This thread is mostly not about terminal ballistics.
This thread is about having reasonable woods-walking power (pigs, canines, felines, larger ungulates, and yes, black bears) while not killing the titanium. Hence, posting in Revolvers. Mods, feel free to move over to the Ammo sub-forum if more appropriate.
My understanding of flame cutting is that lighter bullets in magnum loads promote the problem in two ways. Lighter bullets will use more powder to achieve a given pressure level. That's more mass and volume of burning gas. Shorter bullets travel less distance before exposing the cylinder gap and thus cylinder face to the charge gas. Also, being lighter and eventually reaching higher speed, they begin accelerating faster. Combining the two previously stated problems, heavy loads with light bullets expose the cylinder gap to more burning powder, starting relatively earlier in the burn.
The opposite of that would be a longer, heavier bullet, loaded to lighter or midrange pressure with a faster-burning powder, so there is less total powder involved and combustion is closer (% basis) to completion when the back of the bullet finally exposes the cylinder gap. Heavier bullets will tend to be better for the larger ungulates and predators. Finally, since we happen to be discussing N frames, recoil is less of an issue than with J-frames.
Is that on the right track, or is there something I've failed to consider/understand?
Has anyone here done load development work along these lines?
Would a flash-suppressed powder, if one appropriate for .357 loads can be found, tend to help with flame cutting?