I saw that Federal came out with a new HST load in 357 magnum. Federal's website listed a 154 grain HST bullet travelling at 1340 fps from a 4 inch test barrel. This sounds pretty awesome but I have yet to find any place that has it in stock after 4 months of searching. Anyone have any experience with this load? Sounds like a great self defense/hunting round.

Thanks,

" I'd rather die on my feet than live on my knees!"

Federal's HST line is well known for being good self defense and law enforcement ammo. It generally passes the FBI standards for penetration without over penetrating and expands well. This is great for use against homo-sapiens, but probably expands too rapidly to make it a good hunting load.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

For SD/HD I use Federal's personal defense ammo lineup exclusively, in calibers from .380 to 12ga. For .357, I still have stock of their discontinued 125gr. C357B, but would be interested in this new offering.

Sent from my motorola one 5G using Tapatalk

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That should get the attention of the parties at both ends of the shoot.

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Release the Kraken

Pretty much looks like XTP in the photo.. so far can't find a gel test to actually see when shot. Until then I still carry the 125-gr

That velocity from a 4" actual revolver is more realistic for a 125 gr JHP. actual chronographed velocity from a real 4" revolver with 154 JHP is likely to be more like 1250-1275 fps. Years ago I chronographed the famed Winchester 145 gr Silvertip ammo from one of my 4" 27-s. Very poor quality control for "premium" high priced ammo. Five shots had an extreme spread of 1225 fps to 1330 fps. Over 100 fps spread in only five shots.

Not the same bullet. The HST bullet's skives are cut almost to the crimp cannelure.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

I heard about this last year and, so far, seems to be a ghost load by Federal. With ammo still being in short supply for wheelguns seems that most "major" manufacturers are still trying to keep with other calibers. I'd be very interested if, indeed, I saw it actually show up somewhere...

Yes, that is a poor example of a good ES, but

any .357 bullet of 125 grs or more past 1220fps is going to work.

Being 154 grs and a HST design, makes me think that it will be just plumb handy.

Yep and a cheap make it yourself handload of a 158 gr hard cast SWC at an easy 1300 fps out of a 4" barrel is going to be just plumb handy dandy also

and usable too.

158 grains at anything over 600fps is more then usable.

That velocity is from a 4" test barrel, not a 4" revolver.

Test barrels have no Barrel/Cylinder gap. So advertised velocities are higher than in the real world

Some companies use a vented test barrel to simulate the loss that occurs at the B/C gap

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"Acta non verba"

While I am a fan of the Federal HST line of ammunition, and use it in my 9mm pistols, let us not lose sight of the fact that we are talking about .357 Magnum here. One of the benefits of choosing a .357 Magnum is not having to be quite as concerned about the specific load you’re running being a capable performer. Certainly we all have our favorites, and some loads do perform better than others. But, if you’re using factory loaded ammunition in .357 Magnum, you can be reasonably sure that you’ve brought “enough gun”.

I do hope to try some of this stuff if, and when it ever appears for sale somewhere accessible to me. I personally favor 158 grain loads over 125’s, and this offering is close enough. I’m sure they would perform well.

Comparing 357 Magnum loads is like comparing "slow" and "fast" freight trains...no matter the comparison, they are still freight trains!

I've wondered about this too, love the HST round and use it in 9mm, .40 and .45 so yeah, my .357's would love it too.

EMD’s or GE’s? Lol. I’m a EMD man myself. Tall hood gp-9!

I like SD45's!

Interesting load. I just latched on to a couple of boxes of Federal 125 grain "Train and Protect" at what I thought was a reasonable price (for this age). I want to try them to compare with the classic 357B load, a quantity of which I jealously guard.

I have a fairly decent stash of the 125 Train and Protect, and while it is a bit slower than the classic 125’s that have become legendary, it is pretty good stuff for what it is. There is at least one guy who has posted some tests of the stuff on YouTube, and it’s not bad for the money.

