.357 Magnum Factory Duplication Load

[m657]

Shooting the hot 357s now & then reminds me why I prefer 41 mag.

No caliber wars intended, I just don't care for the sharp little bark my 357s produce at the upper load range.

 

[Paul5388]

.357s are the reason I wear ear protection!

Back in the late 1960s we didn't have or know to wear ear protection. It wasn't even issue items in the military, so it never crossed our minds that it was needed. The .357s I shot would make my ears ring for days before it subsided and that was using factory loads.

I changed to some very hot 125 gr handloads and the blast was even worse. I still shoot those 125 gr loads, but I do wear hearing protection now!

 

[Skip Sackett]

I still shoot those 125 gr loads, but I do wear hearing protection now!

HUH?

Seriously, there is a much different "pitch" with the hot 38 calibers. They are so sharp that they almost hurt your ears. A 44Mag doing 1400fps from a 5" barreled revolver is not even close to the same "pain".

 

[Paul5388]

At 1600+ fps they are pretty loud, they'll blow the wax out of your ears and maybe your ear drums!

I suppose you realize we're talking maximum SR4756 loads in Speer #8?

 

[Paul105]

15.0gr A2400 under the 158gr Horn XTPs chromos 1,400 fps from my 5 ½" FA M97 (std primers, 65 deg F, 5 paces from the muzzle).

Talking about eye/ear protection, most of the hearing loss that I sustained was in the early 60s. My first .357 was a Ruger flat top that I got when I was about 14. In those days, we didn't know about eye or hearing protection. Shooting factory ammo without hearing protection was so painful, we used to break off the filters from the parents cigarettes and stuff them in our ears. I remember experiencing some eye irritation after one session. Looked in the mirror and there was a black spot in the white of my eye. I was terrified that if I told the parents they would take the Ruger away. Using a toothpick, I very carefully removed the powder particle.

Paul