357 magnum defensive ammo

Which of these is the best for defensive use

  • Buffalo Bore Low Flash Tactical Short Barrel 125 grain JHP

    Votes: 14 15.4%

  • Hornady FTX 125 grain

    Votes: 15 16.5%

  • Winchester Silvertip 145 grain JHP

    Votes: 57 62.6%

  • Black Hills 125 grain JHP

    Votes: 5 5.5%
  • Total voters
    91
CH4 said:
That’s for sure!
However, I just scored 6 50 rd boxes of Speer GDHP 135 gr 38 +p short barrel for about $15 a box at local pawn shop. Still smiling :)
Click to expand...

That is like finding an actual pot of gold 🪙 at the end of the rainbow 🌈 was there a leprechaun behind the counter? What an incredible deal that is!
 
Last edited:
LoboGunLeather said:
The contrary opinion: For personal defensive use .357 magnum is greatly overpowered for the need, and use within populated areas is questionable at best.

I carried .357 magnum revolvers on and off-duty for many years and have been present for several actual shooting events. Those experiences left me convinced that good .38 Special +P was more than enough for the intended purposes and much easier to shoot well when necessary.
Click to expand...

I'm going to call out the part in the first paragraph about " populated areas " . Plenty of .357 loads have less penetration than Plenty of .38+P loads .

But yes , the better .38 +P loads are Plenty Adaquate for Defense/ Duty use . I feel Plenty confident with .38 guns , with loads of my choice . Outside of full power 125 JHP , it's not a big deal to me between. 38 and .357 guns .

J frame , .357 is pointless.
Medium frame - What's best suited depends on the gun , the shooter , and the particular shooter .
 
I personally always carry heavier weight rounds (i.e. 357s are 158 grain preference, 38s 135 to 158 for defense and 158 for target shooting).

I recently tried out some Hornady Critical Defense 125 grain because it was what I could pick up for now, and was very disappointed in the accuracy and will not personally go that route in the future.

I don't currently have a "favorite" since I am getting back into 357s but am looking to settle on one for my 4 inch L Frame in the near future.

In my 640 Pro, I just carry 38+P and am perfectly happy and feel secure with that choice.

Something I'd be interested in trying (if it can be found in the future, as I can tell, it's not yet out) is the Federal 357 HST round.

I had used HST 147s in my 9mms and found them to be VERY accurate, and the ballistics testing I had seen were VERY GOOD.

I have a preference to Federal and PMC ammo in general.

Buy Personal Defense HST .357 Magnum P357HST1S for USD 44.99 | Federal Ammunition
 
I recently sold my last "light" 357 handgun - my 60-15. Scary difficult to fire a 357 in it. My only 357 is my Ruger GP100, and I may never fire 357 in it, but I still have nearly a box full of Hornady 158gr XTP 357 magnums available for it. It likes my factory 38 SWCHP +P's, and my home loads of SWCHP's, WC's and SWC's. I turn 73 in a few weeks. I leave magnums to the younglings who still have the hand strength. In the meanwhile, 45 Colt, 44 spl, 45 ACP in a 1911 are the big guns I can still enjoy.
 
CH4 said:
That’s for sure!
However, I just scored 6 50 rd boxes of Speer GDHP 135 gr 38 +p short barrel for about $15 a box at local pawn shop. Still smiling :)
Click to expand...

It's obviously the broker had no idea what he had. The usual price is about $29/20 rounds. (if you can find them) You did amazingly well.
 
Magnum_PI said:
I personally always carry heavier weight rounds (i.e. 357s are 158 grain preference, 38s 135 to 158 for defense and 158 for target shooting).

I recently tried out some Hornady Critical Defense 125 grain because it was what I could pick up for now, and was very disappointed in the accuracy and will not personally go that route in the future.

I don't currently have a "favorite" since I am getting back into 357s but am looking to settle on one for my 4 inch L Frame in the near future.

In my 640 Pro, I just carry 38+P and am perfectly happy and feel secure with that choice.

