What is the most "pleasant" weight bullet to shoot from a full 357 Mag Snub?

[Rule3]

What is the most "pleasant" weight bullet to shoot from a full 357 Mag Snub?

OK, none of them.
But assuming the rounds are loaded to max recommended loads with whiz bang Magnum powder and primers, out of say a M 640, 2- 1/8" barrel.

The trade off of a lighter bullet say 110, 125 going faster or a heavier 158 gr going a bit slower.

I usually only shoot 158 gr so have not compared to lighter bullets and factory loads are too expensive to experiment with.

Is there a real difference in felt recoil between them or is it not that noticeable a difference??

 

[crsides]

Lighter bullets, less recoil, both in Max loads.

Recoil is generated by the weight of the bullet and the velocity of the bullet. Bunch of other considerations, but to your point, the lighter bullets will have less recoil.


Charlie

 

[Dragon88]

There's a very noticeable difference in recoil between 125gr and 158gr bullets in full power 357 loads. I even notice it in my 6" GP100.

Note the figures you plug in to calculate recoil. Bullet weight it right there at the top:

Recoil Calculator

 

[Rule3]

Thanks for the calculator. I will plug in some numbers.

I guess I was thinking the difference 33 grs of bullet weigh (125 vs 158) would equal or offset the higher velocity so it would be a wash.

 

[OKFC05]

Reduced velocity loads in the 110 to 135gr range are the least obnoxious. Example: Speer .357 Short Barrel 135gr.

Since energy is proportional to the square of speed, going to a light bullet traveling faster does not help much with recoil.

 

[Rule3]

Reduced velocity loads in the 110 to 135gr range are the least obnoxious. Example: Speer .357 Short Barrel 135gr.

Since energy is proportional to the square of speed, going to a light bullet traveling faster does not help much with recoil.

So you are saying that at full loads the lighter bullets are still pretty much the same as the 158 gr?

For me shooting 9mm, I can not feel much difference between 115 and 124 gr bullets, but those are out of heavier guns and being semi auto bleed off a lot of felt energy.

 

[Sprefix]

95 grain +P in .38 special.

 

[Rule 303]

135grn to 158grn .38spl +P made for short barreled guns.
That's if you want a accurate follow up shot in the next minute or two.

Rule 303

 

[OKFC05]

So you are saying that at full loads the lighter bullets are still pretty much the same as the 158 gr?

Recoil and velocity calculator http://www.handloads.com/calc/recoil.asp

3# pistol
125gr 158gr bullet
1800fps 1500fps MV
18.5gr 15.5gr Powder
1.33 1.33 Recoil impulse
9.44 9.44 Free recoil energy
Here are two loads that are loaded to about the same pressure shot from the same gun. As you can see, the recoil numbers are a wash.
Part of the problem is defining what are "equivalent loads with 2 different bullet weights." I chose to define it as "operating at the same pressure levels." Obviously, if one load were at 32,000Psi and the other at 42,000Psi, the higher pressure load should recoil more. Since comercial loads differ widely in pressure (power) levels, bullet weight alone is pretty sorry as a recoil indicator.

In IDPA and USPSA, we load to Power Factors (momentum in odd units) so at a given Power Factor, the heavier bullet has less recoil, which is well known.

 

[Dragon88]

To me there is a clear difference in felt recoil between 125gr and 158gr in the type of 357 load the OP is asking about. Randomly load a mixed cylinder of 125 and 158s over W296 in a revolver and hand it to me, and I can easily tell you which are which when I touch them off.

 

[Paul5388]

Using loads that are attainable, at least for me, with a 2.5# (40 ounce) gun:
125 gr `170 gr
14.0 gr 15.5 gr powder
1620 fps 1420 fps
8.47 ft lbs 11.67 ft lbs recoil

If you drop the gun weight to 1.5# (24 ounces) the recoil goes to 14.12 ft lbs and 19.45 ft lbs. That 170 gr bullet has more recoil than a .30-06 with 150 gr bullet at 2800 fps in a 9# gun (15.34 ft lbs) and the 125 gr is almost as much as the .30-06!

 

[Maximumbob54]

I guess I’m all screwed up. I have always found full power 125gr .357’s to whack the hand a heck of a lot more than full power 158gr loads. I get the mass difference and I get the powder amount vs. case volume difference. And I still say most of the 125’s are worse on the hand. Add in that most of the light bullets start causing flame cutting, change POI, and I just see no reason to use them. But that’s just me being me again.

 

[Paul5388]

Bob, 125 gr bullets don't cause flame cutting, it's the powder choices that do that. The muzzle blast maybe worse with the 125s and that may contribute to feeling like they recoil more.

As much as I used to like light bullets, the 125 cited above only develops 721 ft lbs of energy while the 170 gr develops 769 ft lbs of energy even though it's slower. Mass has its advantages for heavier targets, if you can get them moving fast enough.

BTW, I used to live just off of Atlantic Blvd, not too far from St. John's Bluff Rd.

 

[Maximumbob54]

I only say light for caliber bullets cause the flame cutting since I have been told and read repeatedly that they don’t seal the cylinder to bore gap for those microseconds needed to fully burn the powder. I have read and been told that certain powders (H110 gets the worse news) are worse than others though. I got a lot of this info when I was thinking real hard about finding a used .357 Maximum.

I’m on the rural end of the Westside of Jax. It’s just far enough away from the cluster mess but still too close to Jax’s wanna be gang bangers, crack heads, and meth addicts. But that is so prevalent everywhere these days that even small towns are being invaded by scum. The HOA keeps most rif raf to a minimum but is its own pain to deal with. You just can’t really win anymore.

 

[Rule3]

To me there is a clear difference in felt recoil between 125gr and 158gr in the type of 357 load the OP is asking about. Randomly load a mixed cylinder of 125 and 158s over W296 in a revolver and hand it to me, and I can easily tell you which are which when I touch them off.

I believe this will be the only way I know for sure how they feel to me.

Need more data, must test!