Not to sidetrack the topic, but regarding ammo being hard on guns (specifically M19 & M66), I've also heard people say that factory .357 ammo was originally loaded much hotter that typical stuff today.
The OP asked about .357 ammo, and it being hard on guns, so I'd say its still on topic. The info about the M19 and the 125gr load was background on why some people think the ammo is hard on guns, because in THAT gun, that load was.
You've heard people say that the .357 was originally loaded hotter than it is today because it is absolutely TRUE. (and I'm not talking about the modern "boutique" loads that actually do return the .357 to its former abilities, but the general run of factory ammo common today)
The original .357 Magnum load, introduced with the S&W Registered Magnum was advertised as a 158gr bullet (a lead SWC) at 1550fps from the 8 3/4" barrel of the Registered Magnum.
Chronographs in private hands were extremely rare in those days, but ammo from that era has been tested and found to do about that. Some sources say 1500 some 1550fps and that could just be the difference between individual test guns. Also note it was an 8 and 3/4" barrel. Some years later S&W shortened their "long" barrel length to the current 8 and 3/8".
Those original loads were "hell for stout" and period advertisements recommended the .357 Magnum "only for men of exceptional physique".
It wasn't entirely advertising hype back then though that certainly was a part of it.
The Registered Magnum and its descendants, the model 27 (and 28) are big heavy frame guns with large strong cylinders. People use the phrase "bank vault" about their strength. My personal experience agrees.
Since the 1950s the market has been wanting lighter .357s. Eventually it got them, and we now have .357s all the way down to the J frame pocket guns.
However, in order to make this happen, the general run of ammo has been downloaded. Not only because the original heavy load batters the shooter in lighter guns but it batters the guns, as well. AND, the smaller guns simply cannot take the same levels as N frame guns, and some of the other larger .357s.
So, today "regular" .357, including the "hot" 125s are all loaded so they will work in any of the common guns, from the light snubnoses on up. AND the modern loading manual reflect this as well.
DO remember that the original .357 load was developed before SAAMI, before modern pressure measuring methods. and amazingly it worked pretty well, in guns made to handle it.
Today, if you want to get close to the original .357 load (other than the specialty stuff like Buffalo Bore) you need to handload to do it.
AND, NOT ALL .357 GUNS CAN DO IT!!!!!
(grab your popcorn, for now comes the tale of 4 guns, some hot 125gr handloads and the then new "Chrony" chronograph, its from a couple decades ago, dang, more I think now, but its actual personal experience and I think in general still valid)
I had gotten a Chrony, and a friend came over with his 6" M19 S&W, his Marlin 1894 .357 carbine and a box of 125gr handloads. The load was straight out of the Speer manual of the day, and while hot, not the listed max.
I added my 6" S&W model 28 and the new Desert Eagle .357 (6" barrel)
We set up and my friend went first, putting 6 rounds in his M19 to shoot over the chronograph.
BA-BANG!! His "first" shot was two rounds!
Now, either he pulled the trigger a second time in the fastest DA I've ever seen, or somehow the gun doubled. Two rounds were fired. The Chrony showed the last one at 1620fps.
125gr JHP, stiff load of 2400, 1620fps from a 6" model 19
At that point we decided to suspend further firing of that ammo in that gun. Gun was opened, 4 unfired rounds fell out. (normal) The two fired cases could not be removed with hand pressure on the ejector rod. They had to be driven out of the cylinder with a rod and a small hammer.
CLEARLY that ammo was too hot for that gun.
Same ammo, loaded into the M 28. Stout recoil and large blast, but normal operation, including hand ejection of all six cases. Avg vel 1670fps!
Same ammo loaded into the Desert Eagle. Full mag (9 rounds). Flawless function, feed and ejection all shots. Avg vel: 1720fps
Same ammo from the Marlin carbine right on 2200fps. flawless function all rounds.
I tell this to illustrate that some guns simply will not handle loads as heavy as some others.
I don't have an L frame and have never personally tested any with max level loads but I fully expect their frame and cylinder size would put them closer to the N frame level than the K frame.
I should make clear the ammo used was NOT worked up in any of the guns it was fired in that day. It was a load picked out from a book and used. The results we got is also a good example of why one should NOT DO THAT!, either.
Generally speaking modern factory ammo from FedREmChester or other major maker is made so as to not batter a J frame to bits in short order and so that the fired cases will all come out. it is not up to the level of the original 1935 ammo and if it was you couldn't shoot it in the small light guns (which to me includes some K frame size guns).