158gr 357 HP vs 125gr HP 357

Register to hide this ad
The 125 grn will give higher velocity, which will be lessened out of a short barrel anyway. It has a lot of blast and recoil though.
 
If you wanted a small, five-shot 9mm, I think you would have bought a Rohrbaugh. Except that would give you more rounds. ;) And be smaller. And probably more pleasant to shoot.

Me, I think the 158-grainers will give you the better performance out of that gun - if you can handle them. But you'll need to chrono the ammo you're considering out of your gun to get a real appreciation for the actual performance at issue - there are a LOT of different loads of both types you're wondering about, and there is a lot of difference between those loads. MagTech 158-gr loads are going to give different performance from Buffalo Bore's, and there are all manner of 125-grain loadings as well.

Ultimately without an examination of the actual loads' performance in the gun you're considering, we're just whistling Dixie.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the replies.I'm going to get to the range with some Rem 125 GS and Federal 158 half jacket HP,that's what I have on hand.I'm looking for 135gr short barrel HP,but it's hard to get in my area.
 
Nice gun. You might try some of the hot Buffalo Bore 158gr LSWCHP+P loads too.

That said, my 640-1 handles recoil pretty good considering it's weight.
 
I don't think it matters much which load you use as long as you place it well.

A 650fps wadcutter will do the job if you do yours; a whiz-bang hollow-point +P isn't going to make up for a bad shot, so it boils down to what you and your gun shoot best.
 
My snubby .357s, except my SP-101, all carry either Speer Short Barrel 135s or Remington Golden Saber 125s. The Ruger is stoked with Cor-Bon 125gr. screamers or Remington 125gr. SJHPs. If I had an all-steel J-frame .357 like yours, I'd likely put Cor-Bon 125s in it.
 
The sights on your 640-1 are probably regulated for 158-grain ammo.

For the firing distances normally involved with a snubnose revolver, bullet-choice takes a distant third place to reaction time, and marksmanship.

I personally have a tremendous dislike of the muzzle-blast of supersonic loads from a small handgun.
 
My opinion is that if you want to use full house .357s, you had better put in the range time to master them. That's what I did. I use Remington 125 gr. SJHPs (R357M1) in my steel snubs. My 360 PD is stoked with Speer SB .357s.
 
The Speer SB and Remington Golden Saber loads are both reduced from what would be considered 'full house' loads. But that's not to say that they're ineffective. Both have very modern projectiles, presumably attenuated to their velocities by companies that both have a sterling reputation in the field. If you or your gun shoots either of them particularly well, there's no need to look any further unless you just want to, and there is a rapidly-approaching point of diminishing returns unless you're really willing to put in the range time with higher-energy loads.
 
Last edited:
The Speer SB and Remington Golden Saber loads are both reduced from what would be considered 'full house' loads. But that's not to say that they're ineffective. Both have very modern projectiles, presumably attenuated to their velocities by companies that both have a sterling reputation in the field. If you or your gun shoots either of them particularly well, there's no need to look any further unless you just want to, and there is a rapidly-approaching point of diminishing returns unless you're really willing to put in the range time with higher-energy loads.
Absolutely correct. Think of the Speer SB and Remington GS as .38+P+ rounds loaded in .357 brass. I tested Speer SB in Perma-Gel. The test results are in the Perma-Gel Test Results thread.
 
Back
Top