Something I'd be interested in trying (if it can be found in the future, as I can tell, it's not yet out) is the Federal 357 HST round.

I had used HST 147s in my 9mms and found them to be VERY accurate, and the ballistics testing I had seen were VERY GOOD.

I have a preference to Federal and PMC ammo in general.

Buy Personal Defense HST .357 Magnum P357HST1S for USD 44.99 | Federal Ammunition
Click to expand...

I tend to like heavier bullets as well. When I had a SIG P365 I used the Federal HST which was 147 grains, and now that I have my old 686 back I settled on the 145 grain silvertip. I know the 125 grain bullet has the track record to earn its reputation as a man-stopper, but I am more comfortable with the 145 grain that has a little less kick for better follow-up shots.
 
attachment.php


Did the milk jug test, and again the performance was excellent. The expansion on these is the most consistent I've seen in any hollow. It dumped most of its energy in the first two milk jugs before entering the third and falling out on the table. Just incredible consistency in performance. Can't say enough good things about this round in terms of reliability, expansion, accuracy, low flash, and low recoil for quick follow-ups. Easily the best 357 hollow I've tested and my silver bullet for life. Just going to continue to buy out the stock whenever it's available so I have a massive stash of this stuff because it's just the best.
 

Attachments

  • PXL_20230904_132549863.jpg
    PXL_20230904_132549863.jpg
    148.9 KB · Views: 91
Last edited:
I didn't have time to read all all repsonses, but here goes anyway.

1. ANY of those premium & boutique HP loads will do the trick in a 4" bbl SW686 .357mag. Not a bad choice among them. Find one that your gun likes, is available, and you can get enough for a price you can tolerate.

2. Thing is, you don't NEED premium or boutique loads in .357mag for it to be hella effective.

3. ANY old school cup & core .357mag 125gr or 158gr JHP/SJHP from any of the bigs (Fed, Rem, Win) will perform, 4" bbl or 2" bbl. They will generally ace the FBI protocol bare or clothed. You might get something else from a premium load, but none of them exceed the old 125/158gr (S)JHP loads on target. The old school 125/158gr ammo is also cheaper and can be more easily bought in bulk.

4. .357mag, when loaded like .357mag or near'bout, has enough velocity to not need a premium pill like lesser cartridges moving at lesser velocities.

5. I am partial to 158gr, as most my .357mag shoot it better than 125gr.

6. SW686 4" bbl is good-to-go for full magnum loads. It has mass enough to soak up recoil. It is my favorite revolver shooting any .38spl or .357mag and my wife's when loaded with .38spl 148gr HBWC.

Good luck & good shooting.
 
SGT ROCK 11B said:
My 686 Plus is loaded with Golden Saber 125gr BJHP for home defense too. At the time the choices were Remington or foreign brands. I picked American Remington.

My LGS now have Hornady and Underwood in stock. Those are great choices too.
Click to expand...
Another write-in vote for the 125gr Golden Saber “357 Lite.” Quick follow-up shots are not difficult in a STEEL-FRAME snubbie. Lucky Gunner ballistic gel tests recorded a Five-shot average of ~1100 fps out of a 2” barrel and ~1200 out of a 4”. The GS expanded to .62” out of both barrels and penetrated 16-18”. No, clear ballistic gel is not human flesh, but at least you can compare apples to apples (e.g., Golden Saber to Gold Dot Short Barrel or Winchester Defender, both of which are also loaded relatively light for 357).
 
My favorite and current carry ammo is the new 154 grain HST, talk about performance! The 357 didn't need that kind of technology but it's really the ultimate carry round. I won't lie, it's pretty stout but worth it for the performance.

The 145 grain Silvertip is good but it's hard to find these days so I don't even count that one. The others I like are the Remington 158s, the Corbon 140s, pretty much any XTP aside from the 110, and if I had to pick a 125 it would be the Federal. The Rem 125s don't get enough penetration for me to be comfortable with. I like the 158 grain Gold Dots too but those are more of a woods load to me. There are a few others I can't think of off the top but there are a lot of good choices in 357.
 
