Any credible testing of .357 mag from a carbine?

As anybody seen any credible gel testing of .357 mag ammo from a carbine?

I'm thinking of using Hornady Custom 158 gr in my Marlin .357 18 1/2" carbine for defensive purposes. If this a decent load I can easily reload and duplicate it for practice and what not.

I looked around but didn't see much on the subject online.

Interesting trends at http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/357mag.html

A good rule of thumb for pistol cartridges is to expect a ~300 fps when going from a long-barreled revolver to 20" carbine.


Okie John

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Originally Posted by okie john

Interesting trends at http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/357mag.html

A good rule of thumb for pistol cartridges is to expect a ~300 fps when going from a long-barreled revolver to 20" carbine.


Okie John

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The Hornady Custom 158gr loading lists 1250 FPS on the box label. I don't have any idea the length of the test barrel. According to the chart below 1400 FPS is the top end of the bullets design envelope,


Attachment 51021

The Chopping Block

He's on youtube.

My own playing around has found factory remington 125gr sjhp to vaporize in milk jugs. Would be great for yotes on down.

My handloaded 140gr XTPs hold together in water

The Chopping Block is about it. He does use ordnance gel but you can certainly argue the tests don't use a significant sample size since he typically only fires a couple rounds.

FWIW, I roll with the Federal/American Eagle 158 JSP in both my 4" GP100 and my 1894c. The GP100 is a woodsbumming gun, so deep is good. I do keep a stash of 125 Gold Sabres and some .38+P Gold Dots on hand in case I need to roll with it in an urban/suburban setting.

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Originally Posted by 4given

The Hornady Custom 158gr loading lists 1250 FPS on the box label. I don't have any idea the length of the test barrel. According to the chart below 1400 FPS is the top end of the bullets design envelope,


Attachment 51021

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The 158 FP is a better choice for magnum loads in a long barrel. Or the 180 HP, which isn't on that chart.

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Originally Posted by Lester Polfus

The Chopping Block is about it. He does use ordnance gel but you can certainly argue the tests don't use a significant sample size since he typically only fires a couple rounds.

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Has TCB returned to using 10% ordnance gelatin again?

For awhile there, he was using the clear polymer gel junk (even after he did not one—but two—videos discrediting it as a valid terminal ballistic test medium) so I just ''tuned-out'' from his work.

I think the 158gr XTP would probably hold up "okay" from a carbine... you might get a bit of over expansion, but I bet it would retain enough weight and penetration to still be suitable for two legged and lighter four legged creatures. The XTP is a pretty "tough" bullet.

The flat point 158 XTP would probably be a better choice for the carbine if you want to max out penetration. May not be ideal in a handgun, depending on what velocity you drive them at.

The 158 Gold Dot has been mentioned favorably on several hunting forums & by some hunting focus writers out of rifle/carbine length barrels.

The 158 XTP usually seem to get good reports to for hunting.

Brian Pearce has written at least a few articles about hunting with 357 long guns in "Rifle" & "Handloader".

The 125 JHP tends to function like a varmint bullet, based on reports on rabbits and coyotes I suspect its similar to 223/5.56 with ~55 JHP/Ballistic tip type bullets.

Many people also seem to like Hardcast 158 to 180 grain bullets for hunting.

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Originally Posted by the Schwartz

Has TCB returned to using 10% ordnance gelatin again?

For awhile there, he was using the clear polymer gel junk (even after he did not one—but two—videos discrediting it as a valid terminal ballistic test medium) so I just ''tuned-out'' from his work.

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All his new ones use clear.