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What's more powerful?
- Thread starter E__WOK
- Start date
Stephen A. Camp
Staff In Memoriam
Hello. In factory trim, the .357 is likely the more potent of the two. In strong guns, the .44 Spec can be jacked up quite a bit. Best.
Many old guns of dubious strength were chambered for the .44spec. Therefore the nastiest of loads from the major factories are going to be pretty close to the .45ACP.
Those who dared to go where no man has dared to go before loaded the .44spec for use in more modern guns and got some very decent ballistics. Hence the birth of the .44mag with it's slightly longer case to insure that the hot loads were not fired in old break top crockery. A few true nuts like the old balloon head .44spec cases cause they hold a tad more powder than the .44mag.
Meanwhile, the .357mag was born HOT. It came about the same way as the .44mag; the result of very high pressure loads in .38 specials. In our current litiginous world, .357mag loads from major companies are pretty light. You can get 1,000ft/lbs energy with .357mag.....that be nasty.
The .44s do make larger holes than the .357. They come pre-expanded and any further expansion is a bonus.
Sam...iffen it dont kick, how I gonner know if it went off?
Those who dared to go where no man has dared to go before loaded the .44spec for use in more modern guns and got some very decent ballistics. Hence the birth of the .44mag with it's slightly longer case to insure that the hot loads were not fired in old break top crockery. A few true nuts like the old balloon head .44spec cases cause they hold a tad more powder than the .44mag.
Meanwhile, the .357mag was born HOT. It came about the same way as the .44mag; the result of very high pressure loads in .38 specials. In our current litiginous world, .357mag loads from major companies are pretty light. You can get 1,000ft/lbs energy with .357mag.....that be nasty.
The .44s do make larger holes than the .357. They come pre-expanded and any further expansion is a bonus.
Sam...iffen it dont kick, how I gonner know if it went off?
A handloaded .357mag can push a 180gr bullet up to about 1200fps in a modern strong sixgun. Given the same modern strong sixgun, a .44spl 240gr can be pushed to around 1200fps (safe, but way above specs). I would say that the .44spl has more potential, but in factory loadings the .357 has it wupped bad.