What SD ammo are you all using in your 3” .357 mag revolvers? Do to ammo prices and availability I thought I would try to narrow the field as to what to try in my new Colt Cobra 3”.
What SD ammo are you all using in your 3” .357 mag revolvers? Do to ammo prices and availability I thought I would try to narrow the field as to what to try in my new Colt Cobra 3”.
Winchester RA38B (130gr+P) or 135gr +P .38 Gold Dot, in my 3" 60-10 generally. Its not a primary carry gun. I do have a bit of the .357 135gr Gold Dot stuff too, but the .38 is easier to shoot well. When hiking in the sticks, I carry my 158gr XTP handloads, which are a bit more brisk, but not insanely hot.
With a 3" gun you've got more options on what will work well, vs a snubby. I know 125gr Golden Sabers are popular, and I have seen 145gr Silvertip around lately (expensive 20rd boxes though). IIRC SG Ammo has recently had both in stock.
Same, when I carried a 3". The Winchester is also what I have in my LCR. Anecdotally, it worked as advertised when a pit bull got me on the forearm.Originally Posted by WDR
Hydra-shocks work well, but will almost certainly over-penetrate. Critical Duty as well. They expand pretty as you please but tend to not stay in a human. Relative small sample size, but I've yet to see one stay in a person from a 4" or up gun. I'm a little hesitant to carry them in an urban environment due to that.
Sorta around sometimes for some of your shitty mod needs.
Not showing in stock FWIW....
Working diligently to enlarge my group size.
https://www.sgammo.com/catalog/pisto...57-magnum-ammo
.357 Silvertip and Critical Duty in stock as of time of posting. Not cheap, but available.
I'm curious about the Critical Duty load, and how it compares to he 135gr .357 Gold Dot... Never tried it though.
The Remington and Federal 125 gr SJHP loads have a good reputation on bad guys. I've tried them both in a 4" gun in Clear Ballistic gel blocks and they expand reliably and don't over penetrate.
I've seen the Remington load in my LGS recently. It might be one to look for.
The King Cobra and the Remington Golden Saber “midrange” 125 load are pretty much made for each other.
I also had good luck with Speer’s 135 GDHP in .357 magnum, but it’s really hard to find in stock in the best of times, let alone now.
Both those loads are manageable, and shoot to POI in the 3” snake—at least, the one I had.
FWIW
”But in the end all of these ideas just manufacture new criminals when the problem isn't a lack of criminals.” -JRB
Came to post these two loads, but beaten to it. Nether is a punishing full house loading and offer a little extra velocity over the .38+P offerings.
Does it need to be a .357 Magnum load, or just something that works well?
For me, if I want to carry a .357 Mag round it's the old school full power R-P 158-grain SJHP. I settled on that because my 681 shoots to POA with 158s, and I've zeroed my 27 and 28 for it. I have a 4" M19, but I treat it like a .38.
For your gun, I'd go with any of the loads mentioned above with the exception of the full power R-P .357 Mag 125 SJHP. Another possibility is the old .38 +P FBI load of a 158-grain LSWC-HP. It has the advantage of being available right now from Lucky Gunner, though it's pricey.
Word, those are the two loads I favor for my 3" and 2.5" .357's. Back in normal times the Golden Saber was relatively inexpensive.
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