Rem 158 grn SJHP 357 Magnum

[medic15al]

What is the concensus on this load for an M-66 4in?

I like the rem 125 grn version but wan to avoid the forcing cone issues.

 

[flop-shank]

It's reputation is that it ought to penetrate a little deper than the 125 gr. load, but is an excellent old school .357 load. If I were using that gun, the 158 gr. Remington would be on my short list to try. Corbon makes a hot rod 140 gr. JHP and Winchester has it's excellent 145 gr. Silvertip JHP. Those are two loads that you might want to consider as well.

 

[medic15al]

Thanks! I'll look into the Cor-Bon 140, as I haven't heard about this load before, and have carried Silvertips in the past and was pleased with them.

 

[canoe on the yukon]

What is the concensus on this load for an M-66 4in?

I like the rem 125 grn version but wan to avoid the forcing cone issues.

According to Remington,that load is listed as 1235 fps.I don't know what firearm or test barrel was used.That level would not be considered true full throttle but it's quite good generally speaking.

I'm a handloader but I've tried various factory loads over the years.I bought a 50 round box of the soft point version of that load once and it performed very well.Factories change the specs from time to time but those figures sound fairly consistant with my observation.

 

[smith57]

The Rem 158 gr SJHP is my factory carry load in my 4" Md 66 (no dash). It is very accurate, and clocks in at 1300 fps over my Pact chronograph.
Also chronographed this load from my 2 1/8" bbl 640-1 @ 1140 fps. It was also very accurate at 7 yds in the 640-1.

 

[medic15al]

Sounds like a good load! Oughta be for $40 a box of 50 at Bass Pro

 

[anchors]

I have Federal's version and out of my 640-1 it is definately a handfull.

 

[grub348]

I use the Remington 158 grain sjhp in my 3" 686+. Accurate, not much muzzle flash in dark conditions and SEEMS to open up in medium sized varmints [ coons, possums, etc ] I don't really care for the 110 or 125 grain loads in the .357. I had one STOP in a cell phone battery and another fail to penetrate a two gallon container of water.I think a 357 should penetrate a bit better than that especially if the varmint in question weighs a couple of hundred pounds or more and could be intent on doing great bodily harm to me .

 

[amd6547]

I shoot the DoubleTap bondedcore 125gn...I have a hard time picturing that load stopping in a cell battery.

 

[canoe on the yukon]

I shoot the DoubleTap bondedcore 125gn...I have a hard time picturing that load stopping in a cell battery.

Amen.There seems to be a number of shooters out there who belittle and denigrate any and all bullets which are lighter than what was once considered standard for that caliber.The usual remarks center around the fact that it has such a dismal ability to penetrate.

I would not use light bullets in the 357 for deer hunting but frankly I don't think much of the 357 for deer hunting anyway.I would also not care to attempt to penetrate a car windshield with it but I have very little faith in any expanding bullet for that.

All of the other condemnations that I observe about the lighter bullets are exaggerated in the extreme.I've been using bullets of all ranges of weight for many years and I simply do not find much of the criticism to be valid.My experience tells me the very opposite of so much of the internet forum hop-nob.