Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns .357 Magnum Stopping Power

JUST A THOUGHT, YOU MIGHT CONSIDER HERE!
Id suggest you might want to say that the current info available on the results of shootings indicates that

"the particular load has the best volume of confirmed positive documentation under real world conditions"

mostly due to both a long time frame of its use and wide availability and use, of that particular revolver and load.
now why would I say that?
well I,d agree that the 357 mag revolver loaded with hollow point ammo has a long tradition and known expectation of producing results when used as a good main stopper.
yet I don,t think any sane person will argue that there are not some alternative cartridges that can and do produce a greater degree of effective wound damage ,resulting from a single bullet impact, which by definition should logically result in their use, being , defined as more effective.
( NOT necessarily the same thing as,
"The most effective handgun round currently on the commercial market"}
especially if the results are measured in any survey in a way that might reduce the stated effectiveness due to either significantly lower numbers being used, or fewer shots actually impacting center mass on the target , then your not so much measuring the cartridge and bullet effectiveness ALONE but the frequency of effective use of that particular rather common, anti personnel system.
the reason I,d point that out is simply my field experience , on game, where I see noticeably faster incapacitation of deer and hogs with a single well placed hit from the more powerful 41mag and 10mm and 44 mag revolvers.
obviously that's not the same as shooting people , but people are not a target Id want to test on either.
put a different way, saying a 357 mags the most effective is a bit like stating
'by far , its a proven fact that pick-up trucks move more plywood than any other vehicle"
based on the fact that theres tens of millions of pick-up trucks..... and ignoring the fact that probably 99% of all plywood at some point was loaded on and transported by 18 wheel trucks or trains.
I,m not even trying to say the 357 mag is not effective , but I think the results don,t get calculated based solely on one shot center mass , shooting and single hit results alone

Not my experience with the silver tip in 357, expansion was minimal and penetration was not up to 357 standards by a good margin. Not a very good bullet or load in my humble opinion.

The difference could be as simple as how old the sampling is. I tested the 145gr Silvertip on ballistic gelatin in either '91 or '92; that's the last time i can recall using that load. Back in the '80's I killed a few critters with it, never had any specific complaints. Maybe its not as good as it used to be. Back when i tested it on Jell-o, i recall expansion being the least of it's problems. Although i expected it (being 145gr) to penetrate better in pure gelatin, it was still quite adequate.

But like I said, i havent used it in decades. Although the .357 was my first handgun, I left it by the wayside years ago. If im hunting, i prefer a .41 mag or larger, an for defense, the .357 doesnt really do anything my .45 doesnt do except make a lot of noise and make a big flash.

The Winchester White Box 357 mag with 110 gr bullets should be a good carry load for defense . The load i carry in my 686 is the Speer 158 GR Gold Dot with Win 296

Nice Revolver, the L frame S&W is the height of .357 evolution.