This load was designed for those who need a deep penetrating .357 Magnum or .38 SPL load to be fired from lightweight alloy .357s and any .38 SPL revolver. Lightweight alloy .357s develop multiple problems when firing our 180gr. .357 Magnum hard cast turbocharged (Item 19A) ammo or any make of full power .357 ammo. Yet many folks want a deep penetrating “outdoor” type of load for their lightweight pocket .357s, so here it is. Whether you are shooting gators or bears in the head, this load utilizes a hard flat-nosed bullet, at sufficient velocity, even from 2-inch barrels, to fully penetrate either.
This load is safe to shoot in all .38 SPL and .357 Magnum firearms of modern design that are in normal operating condition. In the super lightweight alloy revolvers (around 11–12 oz.), the bullet will not jump crimp under recoil provided you do not subject an unfired round to more than 5 or 6 firings. In all steel guns, even short-barreled ones, crimp jump is not an issue as the all-steel snub-nosed revolvers are much heavier than the alloy versions.
This load utilizes a flash retardant powder that will not blind the shooter in low light conditions, which is important as wildlife and criminals get much more active when darkness comes.
This bullet is hard cast and properly lubed and as such will not substantially lead your barrel. You should find no degradation of accuracy when firing many cylinders full of this ammo without cleaning.
We never use extra-long laboratory barrels to produce our advertised velocities, which we feel is dishonest to the customer as those extra-long barrels produce extra-high velocities, which you cannot duplicate with stock revolvers in the real world. Instead, we use stock firearms and you can see the velocity results below:
- 1255 fps — Ruger GP 100, 6-inch barrel, .357 Magnum
- 1186 fps — S&W Combat Masterpiece, 6-inch barrel, .38 SPL (circa 1958)
- 1146 fps — S&W Mt. Gun, 4-inch barrel, .357 Magnum
- 1167 fps — S&W Mod. 15, 4-inch barrel, .38 SPL (circa 1968)
- 1112 fps — Ruger SP 101, 3-inch barrel, .38 SPL
- 1043 fps — S&W Mod. 66, 2.5-inch barrel, .357 Magnum
- 989 fps — S&W Mod. 340PD, 1 & 7/8-inch barrel, .357 Magnum
- 1027 fps — S&W Mod. 642 (pre dash), 1 & 7/8-inch barrel, .38 SPL