Fishinfool said:
I will throw another one out there - The Remington . 357 mag 125 grain SJHP. I don't know how it compares to more "modern" ammo in FBI protocol testing, but it was pretty much the gold standard for one shot stops during the police revolver era. It was standard issue when I was a trooper, and it did save my bacon one night in the early 1980's. It is loaded warm, big flash, and may not be the best choice for indoors, or in a snubby J frame, but is not priced like some "boutique" ammo, and can be found fairly easily. It always shot very well out of my L and N frame guns.

Larry
Click to expand...
My Chief switched us to the new 686 4" and 125 grain hollow points in about 1982. We did a lot of reading. Had one report from the previous couple of years from the Kentucky State Police. They'd had 18 or 19 OIS. All but one were 1 shot stops and not a single bullet exited the body on a torso shot. They used 125 hollow points. We were told we could buy/shoot any brand we wanted (back then it was pretty much Remington, Federal or CCI. Didn't see much Winchester in the central part of the state. I still have a few boxes of that old ammo today.
 
I recently tested the 154 gr HST in three revolvers: a 3" 686+, a 5" 686+, and a 3" Colt King Cobra. As mentioned, it is a stout load. I was holding on for dear life with the Colt. The Smiths were manageable. Scary accurate load in my 5".

1245 fps from 3" Colt King Cobra
1215 fps from 3" S&W 686-6
1295 fps from 5" S&W 686-5

For me .357 Mag is a field load. All my home defense revolvers use .38 +P.

I probably won't buy the HST again, as I have a good supply of Barnes 125 gr & 140 gr XPB with good loads worked up for both.
 
Fishinfool said:
I will throw another one out there - The Remington . 357 mag 125 grain SJHP. I don't know how it compares to more "modern" ammo in FBI protocol testing, but it was pretty much the gold standard for one shot stops during the police revolver era. It was standard issue when I was a trooper, and it did save my bacon one night in the early 1980's. It is loaded warm, big flash, and may not be the best choice for indoors, or in a snubby J frame, but is not priced like some "boutique" ammo, and can be found fairly easily. It always shot very well out of my L and N frame guns.

Larry
Click to expand...
The Remington 125 grain SJHP is my self defense load. I own other more expensive stuff like Buffalo Bore loads, Underwood and Hornady, but the Remington historically has been reported to have a 96% one-shot stop rating. The officer only had to shoot once, and the encounter was ended.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkX5SVdTE9M&t=473s"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkX5SVdTE9M&t=473s[/ame]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8WNQxIjutc"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8WNQxIjutc[/ame]
 
I recently tried a new load from High Desert Cartridge Company. It was developed in consultation with @nyeti and is a reduced-velocity load speced at 950 fps from a 4" barrel, using Hornady's 158-grain XTP bullet. It went 918 fps from my (known "slow") 4" 19-3 and 994 fps from my 4" 681-2, was scary accurate, and shoots exactly to the top of the front sight of the 681. It has replaced the Remington 158-grain SJHP as my .357 Mag carry load, though I'll keep the Remington load for use in my N frames.

Link to that load.
 
Last edited:
I picked the Buffalo Bore, but also like the Speer Gold Dot 135 SB and Silvertips, especially the original with nickel cases.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

A
question about legacy 357 magnum ammo
2
Replies
33
Views
2K
agent00
A
A
125 grain 357 magnum ammo recommendation
2
Replies
35
Views
6K
Skeet 028
S
BabaBlueJay
Black Hills Ammo any good?
Replies
18
Views
2K
Doug M.
Doug M.
BabaBlueJay
Winchester Silvertip 357 magnum 145 grain test
Replies
12
Views
4K
RobertJ.
RobertJ.
BabaBlueJay
  • Poll Poll
Might switch from 357 to 38 for carry
2 3
Replies
54
Views
4K
Bumpus13
Bumpus13

Latest posts

Back
Top