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Best round for 2 1/4" SP101

8K views 20 replies 14 participants last post by  bodman 
#1 ·
What is the fastest most powerful round out of that barrel in .357 Magnum


I bought some Gold Dot 158s for the meantime.
 
#4 ·
Most powerful is not always the best in MHO. It depends on your purpose. If I was selecting a round for a short barrel 101, I would look for the one with the most bang, but still giving me control over the weapon over multiple shots. I envision the 101 as a CCW use revolver I guess.
 
#5 ·
What he ^ said.

It also doesn't do you much good to shoot hot loaded 125 grain screamers out of a 2" barrel as most of the powder will burn after the bullet has left the barrel. Big flash, big bang, not so much velocity. Those loads do best in the 4" or longer barrels.

Buffalo Bore and other companies do make loads taylored to short barrels. Downloaded a bit for manageability, low flash powders, medium weight bullets with larger hollow point cavities for more reliable expansion at typical short barrel velocities.

FWIW, I'm carrying Speer's 135 gr. .357 magnum "short barrel" load in mine. It's a little hotter than .38+P's but not as hot as typical .357 magnum fare. I have no doubt it will do it's job if I do mine.
 
#7 ·
Use what you would in any other snub. I prefer the lead .38 Special Plus P HP's, when I find them. Also have some Speer Gold Dot .38 125 grain JHP's. Want some of the newer Short Bbl format, but local dealers never have any.
Hydra-Shok 129 grainers are good, but again, I'm having trouble getting them. Have a small hoard.

In.357 Mag., the load that you got probably won't expand. It is meant for longer barrels.

In short .357's, the 140 grain bullets are probably the best balance between velocity and recoil. But I don't think you'll enjoy shootng .357's in a gun that size.

Lone Star
 
#8 ·
I have 158 grain Buffalo Bore in my SP-101. Buffalo Bore claims velocities of almost 1400 fps from a 3" barrel. So, it will be a little slower out of mine, but it is manageable for me to shoot. I like big loads in my guns. Even out of that snubby revolver, I have no trouble with hot loads. I have big hands too, which probably helps.
 
#11 ·
fastest and most powerful??? I'd rather have the load that shot best from it? Is the tiny difference in velocity in such a bbl such an issue. As it's intended purpose, the short shooting distance, velocity matters not. More power will also equate to more recoil forces and in turn will make more accurarte shooting and shot placement more difficult. Try different loads and see which shoots best. There's hardcast loads that are fast and super powerful but darn silly to use in that model.
 
#17 ·
I too have a 2.25" Ruger SP101, so I've paid attention to this debate for years, and I finally got around to actually testing my carry ammo thru a chrono.

I carry Double Tap 125 gr Gold Dots. I don't see them on Double Tap's web site anymore -- they now sell something called "Bonded Defense JHP", which looks a lot like a Gold Dot in their photo. Anyway they still quote the same crazy velocity numbers for this round: 1425 fps out of a 1 7/8" S&W!

(I'd like to know more about this test! It had to be a revolver with no cylinder gap and maybe shooting straight down, on the planet Jupiter or something.)

Anyway, here in the real world, I got to test some of mine, and the results of 5 shots thru the chrono were: 1266, 1281, 1205, 1059, and 1223 fps. That's an average of 1207 fps. Not up to their claims, but still impressive if you ask me. Don't know if that's the most powerful commercial .357 available, but it's gotta be in the ballpark.

I do want to get some Buffalo Bore and chrono that too, though.
 
#20 ·
I carry the Black Hills .357 Magnum 125 Grain JHP or the Remington 125 Grain SJHP, (not Golden Saber) in my .357 Magnum defensive guns intended for use against bipedal aggressors.

I have my 3" and 4" guns stoked with the same ammo. Even if the 2 1/4" SP101 can't make as much use of the benefits of the cartridge that the 4" gun can, it still hits harder than the 38 Special I carry too.

Biker
 
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