snub 357 mag velocity

9

98 220 swift

New member
I am thinking about getting a 357 lcr. I am wondering is it worth it as far as velocity loss goes. Has anyone done any real testing with factory 357 loads in a 2" barrel verses a 4" or even 6" barrel. Is there any real velocity gain over a 38 special +p load. I know about the blast and recoil issues. The factory figures are usually not realistic in a 6" barrel anyways. How does a 2" figure in?
 
Al of my revolvers are chambered for the .357 Magnum round. All four of my 2" - 4" revolvers are loaded with HOT 38 special +P ammo. The main reason to have a .357 Magnum revolver Vs. a 38 special is the variation in ammo you can safely shoot in one gun.

Lightweight revolvers are not a lot of fun to shoot with Magnum ammo.
 
Balistics by the inch are a bit deceptive with revolvers. a 2 inch snub nose will have more velocity that a 2 inch test barrel because the chamber does not count as part of the barrel. Some where around 4 inches it switches and a 357 will be faster from a solid barrel than a revolver with a 4 inch revolver (cylinder gap) barrel.

I hope that is understandable. I am not good at explaining it.
 
ballistics by the inch still did not use a real 2" revolver in a real world test. Closest was a 3" derringer. Still a interesting site I did not know about.
 
http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/357mag.html

http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/38special.html

http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/9luger.html

They show velocity from the same fixed barrel showing as it is cut. Some guys want to complain that it isn't fair to revolvers since it doesn't take into account the cylinder. Maybe so, but it also doesn't take into account speed lost because of cylinder gap. If it makes you feel better then just use the 4" length to estimate 3" barrel speed.

They also show speeds taken from REAL guns with respective barrel lengths. You can test 10 different guns with the same barrel length and get 10 different speeds. This site is pretty accurate all things considered.

Short answer is this. The 357 mag will shoot faster even from a 2" barrel than a 38+p would from a 3-4" barrel. But you also have to decide if blast and recoil from such a small gun is worth it.

A better comparison is 357 mag and 9mm. Once you get under 4" barrels in a 357 the better 9mm loads are better. With much reduced recoil and blast.
 
Actual Chrono Velocities

Thought you might find the following interesting.

The following velocites were from a S&W 360 1 7/8" .357 Mag:

185 gr LFNGC, 14.7gr Lil'Gun, ……………….. 1022 fps
158 gr CSWC, 13.5gr H-2400, ……………….. 1074 fps
158 gr JHP - XTP, 13.5gr H-2400, …………. 1009 fps
158 gr LSWHP +P, .38 Sp Rem Fact, ………. 752 fps
158 gr LRNFP, 9.6gr Blue Dot, ……………….. 1019 fps
158 gr RJHP, 9.6gr Blue Dot, …………………... 945 fps
130 gr FMJRN, .38 Sp Am Eagle, …………….. 680 fps
130 gr Hydra-Shok, .357 Mag Fed Fac……... 1159 fps
180 gr LWFN, .357 Mag Fed Fact, …………. .. 905 fps


Here are chrono results for several different guns/barrel lengths using the same load. And yes this was a 185gr not 158gr bullet:

Marlin 18" ,185 gr LFNGC, 14.7gr Lil'Gun, ………………. 1713 fps
Ruger BH 6.5" ,185 gr LFNGC, 14.7gr Lil'Gun, ……….. 1388 fps
S&W M60 3" ,185 gr LFNGC, 14.7gr Lil'Gun, ….………. 1174 fps
Ruger SP101 3" ,185 gr LFNGC, 14.7gr Lil'Gun, .…... 1160 fps
S&W M360 Ti 1.9" ,185 gr LFNGC, 14.7gr Lil'Gun, ... 1022 fps

Temp was between 65 and 75 deg F for all of the above.

FWIW,

Paul
 
I run a 125 gr bullet that chronies right at 1300fps from my Taurus 651. However I wouldn't fed those into an ultra light snubby. Even I have a level of recoil I don't care for. My wife probably would.
 
There is plenty of velocity to be gained when comparing a .357 snub with a .38 special snub.

However, there is also a huge amount of recoil and muzzle blast when firing full-power .357 magnum loads from 2" + or - revolvers. Have you ever fired a .357 snub before?

A good .38 special +P round like the Speer Gold Dot 135 grain Short Barrel load produces excellent results, but with manageable recoil and low muzzle flash. I personally believe that is the better choice for defense. Having a .357 magnum snub that wants to buck out of your hand with each shot and is like a mini flashbang going off in your face might be right up some peoples alley, but for me I will stick to the still very effective .38 special +P snub and enjoy it's controllable recoil and manageability.
 
