S&W 640-1 .357 magnum loads?

[LOBO]

What load is the best choice for SD/CC use in a S&W 640-1 .357 mag 2"?

FWIW, I have access to these .357 mag loads.....

.357 magnum Winchester White box 110 gr HP
.357 magnum Remington 125 gr HP
.357 magnum Corbon 125gr DPX
.357 magnum Speer 135 gr Gold Dot HP Short Barrel Load

[Fail-Safe]

Of those, I'd carry the 135gr Speer GDHP.

[Frailer]

Of those, I'd carry the 135gr Speer GDHP.

+1. In fact, that's what my 640-1 is loaded with as I type this (albeit the 38 +P version).

[LOBO]

Has anyone done any testing of the .357 magnum 135 gr Gold Dot Short Barrel load vs. the .38 special 135 gr +P Gold Dot Short Barrel load?

[DocGKR]

I NEVER shoot .357 mag out of 2" barrel J-frames, as it just does not make any sense since there is not a significant increase in terminal performance over a .38 +P load...

[tpd223]

Of those, I'd carry the 135gr Speer GDHP.

That or the DPX, I think either of these two are better choices than the GS, and much better than the 110gr WWB loading.

[TiroFijo]

I NEVER shoot .357 mag out of 2" barrel J-frames, as it just does not make any sense since there is not a significant increase in terminal performance over a .38 +P load...

DocGKR, what is the performance (or at least what can be expected) from of the .357 magnum 135 gr Gold Dot Short Barrel load vs. the 38 special 135 gr +P Gold Dot Short Barrel load?

[LOBO]

DocGKR, what is the performance (or at least what can be expected) from of the .357 magnum 135 gr Gold Dot Short Barrel load vs. the 38 special 135 gr +P Gold Dot Short Barrel load?

I am curious about this too.

[KCabbage]

As Doc said, I doubt you're going to see much of a difference.

[LOBO]

I hope to be chronoing the following out of my 640-1 in the upcoming weeks,

.357 magnum Corbon 125 gr DPX
.357 magnum Speer GDSB 135 gr

.38 special Corbon 110 gr +P DPX
.38 special Speer GDSB 135 gr +P