Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Winchester 145 gr. Silvertip 357 Magnum - Still viable for defense?

There's a dash cam video out there somewhere of I believe a State Trooper putting all six into a fat bastard and then succumbing to a golden BB shot from the fat bastards .22, bullet slipped in between the panels of his bulletproof vest in the armpit area and caught his heart. None of the 6 .357 silver tips penetrated enough to reach vitals on the fat ass and he lived.

Not surprised, in my experience they do not penetrate well

The incident you guys are discussing is the Trooper Mark Coates, South Carolina Highway Patrol shooting. I have been told the rounds that Trooper Coates carried on duty at the time were .38+P issued by his agency. The attacker was a fat bastard of 300 pounds. Trooper Coates and the bad guy wrestled in the ditch line, the bad guy firing two shots into the bullet resistant vest of the troopers from a NAA mini .22 Magnum revolver. The vest stopped those two shots from the bad guy. Trooper Coates was able to break away and get to his feet and retreat several steps where he emptied his S&W 686, four rounds striking the bad guy. All four struck the obese bastard in the gut and with a bad angle that didn't send them on a path to the vital organs. After firing his revolver the trooper reached up with his left hand to key his radio mike and fat bastard fired another .22 magnum round which went into the armpit area above the vest and angled into the arteries above the heart. It was a fatal shot. Fat bastard survived and is currently in prison as far as I know. Following this shooting the South Carolina Highway Patrol began issuing .357 Magnum rounds and recalled all the .38+P from duty. If you are so inclined there is a dash cam video on the net. It is not an easy thing to watch or hear. RIP Trooper Coates.

Ya, saw that video of Trooper Coates a long time ago. A rough one for sure.

Guy

The 145 Silver Tip load has been excelent on wild hogs and exits in most cases in my experience. It is one fast killer and they fall and expire as if they were struck by lightening.

I have only used them at close range shooting hogs in a big ring trap. But it sure worked for me on broadside shoulder shots on hogs from beteween 100 and 200 pounds.

I cannot fathom how it would fail as a self defence load except it will exit if that's an issue.

Maybe it was 145 Silvertips they switched to, it's been a long while but my memory has them playing a role in the story somewhere.

Silvertips' claim to fame is it's light aluminum jacket, with serrated cuts to encourage expansion, over a soft lead core. It was the best hollow point available when it came out due to how reliably it expanded, due to the features described above.

I never met Mark himself, but feel like I "knew" him through Trooper friends of his that worked with him, and his father Dave who I met shortly after Mark's death. Dave was as fine a gentleman as this world has ever seen. He actually went to visit Blackburn (killer) every year in prison. He said he forgave him and visited with him to "try to understand". Not sure I could be so forgiving... Dave was instrumental in the Patrol transitioning from the revolvers to Glocks after Mark was killed. Pretty sure they did go to .357 Silvertips between the murder and the time they received the Glock .40s.

Sadly. Dave passed in 2015.

https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/irmo-sc/david-coates-6412858

Don't be so sure. Pa Game Commission didn't give up their 586s until 2004, changing to Glock 31 357 Sigs. Their Deputies still have the option of carrying revolvers as duty guns