.357 Multiball Load

[Retired W4]

A guy had a case of this stuff at a gun show recently and I just had to buy a box of it. I haven't seen it around for a while and I was wondering what people think of it. One of the things written on the box is "For Law Enforcement Use Only", which is kind of funny. I know someone has shot this ammo. What do you think?

 

[Maximumbob54]

Never seen the stuff before. For some reason I feel like there is a Judge/Governor joke to be made here, but I'm just too tired. It's a pretty light load at 140 grains total.

 

[Retired W4]

Yea, the box also reads; Multi strike potential, ...less ricochet..penitration..., light recoil, yada yada yada. Does anyone actually use this round?

 

[NKJ nut]

I think I still have a few rounds of this ammo myself. I never shot any felons with it but it didn't seem too impressive. I suppose it would be a good way to turn your .357 magnum into a .410.

See, you don't have to buy a Judge to shoot buckshot out of your revolver

 

[roundgunner]

I make my own.

357 mag case, 3-000 buckshot balls over 3gr of unique. It gives me 680fps with a 4" 686.

They work OK, I used them to win a bet. A shooting buddy would setup IDPA courses that were impossible to shoot with a revolver. He did it again, when I complained he blew me off, I happened to have the 3 ball loads with me so I bet him a box of ammo I could beat him and his auto at his own stage.

I needed 3 hits on each target, one shot each did the trick and he paid up. He was also a bit better at course design after that.

Other than playing around like that I can't think of any other use for a 3 ball load.

 

[Bullzaye]

I have an old 10 round box of a similar type of ammo. I can't remember the name right now, it might have been something like, "Triplestrike", or "Tripleshock", or some such thing. It consists of 2 x 50 grain "discs" over a 150 grain JHP, or perhaps vice-versa. The box lists it as "+P+".

I never shot any of it, mostly because I've never seen any of it anywhere else. I'd suspect it might have substantial recoil.

Tim

 

[DWalt]

It's still being loaded. There is some outfit making a single-shot palm pistol, and they also make 3-ball (.38 Spl) and 4-ball (.357) loads. They are not actually balls, but more like cylinders. Gives a better close-range hit probability if you have only one shot to do the job. Don't remember details, but if you Google on Palm Pistol, you will find it. Sort of the ultimate in concealability if having only one shot doesn't bother you. I don't know how quickly it can be reloaded.

As was said, it makes about any .38/.357 revolver equivalent to a Taurus Judge. Seems I remember they were recommended for use only in short barrel revolvers, don't know why.

 

[colt_saa]

I have some of the Remington left but do not shoot or carry it.

However I do hand load a similar round for the 45 Colt. I load two 140 grain .457" round balls over 3.1 grains of 231. This load runs at roughly 550 FPS and when fired from my lever guns and makes almost no sound beyond the hammer falling and projectiles striking.

Paco Kelly used to call this a "Cat Sneeze" load.

At 15 yards or so the projectiles usually strike about 1" apart.

This load has rid my neighborhood of many possum, raccoon and fox without anyone ever knowing a shot was fired.

 

[CTG_COLLECTOR]

Multi-projectile loads are nothing new. They've existed since the metallic cartridge was invented. Just since the 80's there has been numerous brands and calibers using multiple projectiles; Quad, Triplex, Onslaught, Multiple Munitions Inc, Rem Multi-Ball, Armscor Strike Three etc. Even Double Tap has (or had) a multi-projectile load in 10MM and currently Constitution Arms Palm38 Tri-Core.

Here's some info on the new Tri-Cor:

International Ammunition Association {iaaforum.org} - View topic - Palm "Triplex" 38spl ammo by Constitution Arms

 

[Bullzaye]

Multi-projectile loads are nothing new. They've existed since the metallic cartridge was invented. Just since the 80's there has been numerous brands and calibers using multiple projectiles; Quad, Triplex, Onslaught, Multiple Munitions Inc, Rem Multi-Ball, Armscor Strike Three etc.

Thank you! Yes...that's what I have. MMI, Multiple Munitions Industries. Now that I think about it, I believe it may be simply "+P", not "+P+".

As for the purpose of such ammunition, several studies have postulated that multiple impacts, rather closely grouped, and arriving within milliseconds of each other (such as occurs with a submachine gun or a shotgun blast), increases their effectiveness exponentially. In theory, this could apply to the multi-projectile pistol rounds as well.

Tim

 

[Retired W4]

To the range with it!

Well, after reading all these responses I'm taking it to the range the next time I go to see how it acts. I will report my personal experiance.

 

[haggis]

A few years ago, I developed a double projectile load for the .45 Colt. It consisted of two 160 grain LRNFP loaded base to base at about 700 fps. There were a number of interesting things about these loads.

• By loading base to base, I didn't have to skive the cases like I did for some earlier FBWC's I tried.
• Recoil was about like a 255 grain LSWC at 900 fps - stout, but manageable.
• The back bullet hit the target like a wadcutter so you could see the difference in impact between the two bullets. The back bullet usually hit slightly above the front bullet. Impact separation was 1" inch or less at 15 yards.

If there is any truth to the theory of double taps, this has to be the fastest double tap available. I suspect it would be a fairly good defensive load.

Buck

 

[revolvergeek]

I have several boxes of it in .38 spl and .357 mag. At the time I bought most of it (roughly 20 years ago) most .38 spl +P hollow point ammo wouldn't expand reliably out of a ~2" revolver, and there were very few standard pressure hollow point loads available, so two round balls was probably better than one LRN (or so I thought) and I carried it some in some older, non +p rated revolvers.

I shot a bunch of it and it actually grouped pretty nicely in most of my guns and looked pretty impressive when shooting milk jugs. Both balls would strike within 2-3" of each other, one at poa, at 25-30 feet. Generally they would be in 5-6" at 50 feet. Some guns shot them a little better. They were fun on confuse people on the range with (I bet I can shoot a double tap so fast that you can't hear the separate shots, etc ).

 

[.357magger]

With regards to the posted question about, (and I'm paraphrasing) "what would you do with it", the only answer I could see was somewhat of a niche with defense in a confined space. Hallway, ship gangway, stairwell, etc.

Don't know that I'd want the liability issue nowadays of having to account for multiple loads at distance. Meaning if you had to engage at 25-50 yards what is the spread? Or an attorney asking in presence of a jury about why you'd need "multiple killing rounds per shot". Sure, there are defenses to any question asked, but why go there? I'll take, particularly in .38 or .357 loading a good Gold Dot JHP and continue to practice double tap shooting.

Bet it'd be fun to play with though.