I have fired a 357 snub. The recoil was not too bad but yes the blast was fierce. But like I said trying to figure out if it is worth it to go to 357. I figure the reason the 357 is such a good stopper is because of it velocity. If you loose it from a short barrel its probably not worth it.
 
Velocity, energy, and bullet profile of some of the best .357 loads like the Federal 357B 125 grain SJHP all contribute to the high stopping power of .357 magnum.

However, you need at least a 4" barrel to get those velocity numbers. Snub .357s do have more velocity than snub .38s, but the .357 magnum round depends on having some barrel in order to build up steam to get to the 1450+ FPS that works so well with the 125 grain JHP and SJHP loads in that caliber.

Trying to put that kind of power in a gun with a 2" barrel or less is an exercise in futility. You will end up with 9mm Parabellum velocities and energies, which is not bad by any means, but what is bad is the price you will pay in shot-to-shot recovery time and the terrible noise and blast .357 magnum snubs make when firing the hot classic .357 service loads like the above mention Federal 357B and Remington L357M12.

The good new is, with today's modern bullet technology, a .38 special +P snub nose is all you will ever need and like I mentioned, will have much less recoil, blast and flash. Observe this ballistics gelatin test:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k890Rio2oBY

This is the Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel 135 grain .38 special +P load fired from a S&W snub nose into FBI calibrated ballistics gelatin, through 4 layers of IWB recommended denim fabric. The results speak for themselves. This is the carry load I use in my S&W 642, and it's probably the most effective load in this caliber for use in revolvers with short barrels. It also does really well in a 4" barrel, and it's what I use in my S&W model 64 for home defense as well.

My point is OP, everyone thinks that a .357 magnum snub is going to give the same power as a full size .357 service revolver. Well, to be frank, it will not. Expect a significant drop off in velocity, and you will get notably lower velocities with a 2" magnum vs. a 4" magnum. All you will be doing is wasting a bunch of gunpowder when you touch of a round- that's what that bright, deafening flash is... gunpowder burning outside of your barrel where it can't add to the velocity of the bullet and instead is just wasted energy in the form of heat and light. Now buying a .357 snub nose is not a bad idea unto itself just for the ability to use magnums in an emergency, but for regular carry .38 special +P is the way to go. I'm sure you know that you can use .38 special in any .357 magnum revolver.

A .38 special snub nose with a good .38 special +P load will give just as much realistic effectiveness, but with much less recoil and blast which will allow you to stay on target and fire more accurately. Many other people share these same feelings, why do you think .38 special snubs are still so popular? Wouldn't everyone have wanted to ditch them for the magnum snubs when they first came out? The simple answer is NO- those who know their stuff tend to agree that the .38 special is the best caliber for a snub revolver, at least when compared to .357 magnum.

JMHO.

YMMV.
 
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They are very deceptive in that they don't show ballistics from a "Full Power" 125gr 357. If they had shown figures from more than 1 hand picked 125gr load then they might have some more credibility.
 
CorBon 125DPX advertised MV 1300fps, this is ballistics by the inches choice. Here are the other standard 125gr loads,

Remington 125hp MV 1450fps
Winchester 125hp MV 1450fps
Federal 125hp MV 1450fps
CorBon's other 125hp MV 1450fps

This isn't deceptive?:confused:
 
They are very deceptive in that they don't show ballistics from a "Full Power" 125gr 357. If they had shown figures from more than 1 hand picked 125gr load then they might have some more credibility.
Click to expand...
The fact they didn't show a particular load doesn't make the data deceptive

It's for comparison, and not to test all available loads

This isn't deceptive?
Click to expand...
Explain exactly how it's "deceptive"
 
CorBon's DPX 125 is a "Lower Recoil" sub magnum load. These type of loads also get compared to 38+P and 9mm out of short barrel revolvers.

Kinda like comparing the acceleration of a new 300hp V6 Mustang to a new V8 426hp SS Camaro and declaring the Chevy the winner. Now if it were a full power V8 GT Mustang vs a V8 SS Camaro then the conclusion could be considered valid.
 
Balistics by the inch is an extremely good sight. They put a lot of ammo and data in to there work.

What I wish they would have done was on there real guns for 357 magnum is put a J-Frame on the list.

Sure they could of put more loads on the list such as Buffalo bore but there is no way they can test every kind of ammo.
 
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