.357 practice ammo report

[Socalman]

Spent some time at Burro Canyon this morning with checking the differences in some .357 ammunition. This is not a scientific test as such but told me quite a bit. All targets were set at about 15 yards. Actually I used 2 targets per frame.

First up was 142 grain FMJ from Fiocchi. Most seemed to shoot a little high and to the left but fairly tight grouping.

Next was Blazer Brass 158 grn JHP. They seemed to shoot a tad low and to the right. Not as tight a group.

Third ammo to be tested was Bitterroot Valley reloads from Cheaper Than Dirt. Sort of all over the place.

My last ammo was 180 grain Remington SJHP. These were pretty much "on target".

Let me say that to minimize my own errors, I alternated six loads of each type of ammo, so that by the time I shot the first second group of Fiocchi I had shoot six of the other brands. I shot a total of 18 rounds in each.

My conclusions:

1. The better ammo has better accuracy, you get what you pay for.
2. Practice.

[Mr. Beretta]

Thanks for the info!

[hyperion.excal]

I support this.

Better ammo = Better accuracy

i shot HD ammo yesterday and compared winchester hollow points to hornady critical defense. The Hornady were shooting bulls eye dead at approx 15-20 feet and the winchester are grouping 2-2.5 inch

[Socalman]

FWIW

Was shooting from a Ruger GP 100.

[paul0660]

I was not impressed with the case of BVAC 9mm I bought last year.

[Marty33]

The bullet will go where the barrel is aimed. The brand of the bullet does not determine where it hits the target, your aim does!

[ckprax]

The bullet will go where the barrel is aimed. The brand of the bullet does not determine where it hits the target, your aim does!

It's a little more involved than that. I am not sure if you are serious or not so I will wait before going into detail.

[Speedpower]

For HD, it's better to be 2 inch and up groups anyway, it's useless if the hole is next to each other

[Socalman]

Not exactly

The bullet will go where the barrel is aimed. The brand of the bullet does not determine where it hits the target, your aim does!

It will go in the GENERAL Direction but powder loading variations and other items will influence its exact path.

[sirgiles]

did you shoot from a pistol bench rest or free hand?

[Socalman]

I was shooting free hand. Remember that I shot 6 rounds of ammo, changed ammo and shot 6 at target 2, changed ammo again for targets 3 and 4, then started the procedure all over for rounds two and three. I think this would minimize aiming errors.

I couldn't tell you the 142 grain bullets felt like anything in particular. I was surprised that the Remington 180 grain rounds did not have the recoil I expected. I really seemed like a typical 158 grain .357.