True, but what of the shooters who don't handload?

I think any full power .357 jhp 125gr and over should do the job. I wouldn't trust the 110gr as the penetration might not be there. JMHO-YMMV

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dd884
JMHO-YMMV

I use Federal's 124 grain HST in my 9mm and have personally rated it #1 in the 9mm field of self defense cartridges. I feel it edges out the Speer GD offering by a small margin.

Judging on how well it performs in 9mm, I would definitely give it a whirl in 357 magnum when it is available. I'd love to chronograph and test it. Federal has a huge winner in the HST!

IMO all the testing and articles about ammo being the best are overdone. I like the GDHP ammo mostly because it's the most accurate in my pistols. That ammo has been 100% reliable so that's what I keep using. Always chasing the next best is not for me. If you make good hits you will stop the attack.

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Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

I bought 5 boxes of Federal 158 Grain JHP 357 Magnum ammo recently. It was on sale and a great deal. Not sure if I need another Federal load at 154 Grains - why? And a price that is significantly higher for a 20 round box??????

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S&WCA #3824

...that I plan to shoot later this week. If there's anything to reports I'll be back.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

The great thing about HST is that its about half the price or more compared to gold dots.

On the rare occasions I carry a 4" Magnum for SD I load it with 158gr Speer GDHP ammo and have done so for a long time. I see no reason to chase the latest and greatest. If it ain't broke.........

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SWCA #3437

The Speer 357 Magnum 135 gr. Short barrel load is a good one, and clocks somewhere aroound 1200 fps, iirc. Nice to shoot, too. Of course, that's if you can find t.
A good 38 spl. +P load like Remington Golden Saber, Speer Gold Dot 135gr. Short Barrel+P or similar load is good, too. The Speer uses the same bullet as the 357 Magnum. The Lucky Gunner Lab tests are a good resource.

I'm fairly sure the Speer 135gr .357 Magnum short barrel ammo is only rated @990fps. The .38 Special +P ammo is rated @860fps.

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Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

I don't normally "chase the next best" either. When I bought my first Micro 9mm EDC SD pistol (Sig P365) I purchased a dozen or so different brands and types of 9mm carry ammo. They included Speer GDHP (std. vel. and +P), Hornady Critical Defense, Federal HST (std. vel. & +P) and Sig Elite. There were also a few others like Winchester and Buffalo Bore and I tested 115 grain, 124 grain and a couple of 147 grain bullets. I chronographed them all, checked them for accuracy and shot some test media. While I take most youtube video's strictly as entertainment, Ammo Quest's channel is about the most professional and most through I have found for ammo testing so far. I settled in on the 124 grain standard velocity Federal HST for a number of reasons. They were the most accurate in my personal pistol, they were the most consistent expanders, and their velocity was also very consistent. They penetrated more than the 12" minimum in every test (13.5" - 16.5") and never separated. In all the years of shooting, I can not remember any Federal centerfire cartridge I've shot ever failing to fire. They also feed 100% reliably in my gun and I also like the blue waterproofed seal around the bullet and primer (yes, I realize most of today's carry ammo does include that as well).

BTW, the reason I settled in on the standard velocity version is because out of the P365's 3.1" bbl the +P version expanded a tad more however it was not as great a penetrator as the standard velocity version. IMHO reliability and penetration is always most important with expansion being next most important. So that was my process for deciding what to use. Other peoples guns may have different bbl. lengths and different characteristics, but this is was best for me. Since I made that decision, I have not really looked into new fangled and new tech rounds.

The Federal P357HST1S 357Mag 154gr HST is now available for order directly from Federal on its site for $44.99. It's also at MidwayUSA for $39.99. Best price I found was $32.99 at Academy Sports + Outdoors, and they have a low shipping cost. I bought a small quantity from Federal a few weeks ago (couldn't believe it until it actually showed up at my house) and it's finally hitting the retail channel. Just bought some more from Academy.