.357 magnum ammo question

[mikesal34744]

Can someone tell me the difference between 158 grain or 180 grain versus 110 grain or 125 grain .357 ammo in terms of "wearing down" my revolver. I don't worry what I shoot out of my 686, but I recently got a model 60 J frame and have read not to over do hot loads. I always assumed 158 or 180 is a hotter load and 110 or 125 should be easier on the model 60. However after reading stuff online today I'm not sure if I have that correct. Can anyone tell me the difference ?

 

[Nevada Ed]

There is hot and there is recoil..........

In the 357 magnum anything past 1250 fps is warm and getting hotter as it goes.
The little 110 and 125 pills can reach 1500 fps and due to damage to some K frames and others, the companies now have dropper the 110gr down to around 1250 fps and the 125gr to around 1430 fps or lower.

The 158gr has been around 1250 fps, not a high number but it is the recoil of this heavier bullet that now make the 357 going from "Apples" to "Oranges".
Really two different animals, so to speak and ever more so when using different styles of powders, with different chemical makeups.

The L and N frame revolvers should not "Wear Down" since S&W made them heavier than the K frame and also changed the design to take on the heavy loads from the past.
Any factory ammo of today will be safe in these models........

Stop worrying and go shooting.

 

[shotgun693]

You can go to the web page of every ammo company, that I've checked, and get the claimed velocity with offered bullet weights. You can chose from those as to what you want to shoot in your gun.

 

[rwsmith]

Not really......

Can someone tell me the difference between 158 grain or 180 grain versus 110 grain or 125 grain .357 ammo in terms of "wearing down" my revolver. I don't worry what I shoot out of my 686, but I recently got a model 60 J frame and have read not to over do hot loads. I always assumed 158 or 180 is a hotter load and 110 or 125 should be easier on the model 60. However after reading stuff online today I'm not sure if I have that correct. Can anyone tell me the difference ?

There are hot loads with heavy bullets and hot loads with light bullets. The 'heat' is provided by heavier loads of powder up to the maximum. In keeping with the allowable pressures, a light bullet is easier to accelerate to higher velocities than a heavy bullet, the trade off is in mass vs velocity. In other words, a hot, light bullet will have a higher max velocity than a hot heavy bullets. The idea is to stay away from max loads with either a light or heavy bullets in the 60. They probably wouldn't be very pleasant to shoot in a 'j' frame, anyway. It would still take a lot of shooting to 'wear it out'.

A similar warning was given to the 'k' frame .357s like the model 19. They could shoot .357 but a steady diet wasn't recommended. There was a design problem on these guns with a flat machined into the barrel that would crack with a lot of 125 grain loads. 125 gr was probably the worst offender due to the length of the bullet compared to heavier ones.

 

[Dale53]

Mike;
Most find .38 +P ammo to be about as much recoil in a "J" frame that can be tolerated. The right +P ammo will do the job for self defense quite nicely without hurting the shooter.

FWIW
Dale53

 

[mikesal34744]

Thanks everyone. That help explain things a little better. I'm personally not recoil sensitive and was just making sure I dont abuse my little revolers.

 

[mikesal34744]

I think im going to only shoot 38 out of it for the most part. 357 is for hiking. I use my 9mm for everyhing else.

 

[Kid44]

ALL ammo will "wear down" your gun, it just depends on how fast you want it worn down. As previously mentioned there is some ammo that is hotter than other ammo. After all, when you pull the trigger there is a small explosion going on in the chamber, or cylinder, the steel around the cartridge contains the explosion keeping the gun together so you can shoot it the next time you take it out. You can find a load that will be a joy to shoot, or you can really push things to the limit, but no matter what your gun will eventually need to be tightened up. Maybe not by you by eventually by someone.

 

[ISCS Yoda]

Mike;
Most find .38 +P ammo to be about as much recoil in a "J" frame that can be tolerated. The right +P ammo will do the job for self defense quite nicely without hurting the shooter.

FWIW
Dale53

Thanks everyone. That help explain things a little better. I'm personally not recoil sensitive and was just making sure I dont abuse my little revolers.

Keep shooting hot loads in J frames and come back to us next year about recoil sensitivity. I don't mean ten rounds, either, I mean 50 round sessions. Good luck with that.

 

[Dale53]

Clint Smith runs a Professional Shooting School. A student attended on of his classes with a new Smith "J" frame (I believe it was an lightweight alloy frame). The first time he shot it, he broke his hand. No exaggeration!

The Model 60 is somewhat heavier so the recoil is not as violent as the alloy framed guns but still, the recoil can only be described as more than noticeable when using full charge .357 loads. PlusP .38's are the usual answer. Me, I practice with full charge wadcutters or even target wadcutters then finish off with a few +P loads.

YMMV

FWIW
Dale53