357 Mag bullet opinions please....

[TheDoctor]

Have an uncle that wants me to load 200-250 357 Mag for him. He wants, and the problem is, I don't think he really knows what he wants, a good all around use/self defense round. He wants it in the 357 Mag power range, not 38. The choices I have come up with so far are: 125 grain XTP, 158 grain XTP, 125 grain Gold Dot, and 158 grain Gold Dot. I know the gold dot are bonded, which I like, but not sure if it would be a good "all around" bullet. Like I said, he doesn't really know what he's asking for, except that he wants jacketed, not cast, and no amount of reason or explanation will change his mind. Not that I have a snowballs chance of finding the gold dots right now anyway, the xtp's are somewhat available if you look in the right places.

[osteodoc08]

If he wants jacketed, nothing wrong with any 158gr bullet.

If lead 358429 would be my choice with a nice dose of blue dot. Love me some blue dot.

[MtGun44]

For the least effort, the 158 Gold Dot will produce superb all around results. If you want to
spend some time in development, a 150 gr to 158 gr lead can do fantastic service.

Frankly, for this application I would load up the 158 Gold Dot over a upper end charge of
H110/W296 from Hodgdon's reloading site, have HIM test a couple of cylinders full and if
he is satisfied, turn out the ammo and go on.

If you want a project, there are many wonderful cast designs that will work, but will require
more effort to measure, fit and test the ammo to his gun. He will not likely appreciate the
added work, and the short path (158 Gold Dot) is about 99% likely to lead to a very
happy uncle with least time and effort on your part.

There is a great deal of personal satisfaction and for large quantities of ammo over time,
a great savings to be had from casting your own. Someone else is unlikely to share these
things, and the quantities are small enough that you should go to the jbullets as the
most certain path to an accurate, reliable, effective round in the widest range of guns
and gun dimensions without any custom fitting, etc.

Bill

[NSB]

I'm not really sure what "an all around bullet" is exactly. That's kind of like saying "a pair of shoes that will fit anyone's feet". What kind of gun is he going to be shooting them out of? A snub nose or a large frame model? Is he going to be hunting with it at all? If I had to load some bullets up that I could be comfortable shooting in any of the 357s I've ever owned (there's a lot of them), I'd probably go for the 158g Hornady XTP with a full charge of WW296. A real handful in a snub nose but a good hunting load in a medium/large frame gun. I know for a fact that it will be more than adequate for the average whitetail. It's my "go to" hunting load for deer and I've shot a pile of them with it. If this were for a snub nose or small frame gun strictly for self defense and "critter control", I'd use the 125g Hornady XTP.

[williamwaco]

The heaviest jacketed pistol bullets I can find is the 180 grain Hornady HP.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/552814/hornady-xtp-bullets-38-caliber-357-diameter-180-grain-jacketed-hollow-point-box-of-100?cm_vc=ProductFinding

There are several other brands but they are all FMJ.

I would go with the 158 grain HP for an "All around" good load. Several hundred million shooters and several hundred ammo manufactures have opined that the 158 grain bullet is the "Best all around" weight for the .357 for over 80 years and for the .38 special for over 100 years.

If you want maximum "blow up" go with the 110 but it is decidedly NOT a good all around load.

I would not consider anything below 140 grains unless you are hunting varmints with it.

[Moonie]

Back when I carried a 357 I preferred the XTP 125gr ahead of a healthy dose of W296

[osteodoc08]

Forgot to mention, keep an eye on midways "blemished" bullets. I was able to pick up 500 125gr JHP (likely XTP's) for almost 1/2 price a few years ago. Theyre awesome.

[fecmech]

Frankly, for this application I would load up the 158 Gold Dot over a upper end charge of
H110/W296 from Hodgdon's reloading site, have HIM test a couple of cylinders full and if
he is satisfied, turn out the ammo and go on.

+1 to that.

[lar45]

+1 for BlueDot,
For me it has given less muzzle flash and less recoil at higher velocities than 296 out of a 4" GP-100

[knifemaker]

If this was for a self defense type load I would go with the 125 gr. XTP over a max load of 296 or Blue Dot for less muzzle flash. If he is wanting a load for both human defense and woods trail gun use, then the 158 gr. XTP would be my choice.
The reason I picked the 125 gr. HP for self defense is that I was a LEO firearms instructor and did research on more then several hundred police shootings and the 357 mag. 125 gr. HP led the pack in stopping the suspect with one shot to the torso area. There is a catch to that, most cops were issued 125 gr. HP over the 158 Gr. HP and of course more felons were shot with that 125 gr. load and that may have effected the outcome of the survey. Most departments did not like to use the 158 gr. load for fear of over penetration in the felon and endangering innocent bystanders downrange.

[9.3X62AL]

Knifemaker summed up my views very succinctly.