At 1600 fps, a .357 hollowpoint would open up too late to do much damage to Mr. EvilDoer, but it might skittle through and kill two or three people behind him.

Syd

p.s. thanks for your mention of my blog move.

Note: The high-velocity .357 ammo from Winchester that I mentioned is not intended to be personal defense ammo. It's meant to be used for hunting, and therefore its higher energy is appropriate.

Often times these velocities are from an 28 inch mounted test barrel with
no barrel cylinder gap.

Methinx Wolf loads most of its pistol ammo hot. I shot a mixed magazine of Wolf and WWB 230 gr FMJ through my .45 and the Wolf was noticeably zippier. A case rupture here and there has turned me off using the brand in anything other than my Uzi, which doesn't like anything else (could be the Wolf 9mm is hotter than the others I've tried).

I'd be curious to run some of it through a chrono just to check it out.

Me too.

The cartridge is exactly the same and exists (look at the product number) in both handgun and rifle catalogs. The only difference is that the rifle barrel's length allows for more velocity. As far as Wolf Gold's 357 velocity, it is from a 8" barrel (they claim on the phone 7.7" - but 8" is close enough). It is almost identical in recoil to the Winchester round above in both a 3" Jframe and an 8" 8shot Large frame. The Winchester is more accurate but the wide deep hollow point in the Wolf should be devastating at very close range. Both rounds are mild compared to BuffaloBore Heavy 357 Mag, which I prefer for serious stops.

doug

My above reply refers to the Winchester 357 mag as quoted thusly near the top of this thread" - "As I learned back when I was writing up the article on the Winchester 94, Winchester has .357 Magnum ammo listed on their website with a MV of 1830 fps, however, this ammo is listed only under the rifle section, therefore I must assume that this is claimed velocity for rifles only, and I personally would probably not try it in a handgun."

So to be more specific than my first reply above, the cartridge P/N is X3575P 357 Magnum 158 gr. Super-X® Jacketed Soft Point and can be used either in rifles and handguns and is in both Winchester online sections (handguns and rifles). It's exactly the same cartridge. In fact it is a rather standard 357 Mag handgun load though it is a JSP not a hollow point. In fact it is milder than most full load 125s and a bit milder than Federal's American Eagle 158 JSP.

It (the Winne) does about its stated 1235 in a 4" and about 1600+ in an 8 3/8 so it is about the same as the Wolf Gold. In a 4" or less 357 I seriously doubt over penetration with the Wolf would be an issue as the hollow point of the Wolf is quite expansive. Just didn't seem to shoot as straight or consistent at 50+ yards as good USA ammo like the Winchester Super-X. However I would have no problem using either in any length barrel or firearm type. Distance to target would greatly favor the Winchester, upclose performance the Wolf, again that is, if it weren't for BuffaloBore 158 Heavy 357 magnum, which is truly a show stopper for this caliber.

http://www.buffalobore.com/ammunition/default.htm#357

Look below the table at the BB site to see the real life performance of this ammo even out of a 3" J Frame.

This is the way the original 357 magnum ammo was loaded and while robust, is safe in all newer all steel revolvers and after a few rounds it is pretty easy to get used to considering what it can do.

doug

I wanted to follow up with a thank you for alando for bringing up the subject of the Wolf 357 ammo. There is little information out there and I am sure there are many who question their ballistics. So even though the Winchester info was a bit off as far as use in handguns, he did us a great service by initiating discussion of the Wolf. The figures I supplied were chrono'd and are pretty consistent with what others I have spoken with have found. The Wolf Gold 357 defintiely goes bang everytime. I cannot accout for its accuracy being a bit poorer than the Winchester. Perhaps Serbians are simply larger targets thus have less stringent requirements for straight shooting. Seriously though, the Wolf Gold 357 JHP for PD up close is very intimidating stuff and quite a bargain at that.


doug