JHP vs. JSP ammo in .357

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cornered rat

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I have decided on my favorite range ammo in .357 - 158 gr Blazers. Inexpensive ($9 for JSP, $11 for JHP), barely any muzzle flash from 6" barrel, *accurate*. I am still not sure I would used them for "real work", though I had no trouble with extraction or anything else.

However, I would like my ammo to be usable for fighting, just in case. At 1400-1500 fps, would soft points be likely to expand, or should I go with "flying ashtray" JHP? Besides price difference, soft points are easier to fit into the cylinder from speedloaders, so I can see arguments for either. Not sure reloading speed is much of an issue...either I would be done after seven rounds or done in, but I like to optimize irrelevant details :)

I saw one image of Blazer .357 JHP head shot, but that isn't exactly useful info, as any .357 round would have been enough. Has anyone hunter with .357 and have info on terminal ballistics?
 
Greetings,

I have a comment on the CCI Blazer round.

After a 18 shots of rapid fire (speedloading), or just regular shooting on a hot day (30 C./86 F.), my Ruger GP-100 gets what I call a "tight cylinder" or two.

The aluminum cases stick after firing, sometimes necessitating a bit of waiting (cooling) and a judicious tapping to extract.

Now, it could be just this pistol or maybe it isn't. Aluminum has a lower heat coefficient (heats up faster) and greater expansion coefficient (expands more) than brass does.

Regardless, I usually do not have this problem, but will use brass cases 100% of the time in summer from now on.

Duncan
 
Actually, I was thinking of keeping Blazer in the gun and brass-cased soft points or even FMJ in the speedloader (less vunerable to damage and easier to inset into the cylinder). Perhaps I ought to just find a good brass-cased 158gr JHP round....suggestions?
 
Cornered Rat,

Are you sure you're getting 1400-1500 FPS velocities with those 158 grain Blazers? That sounds a little faster than I'd expect, even from a 6" barrel.

Anyway, I'd go for the JHPs if you want expansion. I've gotten the impression that soft points generally don't expand very well. They might work OK in a hunting scenario where a bullet has to break a shoulder bone and then penetrate 15" of deer, but that's not the sort of performance you want in a 10" thick human bad guy.

Just my humble opinion...
 
Velocity was a SWAG. I recall reading that for 125gr rounds, so it would be likely that 158gr would slower. The lack of muzzle blast vs. 125gr rounds makes me really like this brand though...
 
My agency issued 158 gr SPs for years. The load was hard to control in K frame guns, usually did not expand on live targets, and overpenetrated. Current opinion is that the 125 gr JHP is the best single defense load in existence, and this is backed up by a great deal of police data. No contest whatsoever.

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For self defense or carry on duty I would most certainly opt for the JHP in 125 gr. Its performance has been well documented. As for the Blazer rounds getting stuck in the cylinder after successive rapid fire and so on, I to experienced the same thing in my S&W 686, I do not experience this problem with brass cases.
 
I've always thought it funny that the Blazers use such great bullets in such crappy cases. For revolver, I just would NOT use the aluminum cased stuff. I've had bullets several times push into the cases in my pocket, and they can slide out to tee-totally lock up your resolver when they back out in the cylinder!

The brass stuff, of course, seems to be the buttons.
 
What companies use the same "flying ashtray" bullets in brass cases? I plan to load up some .38 and .357 rounds next week, but would like factory for defense.
 
I would stay with brass cases for defense and save the Blazers for practice. CCI loads their 158 gr. JHP in a brass case, so you can practice with essentially the same load that you are carrying. If the brass CCI load is not always available, other manufacturers offer their version, I doubt if you will be able to tell much difference in the way that they shoot. I've had only a few failures with Blazers, but even fewer with brass loads.

I would stick with the 158 gr. JHP v. the Soft Point. I would especially use a load that has alot of exposed lead sticking out past the jacket. With 6 inches of barrel you should have no problem achieving expansion. I would stay away from the new designs in which the jacket extends all the way up to the nose of the bullet. I have not found them to be reliable expanders during my own informal tests. When shooting through cloth, they tend to act like a cookie cutter, cutting out a piece of cloth which plugs the cavity and prevents or retards expansion. By contrast, at .357 velocities, lead tends to begin expanding regardless of what it hits, while the others have to rely on fluid pressure. With an automatic you have little choice, with a revolver you can do much better.

There is alot of talk about overpenetration these days. While that can certainly be a problem, underpenetration can be even more of a problem. While the lighter bullets have proven to be excellent stoppers, the day that one does'nt penetrate deeply enough will be a disaster for the person's whose life depends on it. Handgun cartridges are weak. The only way that a handgun bullet stops or kills is by the tissue that it actually touches and destroys. The instance when a bullet does not penetrate deeply enough to reach vital organs or a spine, after having to first travel through intervening objects, or the bulk of a very large attacker, will result in a failure to stop.

Penetration with underpowered handgun bullets is an iffy subject. Last night, I was wathching an episode of "FBI Files". In the late 1980s a California Highway Patrolman executed a young woman with his 4 inch S&W Model 19 loaded with Federal 158 gr. Jacketed Softnose .357s. He shot her in the back of the head, then dug around in the dirt in front of her searching for the slug which he was sure would have exited. It did'nt exit. Instead it penetrated her skull and lodged inside of her jaw. I would have expected it to exit also. Apply this to a large male attacker wearing several layers of heavy clothing and having to shoot through an arm. Wiil you get enough penetration to reliably stop him? Mabey, mabey not. There is a reason that handgun hunters use heavy bullets to take broadside shots at 160 lb. deer.
 
Methinks CCI's companion to the Blazer line is called "Lawman." Their idea is to duplicate the bullets and loadings in the Al-case Blazers and the CuZi (brass) Lawman lines, to facilitate cheap practice and real duty load interchangeability.

Anyone have experience in 125-gr SPs vs JHPs? I accidentally bought a bunch of JSPs, and wonder what differences in performance to expect.

Maybe I just need to load up the 30-gallon water jug and buy two boxes of Ziploks and make up a Fackler box??? Aw, not this week!
 
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