Originally Posted by
curioushooter
I am glad you discovered this.
And yes, the lower powered magnum rounds are much easier on said firearms.
It wasn't just 357. 44 and 41 Mag also had power reductions.
IMO they were loaded too hot to begin with at the factories. Elmer Keith nailed it with his loads for the heavy 38 & 44 special. And his 44 Mag had reduced power from the factory loadings.
I've only tested one or two shots of a full Keith load of 17 grains of 2400 behind a 255-260 grain SWC in 44 special. 16.5 grains propels it over 1200 FPS in both my 5.5" Blackhawk and 6.5" 624. That's plenty.
I will tell you that I like this brilliant load a whole lot more than the 26 grains of 296 I used to put behind 265 grain RNFP in my SuperBlackhawk. That was a brutal and un-fun load. Not very accurate either, from what I could tell. It basically retarded my development in shooting by about 5 years. And does it have greater killing effect? Doubtful. All the gel I've shot and every deer body I've processed has led me to the conclusion that little is gained here. The bullet is the same size. Both of these loads will perforate a deer at basically any angle at ranges revolvers like this can be effectively used. The wound and related blood loss will be very similar, perhaps indistinguishable. Frankly, the very mild skeeter load (7.5 grains of Unique with a ~255 grain SWC), will probable do the same.
And just consider efficiency. My memory may be a little poor here, and since my shooting jorunal was lost in 2014, I have to work from memeory. But here you go:
26 grains of 296 with a 265 Grain cast RNFP went about 1300 FPS in my 7.5" barreled New Model Bisley SuperBlackhawk 44 Magnum. (I sold this long ago swearing off 44 mag in the process only to come back to that caliber years later).
16.5 grains of 2400 goes about 1200 FPS in my 5.5" barreled "flattop" New Model Bisley Blackhawk. Same loads clips 1250 FPS in my 6.5" S&W 624. Both in 44 Special.
7.5 grains of Unique with a 260 grain cast MP molds H&G 503 SWC goes about 900-950 FPS (the so called "skeeter" load). 8.5 grains of Unique will clock about 1025-1050--nearly the same performance level (100-200 FPS slower) as what 2400 can deliver at twice the approximate charge weight. And the "skeeter" load is so mild in a heavy barreled revolver like a Flatop Blackhawk that it feels like a so-called "target" load. You can shoot all day long with it. No problem. You can really develop tremendous confidence with such a load, which is what really matters if you want to hunt. It is also wonderfully accurate. 8 grains of PowerPisol or 7.5 grains of Unique deliver really good accuracy in my Blackhawk.
13.5 grains of 2400 behind a 158 or 172 grain SWC is plenty for medium sized revolvers. If you use a 357 case it is even less pressure than the heavy Keith load. This is a potent load, with excellent range and accuracy, without overwhelming the shooter. Really powerful 357 loads aren't very fun in the medium frames (K, Security-Six), and are downright awful in the small frames (J frames, SP101). Sure with the heavier framed GP and L or N frames goes ahead, but might as well as go with a big bores if you've got big chores.