357 vs 9? wtf

[Andy Taylor]

Another thing to consider is bullet design. A 9mm being designed to function in a semi-auto has to have a bullet design that will allow it to feed reliably in such pistols. .357 Magnum, being primarily a revolver round, does not have that as a design perameter. Therefore a bullet can be designed to give the best possible terminal effect, without regard to how the weapon will cycle.

[Katana]

Try firing 9mm 124gr+P from an all steel 2" J frame and you'll appreciate how powerful 9mm really is.

[Günter]

I've often wondered about that. I forget where, but remember a report stating that the
125grain JHP .357 was among the most reliable police man stoppers. Figuring that most police revolvers are with a 4" barrel, I guessing in the 1,250 fps range.

[scarville]

JMO, but I stay away from hyper velocity loads like that. I don't have a chrono but most data puts my 158gr JHP w/2400 powder & 125gr JHP w/Bullseye loads anywhere from 1200 - 1400 fps. Those are pretty stout loads.

Ditto.

According to my chronograph, 158 gr hydrashoks exit at about 1120 fps from my 3" 686, about 1300 fps from the 6" 686 and around 1800 fps from the 18.5" bbl on my Marlin 1894C. I used to handload 158 gr JHP bullets faster -- up to about 1600 fps from a 6" GP-100 but those were some scary loads.

I tried a box of 125 gr JHP from Federal and IIRC got about 1400 fps from a 4" bbl Security Six.

Since I had carpal tunnel surgery a year ago I'm more sensitive to recoil so I pretty much stick to more moderate 158 gr bullets in my 357's. I shoot a lot more 38's too :-)

[vta]

not all 9mm rounds are created equal.

38 special < 9mm luger < 38 super < 357 sig < 357 mag < 9x25 dillon

sure you can load some hotter than others but this is pretty much the scale with standard loading.

check out what meathead9 is working on with his G20L.

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=337474

[trautert]

It never made any sense to me to shoot a round in a home defense situation that would re-arrange the furniture along with putting down the bad guy.

Tom

[Marlin Hunter]

I think it was Massad Ayoob who said that police switched to autoloaders to get more bullets, not better bullets.

The idea is to shoot all the air around the bad guy so he can't breath.

[scarville]

The idea is to shoot all the air around the bad guy so he can't breath.

[BigDogatPlay]

It seems stupid, and maybe it is. But looking at ballistics, 9x19 and 357 magnum have similar offerings in velocity and weight. So... if a 9x19 bullet that weighs the same as a 357 is traveling about as fast as a 357... is there a difference?
Sounds stupid to say that 9 is equal to 357 and I dont want to believe it since I just acquired a GP100, so someone help me out here.

There is no way to load a 9mm to be comparable to a 357 Magnum, not without damaging your pistol anyway. .357 can shoot much heavier bullets at far higher velocities.

Taken another way, SAAMI sets the maximum safe pressure of .357 Magnum at 44,000 psi. Standard 9mm, by comparison is maxed at 34,084, while +P and some NATO ammo will run up to about 36,500 psi..

To get close to the performance of .357 in a semi auto you need to consider something like a .357 Sig (necked down .40 S&W at pretty much maximum pressure) or a 38 Super in a +P or +P+ load.

[advocatusdiaboli]

To get close to the performance of .357 in a semi auto you need to consider something like a .357 Sig (necked down .40 S&W at pretty much maximum pressure) or a 38 Super in a +P or +P+ load.

You can get it but only with 124 grain bullets and you pay for it in shortened frame life and even shorter barrel life. A trade off some will make and others won't want to. Government law enforcement does but then their ammunition and firearms are paid for. I have one in Sig P239, but I got a 9mm Bar-sto barrel for it as well. The ammunition is pricey as well--9mm and .40 S&w are much cheaper.

[Notblake]

dude, if someone is trying to kill you, your hearing is seriously the last thing you need to worry about.

Police for plenty of years used .357's to defend themselves, indoors and out.

Where you run into issues is with the silly ported barrels ...... re-directing gas back at the shooter is, well, not so good.