Does a 6" barrel overdrive the Federal 357B?

[.455_Hunter]

Greetings,

I just purchased a box of Federal's classic .357B 125 JHP loads for my 6" M28-2 and my 4" Ruger Police Service-Six. I know these we designed around the 4" length, so will the extra velocity from the 6" cause them to overexpand/underpenetrate in a defensive encounter?

 

[.455_Hunter]

Greetings,

I just purchased a box of Federal's classic .357B 125 JHP loads for my 6" M28-2 and my 4" Ruger Police Service-Six. I know these we designed around the 4" length, so will the extra velocity from the 6" cause them to overexpand/underpenetrate in a defensive encounter?

 

[flop-shank]

I doubt it. They should fragment and that will reduce their avg. rec. dia. which in turn will allow their base to penetrate deep. I haven't tested Federal's 125, but that is exactly how the Remington equivalent behaves.

 

[Gun 4 Fun]

Not all 6" guns are faster than 4"er's either. I had a M-66 4" that was notably faster than my 6" 686 with the same loads out of the same box.

Even if your 6" is faster than a 4", it won't be that much of a difference. If the bullet was that sensitive to velocity, you'd have to have your attacker stand at just the right distance from your gun to give the terminal ballistics that you desire. FWIW

 

[Vanilla Gorilla]

My 5 inch 27 runs them to the ragged edge. In water, some simply seperate from the jacket, while other fragment violently and penetration is almost nil. Results are impressive on small varmints.

My 6 inch 586 sent them at around 1650 fps, and nothing, but nothing, would hold those little guys together. Whatever they hit *poof* they were fragged.

 

[flop-shank]

I should mention that I've posted my Perma-Gel test results for R357M1 from a 6" 686 in this forum somewhere.