.357 Magnum
When introduced in 1935, the 357 Magnum was
touted as the most powerful handgun cartridge in the world, a title it has
since relinquished to other cartridges such as the
.44 Magnum,
10mm Auto,
and .41 Magnum.
Even so, the 357 Magnum is still an extremely useful development. For plinking
and paper punching, revolvers chambered for this cartridge usually shoot
.38 Special
loads with acceptable accuracy, but for more serious work, the higher chamber
pressure generated by the .357 enables it to produce almost three times as
much energy as its shorter parent.
Despite the greater publicity enjoyed by cartridges of larger calibers, the
.357 is still the most popular magnum revolver cartridge ever introduced.
This is probably due to the fact that it generates about all the recoil most
shooters can handle.
The 357 Magnum is occasionally promoted as a deer cartridge. In the hands
of an experienced hunter who calmly places the right bullet in the right
place at close range, it will just barely get the job done most of the time,
but when used by the average hunter, the .357 Magnum leaves a great deal
to be desired in that role. As a hunting cartridge, the .357 is seen at its
best when used on varmints or for close range shooting of the smaller game
animals such as javelina.
For use on varmints, the .357 Magnum is quite effective when loaded with
various jacketed hollowpoint bullets weighing 110 to 125 grains. For larger
game such as javelina and cats up to the size of mountain lion, a good 158
grain softpoint seated atop H4227 or H110 is very effective medicine.
Source: Hodgdon Data Manual, 26th Edition
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