Great article. I especially liked this part.
I think a word here about the turn of the 19/20th centuries. And a comparison of power of the popular loadings for three of the great deer harvesting calibers of those times... the 30-30, 32-40, and the 38-55. I have two hunting loads for the 357 in my rifles. From my Winchester 94/24 inch 17.5 grains of IMR 4227 gives 200/210 grain cast bullets 1755 fps and just under 1400 ft.lbs of muzzle energy... and the same load under the 180 jacketed PSP gives 1757 fps and 1230 plus ft.lbs of muzzle energy. The original velocity with a 165 grain bullet in the 30-30 from 1895 into the 1900s was around 1860 fps and 1260 ft.lbs of muzzle energy.. The Win 32-40 loading was also a 165 grain bullet at 1400 fps and under 720 ft.lbs of muzzle energy, while the great 38-55 with the Win loading of a 255 grain bullet at 1320 fps and gave just under 1000 ft.lbs of muzzle energy. As you can see the 357 loaded right even for the Marlins and the Winchesters (40,000 to 42,000 psi) can eclipse the early big three rifle loads.
So why am I comparing apples and oranges, the modern loaded 357 from rifles vrs. old time rifle loads...? Because the three old time rifle loads above were the deer and black bear slayers of the times, and gave excellent service to our grandfathers... They kept families well fed, protected homes and live stock, and much more. All this to show the 357 from leverguns with the right handload is no hyper handgun load. It is a very powerful 100 to 150 yard deer harvester. Yes there are much better calibers. But for youngsters or those that can’t take recoil it is a fine offering.
Spanky
