Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Trail Carry Load for the 357 Magnum

True, the reason my 125 gr loads are but a few grains of power pistol, even as loud and flashy as power pistol is, it's much, much quieter than near twice the amount of 296/110.

another powder than gives the vel in the 357 without as much noise to the ears is VV N110 if you can find it.

I didn't even know a person could shoot jacket bullets out of a revolver.

Only in a bear area a few times a year and even then it's only an occasional black bear. But for a "just in case" situation I have a pet load that my 4 & 5/8" .357 Blackhawk seems to like. A Cast Performance 180 gr. WFNGC with 11.1 gr. of Accurate #9. That's a half grain below the Western Powder max. and chronos an average of 1159 fps from the Blackhawk and is real accurate. I sometimes carry a Glock 19 with 147 gr. hollowpoints as a woods gun but once in a while if I might encounter any bears I leave the 9mm home. If it ever came to a self defense situation with me vs. a black bear I figure the 9mm ain't gonna do it as well as that hard cast 180 gr. (unless I learn to shoot as good as Phil Shoemaker, ..LOL).

I have a Black Bear visiting my salt lick and on the trail cam regular and last year she had two cubs. This year i haven't seen any cubs so far. I have been carry my 357 mag with Speer 158 Gold Dots just for comfort

125 gr Hyda-shock 38 Spl +P in a 4" S&W 66 when walking around the house (little chance of running into a bear though they are around) and 180 gr Buffalo Bore bear loads in a 6.5" Blackhawk in 357 mag when checking bear baits during the season. I have yet to have an issue with a bear that a size 12 boot couldn't handle but raccoons and especially skunks have been my bane.

I carry 180 LBT style bullets over a full charge of 2400. I've shot them into various things and they penetrate into next week.

I carry a Ruger Security Six with 4" barrel and 180 LBT style bullets over a full charge of 2400. I've shot them into various things and they penetrate into next week.

Here she is, nice Black Female

I just picked up a drilled and pinned Model 66 that was a Georgia State Patrol piece in nearly pristine shape. It likes 180 hardcast Double Tap and I'm glad it does!

If a mama bear was known to be in the area, I'd suffer carrying the heavier 5.5" Redhawk in 45 Colt using a 335 or 360 hardcast wide flat nose.

I don't tend to overthink it. Whatever I happen to have in the console and glovebox and under the seat of the truck seems to work okay.

Pretty much always the 158 gr Gold Dot factory load for everything. But I've pretty much stopped carrying a revolver at all, even in the sticks.

when my wife and I hike during the spring I carry a 2.5 inch barreled model 60 with 180 grain remington SJHP's, moving away from that towards a G27 and heavy bullets.

158 grain XTP's, loaded in either the special with 4.4grn W231, or mag cases with 10grn Bluedot.

S&W M60, 3 inch with 158 gr Federal JSP

One load for everything that needs killed out of my 6" 686... 14 grains of 2400 pushing a 125 grain Barnes almost 1700 FPS. That makes it pretty simple.

16 grains h110 158 grain xtp
federal mag primer star line case

It's over book max and goes 1280 from a 4 inch pipe however the cases fall out of the gun quite readily.

I use 16.6 gr with no problem with the 158 gr bullet

16.5grs with the 158 XTP for me

If it's a double action I'll shoot jackets, only have two, a Colt Trooper 357 and a S&W model 1955 n frame 45 ACP, all single actions get cast lead.