.357 Ammo "Hotness"

[Paul455]

I went to MFS the other day to try out my new Ruger GP100.

Picked up some of the following ammo: Magtech, Fiocchi, Remington, Hornady.

The Magtech stuff was much "hotter" in recoil and muzzle blast than the others.

Some of the extractions were tight, leading me to believe that these cartridges are loaded to the max level.

Is it me?

 

[peterk123]

Armscor is another one.... yowza. Sounds like cannon, plenty of kick and an impressive flame to boot.

 

[free]

Thanks for the hot tip. I will let Len know. He is an expert on everything, why not this too.

 

[Asaltweapon]

If you get into reloading it there are many many combos. It's the caliber I first learned pistol shooting on back in 81.

 

[enbloc]

leading me to believe that these cartridges are loaded to the max level.

Nope. That would be .357 Maximum!

 

[RapidTransit]

I don't know where the numbers come from but most likely from the manufacturer so I use it to try and narrow down the higher powered vs lower powered loads
357 Magnum Ballistics Chart | Ballistics 101

 

[Asaltweapon]

Nope. That would be .357 Maximum!

Shot one once in a T/C. Holy shit!

 

[Bullet Bill]

Not sure if they were loaded too hot or just crappy brass but the PMC .357 I used all swelled and got stuck in the cylinder. Not fun.

 

[Zappa]

If you get into reloading it there are many many combos. It's the caliber I first learned pistol shooting on back in 81.

Not all the published load data from that era was safe.
I started reloading in the mid 80's and used the Speer book (IIRC #13) and it showed .357 loads with 15 grains of Blue Dot
Those were WAY hot!
Later editions of the Speer book no longer showed those loads.

 

[drgrant]

If he has a GP100, anything that isn't completely retarded is pretty safe.

There was a guy here (long since banned) SA John, who used to shoot max loads out with 170? grainers out of his GP100 at bowling pin shoots all the
time.

Lol some of the loads in Speer #14 are hot, but I bet they're mostly pretty safe.

-Mike

 

[jct61765]

Buffalo bore loads are pretty hot too. Once in a blue moon I shoot it out of my .41 magnums.

 

[rocket500]

Some are definately hotter than others. I’ve rolled some pretty hot hand loads (still within published data) using H110.

 

[mothybee]

Stopped Magtech before my beard caught on fire.

 

[bfm]

Try some Cor-bon

 

[Radtekk]

I want somebody to make me "flamethrower" loads for my Super Redhawk 44mag.

 

[DW357]

I want somebody to make me "flamethrower" loads got my Super Redhawk 44mag.

My 180 gr XTPs loaded over 31 gr of H110 powder will definitely throw some serious flame.

 

[meh]

I haven't shot any Magtech .357 magnum. Interesting to hear that they're hot. Their .44 Magnums didn't seem that hot, as .44 Magnums go, but they do have some impressive flash.

 

[DW357]

I haven't shot any Magtech .357 magnum. Interesting to hear that they're hot. Their .44 Magnums didn't seem that hot, as .44 Magnums go, but they do have some impressive flash.

Same experience I had with Magtech. Also Fiocchi 142 gr ammo wasn't very impressive either.

 

[whacko]

Anything magtech in 357 Magnum I've found to be hotter than the average factory ammo. Remington 125 grain JSP and jhp is also a very hot load. Total fire balls and huge boom out of a snub 357 mag um worth those.

 

[BrianWilson]

Were they all the same weight bullets?
Looking at just Magtech, they offer a lead 158 loaded to only 1000 fps, and a jacketed 125 loaded to 1400. These are going to give to you a markedly different shooting experience.

357 Magnum Ballistics Chart | Ballistics 101

Although many handloaders start because they are skinflints, eventually some of us find out we can mix and match components to get performance/recoil results that suit our needs better than factory offerings.

 

[greencobra]

Remington 125 grain JSP and jhp is also a very hot load.

yep, haven't shot any in a while but they were packin' a wallop in my memory. the Remington .357 in hp, i think in hp, was the load out for the fbi and other government agencies when they were issued .357's years ago iirc.

never used magtech .357's but have put more than my fair share of magtech .45 acp 230 gr. ball thru the pipes and that impressed me as being stout as well. about 4-5 years ago the stuff was obscenely cheap.

