.357 magnum ammo

[Buddhabelly]

I bought 1 box each of these factory ammo to try out. Anyone has any thoughts or experience with them? Mostly they'll be for when I go wandering in the woods.

Corbon hunter 180 Gr 1200 fps
Grizzly 180 Gr 1350 fps
Buffalo bore 180 Gr 1400 fps

Mostly will be shot out of a model 27 5"

[qaz987]

Looks to me like you got the good stuff. It's been a long time since I've reloaded .357 but think you'd have to reload to get any more energy out of 5 inches. BTW, nice revolver, truly one of the best.

[Mr. Beretta]

Looks like you're all set.

Those heavy grain bullets are just the ticket for serious work in the woods.

Have fun!

[Gress]

Those are definitely enthusiastic loads! Seems you may want a 44 mag

[Buddhabelly]

Those are definitely enthusiastic loads! Seems you may want a 44 mag

Oh yeah, I've been looking for a mint model 29 6 incher

I just LOVE my .357 magnum revolvers. Got 3 of them in 4, 5 and 6" barrel lengths and I'm just trying out all the combinations. I reckon that most likely I won't like shooting these loads out of the 4" model 19 too much.

[BenjaminCA]

Just curious, where did you get the ammo from?

[Buddhabelly]

Just curious, where did you get the ammo from?

Midway USA. Why?

They were not cheap at all. But it's not like they're for plinking away anyway...

[Gress]

Oh yeah, I've been looking for a mint model 29 6 incher

I just LOVE my .357 magnum revolvers. Got 3 of them in 4, 5 and 6" barrel lengths and I'm just trying out all the combinations. I reckon that most likely I won't like shooting these loads out of the 4" model 19 too much.

And now you got me interested
Did you ever shoot those loads through your 4" pipe? I wonder if this makes sense at all.
I have a 3" m66 and was asking around about 180gr experience and got no replies... Seems all who tried this out are gone deaf

[Buddhabelly]

And now you got me interested
Did you ever shoot those loads through your 4" pipe? I wonder if this makes sense at all.
I have a 3" m66 and was asking around about 180gr experience and got no replies... Seems all who tried this out are gone deaf

I've just got the ammo today from the brown truck. Figured I'd go out and try shooting 2 rounds of each ammo through each of my guns. Also figured that the 4" is a model 19, very delicate little thing (most delicate of my 3 .357 guns anyway) it won't take very well to the loads. The 6" is a Python, another delicate gun for these loads. That's why I aim to use them on the 5" model 27. Probably best fit.

I dunno man, I'd imagine that shooting them out of a 3 incher would be... painful??..

Where are you in the BA? If you're in the south bay you can come out with me this weekend.

[Gress]

Buddhabelly,
I agree 5" m27 seems to be the best to go with.
I am in South Bay indeed and would like to join you (and thanks for the offer). Unfortunately, I will be out of town this coming weekend. I'd appreciate if you post your experience here though. Good shooting!

[rp55]

I love those Buffalo Bore loads but I'm shooting them out of a lever action carbine.

[blindluck]

I have no experience with those loads but am very interested to hear your reviews on them. Things like subjective recoil and measured accuracy would be great information. Even more impressive would be chrono results and muzzle flash pics at night. However, any info at all would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Buddhabelly]

I went to the range today to shoot these loads out of my guns this morning. Had a lot of fun and manged not to kill myself. That's a good start.

As planned, I shot 2 rounds each out of each gun.
A 4" model 19, a 5" model 27 and a 6" Python.
One round was shot SA sitting on a bench at a 50 yards bullseye target for accuracy testing. I wanted a bigger black so I can see better.
One round was shot DA offhand at a steel silloutte.
Distance was 25 yards. Sun on my back shining on the targets.
Temperature in the high 50's, not much wind, in the hills at Sunnyvale Rod and Gun Club range.
No chronograph. I was going to use my friend's but he was Valentine's day shopping.
No pictures, the range was too crowded to make much of a production out of this.
20-60X spotting scope

Accuracy-

Seated SA
Python was the best, 1 shot was in the 10X nipping out part of the centerX, 2 shots were in the 9 ring 11:00 barely outside the 10 ring.
Model 27 2 overlapping shots in the 9 at 3:00, 1 was in the 8 ring at 3:30 position
Model 19 1 was in the 9 ring 10:30 position right on the 10 ring line, 1 in the 8 ring 6:00, 1 in the 8 ring 7:30

Overall it was a 4" group.

Offhand DA

Model 27 all shots hit the steel. POI was 2 to 3" higher than POA
Python all shots hit the steel, overlapping the spot on the steel made by the Model 27 shot. Aimpoint was the same so they have about the same DA accuracy.
Model 19 2 shots were on the steel but I felt like I had almost no control, 1 shot missed the frickin steel altogether.

The guns are zero'ed for my .38 loads. I am certain I can put any cylinder-full of .38 within a 1" group (in SA of course ) with any of these guns. .357 loads are obviously going to shoot higher than aim/.38 loads. The overall 4" group in SA was partly due to a lot of anxilary things like changing things out and writing notes and fidgeting, and not completely focused. I am sure if I just concentrate in shooting a whole box at a time, like I normally would and not writing notes and fidget, the group is going to shrink. When I shoot my normal .357 magnum loads which are Prvi 147Gr, I get around 2.5-3" group.

Felt recoil-

Surprisingly very manageable, except the m19 in DA. The heavy, burly m27 and long barrel Python behaved the best, as expected. The m19 in DA felt a little like an involuteery yank/spank of the hand (hence the missed shot). In SA everything was fine. I'd say about 25-30% more recoil felt than when I shot 147 and 125Gr magnum loads. At 1 point when shooting the m19 offhanded, I thought to myself "Doing this for long can't be too much fun!".

I like the Buffalo Bore the best, Corbon and then Grizzly. Corbon rounds look the most impressive with their nickle plated casings. They look like cannon rounds.

Noisewise they were noticeable. When I got to the range, I warmed up shooting .38 Spl from the m27. When I switched over, my friends 2 stalls away called over to say that they could tell that I started on the big boys.

Overall, I'd say don't shoot many of these rounds out of anything smaller than a 4". Big frame guns are probably going to be fine in the 4", but slim and delicate guns like the K frame m19, they're going to tear up the gun and beat you up in the process. A J frame Smith is going to hurt you.

Happy shooting to all!

[blindluck]

Thanks BB. That helps. For woods carry I bought a 3" ruger sp101. It thumps pretty hard with standard magnums and I'm sure it'll stop being much fun with the stuff you were shooting. The crimson trace grips on it are a definite step backwards in terms of recoil management vs. the hogue and even the standard rubber grips with insert.

[Sky_DiveR]

Those 180 grainers are hard on any Smith "K" frame. That's why S&W created the "L" frame. A steady diet of full power magnum loads would put the "K" frame out of time fairly quickly (between 3 -5k rounds.. sometimes sooner).

The 180 grainers that you are shooting were designed for large frame handguns (the Ruger's and "N" frame Smiths like your M27) and newer lever actions that could take the pounding those rounds produce. Some would even argue that the Python can handle it but I've seen Pythons put out of time with a constant diet of full magnum loads also. I've heard SP101 may be able handle them but I wouldn't want to regularly "light" one off!

The "K" frame was originally designed for the 38 Special so a constant diet of Magnum loads really beats the frame. IIRC Jordan & "Skeeter" had a hand in the development of the 357 "K" frame. S&W "K" frames barely keep from being pounded to death with 125 & 158 grainers... I wouldn't even think about shooting those rounds in them with any regularity.

Just my $0.02