat and long so it accelerates the bullet more gently up to the same speed as the Magtech? .....or is the data simply wrong?
It is branded as IPSC Major. My impression is that they have adjusted the power factor for IPSC Major as a normal .357 mag is well above the IPSC Major factor.......

I need a chronograph.......
 
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"It is branded as IPSC Major "................

and you believe everything a ammo company puts on their box ? !
Just betting that it might be a little slower than what they say.
Drop 100 fps and you might be close to the real deal but maybe not?

Have fun.
 
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I was surprised that two brands that should be about equal in velocity (same bullet weight) that there was so much difference in the felt recoil and the blast.....

I have heard that the test barrel they use function as a "bolt action" so no energy is lost during firing. But both brand test that way....but I may check again.
 
I have no knowledge of velocity's or spec's but Magtech .357 is the dirtiest ammo I have ever shot. Maybe that has something to do with the perceived difference you mention.
 
Geco is 395 m/s = 1295 FPS
Magtech is 1235 FPS
both with 158 gr bullets.....
Could be fun if one of you out there tried the Geco.....it does not feel like a Magnum.....but if the velocity is close to 1300 FPS....it is a good designed powder load.......
 
Most USA companies are out to make a profit.........
the 158 should be around 1250 fps but, most fudge a little on
powder and little slower load at 1225 fps will suit most shooters.

Euro ammo is generally a little warmer in their loads and many
are above the 1250 mark. Fiocchi is noted for a little more fps
in a lot of its ammo.

Geco is a major company but it may have a target and a SD line of ammo,
like Winchester, where there is a major jump in fps between brands.

I have yet to find Geco ammo in my area but Magtech does have a nice price per box.
 
Magtech is a major brand here where I live. It has also good precision. On 25 m I can keep most shots inside the 9 ring on the international 25 m ring target using one hand. Geco also has good precision. There brass should be a little better for hand loaders. It was the reason for trying it as I may start up hand loading myself. We can also get S&B.....but have only used that in 357 Sig. It feels quite hot.....but I know that you "over there" has some "super hot" ammo which can only be fired in special guns....like Rugers.....Freedom Arms etc......
 
We have a "Safe hot" Buffalo Bore ammo and then there is the
"Dare you" Underwood ammo..................

As any where, it all comes down to................

"Do you fell lucky, well do you..." ?? :D:D
 
Yes, Buffalo Bore......just the name sounds "hot" ....they make some with hard cast bullets......made for hunting? .....I have seen a .44 mag with an oversized bullet which will do a lot of damage when it hits something. I guess these are for animals.....not people.......but sometimes the difference is not that huge if we see what happens around......
 
I got some information from a person which shoots IPSC and use the Geco 357. He told me that the difference is the powder. It is designed to have as low recoil as possible but still have the high velocity. The pressure curve is flat but long so the projectile acceleration is more constant. The Magtech has a huge pressure peak in the begining and then drops quickly.
 
MXP said:
I got some information from a person which shoots IPSC and use the Geco 357. He told me that the difference is the powder. It is designed to have as low recoil as possible but still have the high velocity. The pressure curve is flat but long so the projectile acceleration is more constant. The Magtech has a huge pressure peak in the begining and then drops quickly.
Click to expand...

That sounds pretty dubious. Mainly because if you do this yourself with powders that do what you say, you'll end up with a very light recoiling load in the case of the "drops quickly" load. This is what target loads with fast powders do. They aren't super low pressure, rather they drop off very quickly. The result is a very mild load and a fairly slow bullet for the caliber.

On the other hand, for your "flat but long" curve, slow powders will maintain a flatter pressure curve and push the bullet significantly faster. They may even have lower peak pressures than other loads. But the recoil will be stout because the load is stout. The bullet is flying out of the gun.

I bet a chronograph will reveal the difference in those two loads, and it will be that the softer one is going slower.

FWIW, boxes of ammo are not generally accurate. In part because ammo performs differently in different guns, barrel lengths, etc, and there is no testing standard. And in part because different companies seem to have different levels of honesty.

I have not tested any Geco ammo at all. But I have tested Magtech .44 Magnum. Their 240gr ammo claims 1180 fps. From a 2.5" barrel it went 1075 fps (91% of the claim). From an 8.4" barrel it went 1270 fps (108% of the claim). So in my limited experience, they load fairly full power stuff, and their box claims are fairly representative.

As a counter-point, something like Blazer Aluminum claims a very similar 1200 fps for their 240gr load. But it only achieved 78% of that from a 2.5" barrel, and only 98% from an 8.4". In spite of the box claims, the Blazer feels much milder when shooting from the same firearm vs the Magtech.
 
It was also my first impression that the velocity of the Geco is lower than the Magtech. The numbers they claim are both when using a 4" test barrel. I can't remember if they claim a vented test barrel as this would be the most representative for a revolver? .....if it is a closed barrel.....like a bolt action riffle all the pressure will be used to accelerate the bullet and the test data will not be that representative.
I have tried to see if I could read some out of the many reviews people has written when they buy it on the web. Generally people are happy and some also claims that it is a real magnum load. At least it must have a power factor larger than 170.... to shoot IPSC major which is promised at the box. I also noticed that one claimed that it was not able to reload when used in a Dessert Eagle pistol. This indicates a weak load.
 
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