 

[whacko]

yep, haven't shot any in a while but they were packin' a wallop in my memory. the Remington .357 in hp, i think in hp, was the load out for the fbi and other government agencies when they were issued .357's years ago iirc.

never used magtech .357's but have put more than my fair share of magtech .45 acp 230 gr. ball thru the pipes and that impressed me as being stout as well. about 4-5 years ago the stuff was obscenely cheap.

2011 I was paying $16 a box for magtech 357 mag 158 grain sjsp. Not anymore!!!

 

[meh]

Although many handloaders start because they are skinflints, eventually some of us find out we can mix and match components to get performance/recoil results that suit our needs better than factory offerings.

That's right. I load a lot of .357 and .44 magnums for handguns using non-magnum powders like Universal and Titegroup. I reserve the more expensive H110 powder for lever action rifles. In the handguns I get recoil that is a notch above 38 special +P but without the extra recoil and volume of full-house magnum loads. That's what I like, so that's what I shoot. Plus, it's a shorter jump to the forcing cone, which theoretically might lead to better accuracy versus specials (but probably doesn't in practice) and which, for obvious reasons, doesn't deposit as much carbon in front of the cylinder throats as with specials. It's satisfying to be able to dial in recoil level that you want. Only downside is that if you want VERY low recoil loads (which I don't), there might not be enough pressure to make the brass obturate in the chamber. Then you get blow-by carbon fouling.

Every now and again, though, I have to shoot some full-house loads, so I won't go soft.

 

[M60]

My 180 gr XTPs loaded over 31 gr of H110 powder will definitely throw some serious flame.

I use 240 gr XTP's with 24 grains of H110 for deer hunting. Drops them like a rock and the XTP is usually resting against the hide on the opposite side of the entry wound. I can't imagine what your round would do. Lol.

 

[meh]

Their .44 Magnums didn't seem that hot, as .44 Magnums go, but they do have some impressive flash.

These are 44 magnum Magtech 240gr JSPs.

 

[92G]

FWIW, factory 125gr loads tend to be a lot hotter than 158's. the sig elite 125gr is powerful. it lives up to the spec of 1450 ft/s. when i come accross this ammo i usually buy a few boxes. cabela's tends to stock it, as much as i hate to buy anything from them.

if you want some silly flash/blast in 44 mag, get some remington UMC 180gr loads. whatever powder they use i think 90% of it burns outside the barrel. it makes a loud as boom. definitely innefficient but funny.

 

[Waher]

Magtech tends to be hot and very flashy. I've had boxes of their .40 S&W produce fireworks in line with .357.

 

[straightshooterjake]

Magtech 158gr SJSP 357 magnum have been one of my go to rounds for my 6" 686 for more than a decade. With these rounds, I get 5 and 10 shot groups into 3" at 50 yards when I shoot from a rest with a red dot. I suspect that even better groups would be possible with a better optic or a better operator. That accuracy tells me that the rounds are consistent, and for ammunition, consistency is one of the key definitions of quality.

I have not shot these rounds over a chronograph, but based on their feel compared to other rounds, I find the published statistics of 158gr @ 1235 ft/sec to be very believable. These ballistics would make it a full 357 load, but nowhere near a "hot" load. From a 6" barrel in normal daylight, I have not noticed the flash.

I do not mean to seem like a Magtech fanboy, but overall, I have been quite satisfied with this ammunition, and I recommend it if the price is reasonable.

 

[grey]

Radtekk- as was mentioned try some umc 180 gr. That's mostly what i shoot and it's a flame show. By the way, target sports still has the best price. With regards to inefficiency, sure probably but nevertheless the ballistics are better than most except Underwood and PMC.

 

[Cowlesi]

I went to MFS the other day to try out my new Ruger GP100.

Picked up some of the following ammo: Magtech, Fiocchi, Remington, Hornady.

The Magtech stuff was much "hotter" in recoil and muzzle blast than the others.

Some of the extractions were tight, leading me to believe that these cartridges are loaded to the max level.

Is it me?

I also have a Ruger GP100, and found the Magtech ammo to be really hot. The cases stuck to the inside of the chambers in the cylinder. I had to wait for them to cool before extracting. Kudos to Magtech for making fun .357 rounds!