357 Ammo Power

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So I'm sitting here thinking. That's usually when the trouble starts. :)

What would you say is the loudest/biggest "bang" 357 magnum ammo you have fired?

We're not talking best stopping power/penetration. Simply raw explosion/bang factor here. The type of round that when you fire it you feel the shock viberate through your chest and internal organs. :)

Corbon/Federal/Remington?

I started thinking on this while considering something else on my my Ruger GP-141.

Just an off-shoot.
 
That would be a toss up between two different loads.

158 grain bullet, 15.0 grains of AA #9 listed at 1600 fps
110 grain HP, 16.0 grains of Blue Dot listed at 2040 fps
 
I came across a box of 158 grain Nosler hollow points once. I didn't remember seeing them before and thought they were a new offering. I went home and loaded some up with Alliant (Hercules) 2400 and CCI mag primers, following the recipe I'd been using with Sierra's jacketed HP of the same weight.

For some unknown reason, the very same load using Sierra bullets was mild mannered, accurate, and fun to shoot. With the Noslers there was FIRE!! Absolutely ZERO accuracy. Muzzle blast like you wouldn't believe! I felt bits of hot powder on my face and arms with every shot.

Needless to say, one cylinder full was enough for me. By the way, a Colt Python will NOT go "out of time" if heavy loads are used. At least not in my experience. I'm getting tired of reading such crapola around here.

It simply isn't true. My Python has handled stuff that would break a Blackhawk.

Cheers!
Callahan
 
Unpublishable 158 and 180 gr silhouette loads pack quite a whallop even in heavy guns.

125gr out to 1800-1900 (published) are quite cracky.

Up till bout thirty years ago one could purchase over the counter major manufacturer .38 spec and .357 mag loads that were quite stout. With warning that they were to be used in large framed guns of good quality and in good condition. Now that we have been occupied by the litiginous lawyers, warning labels no longer protect the manufacturer from idiots. Hence the wimping down of most commercial ammunition.

Sam
 
Don Mallards' "original" recipie 357 loads. I'm sure he'll be posting soon.

(I'm sure WESHOOT2 has loaded well past those, but as for me personally, thats the biggest banger load I've fired.)
 
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Years back I worked up loads to shoot out past 150 yds. The combo was a Blackhawk, 2400 and 158 gr JHP. Needed a dowel and mallet to drive the fired cases out of the cylinder...uhhhh...:rolleyes:

For a more reasonable approach, I think faster powder "cracks", slower powder "booms". Just depends on what turns ya on.

Hottest thing I shoot these days is 130 gr Hydrashoks
 
17gr of 296, WSPM primers and a tightly crimped long bodied, deep seated 158gr FMJ bullet really gets my attention. Creates a sort of "wind" in the indoor range booth. I haven't been able to make a 125gr load that was as bad, and 180gr is just a pleasant shove, even when pushed as hard as possible.
 
OUCH! SORRY, COULD YOU REPEAT THAT?

I have a GP-100 load using 180g R-P SJHP's, moving out at 1170fps. They're kinda loud. (They blow primers in my Redhawk).

I also have a few lightweight loads that 'crack' the sound barrier.......
 
These are among the loudest .357magnum rounds I have encountered, in no particular order:

**Israel's Samson 158gr JHPs**

**Georgia Arms Sheer-Power-Plus 158gr Gold Dots**

**Hornady's 140gr XTP**

**Practically any 125gr JHP**

**Italy's Fiochi Truncated FMJ**

I wear hearing protection all the time, but these rounds you can feel, expecially out of a 4" S&W 686.
 
Every time I have been at a public range (indoor or outdoor) and fired the Federal Clasic 125g Hi-Shok, someone will come over and ask what on earth I am shooting. When I tell them it is just a 357 Magnum they are shocked and surprised. It doesn't sound all that different to me (the shooter) but based on the reaction of others, and this has happened more than once, this must be the real deal when it comes to "Magnum".
 
Dave: I have found the same thing. I have read on these boards a number of times about how loud such and such a cartridge is and never found a whole lot of difference. But, other people shooting near me always comment. So, I started letting my friends shoot my guns while I stood to the side and watched. Sure enough, you can tell a big difference from the side. I couldn't understand the fuss about my .30 Carbine Blackhawk, the 7.62x25, or heavy .357 loads until I was not behind the gun.
 
Every revolver I've shot will do that. There just seems to be a huge shockwave moving sideways from the cylinger gap area.

It makes logical sense, as this is the only "open" area in the bullets path behind the end of the barrel.
 
444,
The original question was about the loudest 357 Magnum. Your 30 Carbine will out decibel the 357 Magnum most every time. The hands down loudest handgun I have been around is an IPSC shooters compensated 9X25 Dillon. That's the 10mm necked down to 9mm. That thing hurt through plugs and muffs.
 
Loudest/biggest bang 357 load I've fired was 16.0gr of Bluedot under a 125gr JHP. Rattles the windows in the range behind me and always causes people to lean back out of their lanes to see what the heck is going on.

In my experience Blue Dot flashs and bangs more than any other powder I've used.
 
Not only have ammo makers toned down their loads, but the loading manuals have reduced the top loads, as well. Compare a manual printed 20 years ago to one recently published and top loads are less in the later book.

My biggest 357 bang is 125 JHP over 18 grains of 2400 for 1725 FPS out of my 5" M27. Loudest handgun I ever had was a T/C Contender in 7 TCU with 139 grain bullets loaded to 2,000 FPS from a 10" barrel.
 
The EARLY "Super-Vel" were QUITE IMPRESSIVE...still got some empty brass and boxes, but, alas, no loaded ammo...also, a "Friend" loaded some 150 or 158-gr. Sierra's over a LOT of 296 for me one time...when I was young and didn't know any better...when I remarked at the SUBSTANTIAL RECOIL, FLASH and REPORT when fired from my mid-70's Model 19, he nonchalantly said that, while they WERE 2 GRAINS OVER MAX according to his manual, they were FINE in his "Old Model" Blackhawk!!! Some "Friend",yes??? The moral of the story, if there is one, is to KNOW what you're stuffin' into the chambers!!!....mikey357
 
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