It Starts in 1935 by Paco Kelly

[JimT]

(the was written by Paco back around 1998 or so for the old Sixgunner.com website)

Up until the year 1935 the word "magnum" was used primarily with Champaign bottles that were larger than the normal quart sized. That year Smith & Wesson brought out the first handgun cartridge called a magnum, because of it's larger shell casing. The .357 magnum was really just the .38 Special elongated by a tenth of an inch.......but it was the pressure difference that made the new cartridge. When in 1930 Smith & Wesson upgraded the .38 Special to the .38/44 they used the same cartridge case as the Special but jumped the pressure to around 20,000 to 25,000 psi. The ammo boxed were marked "To be used in .38/44 handguns only" (fixed-sighted, heavy-frame 44/45 frame revolvers). A year or so later the .38/44 Outdoorsman came on the scene. It was basically the same heavy-frame gun but with adjustable sights.

From 1930 through to the beginning of 1935, the development of the .357 was underway. Doug Wesson (the head of S&W) felt the .38/44 was good but more would be better. To keep the .357 case from being accidentally fired in a .38 Special handgun the case was lengthened so they wouldn't chamber.

And the pressure of the new round was in the 40,000 plus psi levels. Even at it's incredibly expensive $60 per copy it sold well. The .38/44 Outdoorsman was $45 at the time and that was considered expensive for the Depression era 1930's. For the years 1935 through 1940, Roy Jinks (the S&W Historian) states 6642 S&W handguns in .357 were sold. More than 1200 a year. Not bad for the times and price.

The Second World War stopped production in 1940. In 1950 when production and sales started again almost 3600 guns were sold in that one year. And the .357 magnum has sold .... and sold well .... every year since then. It has been chambered in many manufacturers guns and sold in hundred of styles and models.

Doug Wesson gave Phil Sharpe the credit for the lions share of the .357's development. Elmer Keith has stated that he also contributed to it's development and he did, in a limited way. He sent Wesson a large number of his cast bullets that he designed. (Lyman still makes the mold) And he sent the loading data he was using in .38 Special cases in the .38/44 revolvers. He states in his book SIXGUNS that the load was 11 gr. of Number 80 powder. (now long obsolete) Keith also points out that this load wrecked many small-framed .38 Specials.

As Elmer himself tells it, Winchester told Wesson that the load data of Keith's generated over 40,000 psi which they thought was crazy. Eventually Winchester backed away from the project. But...Remington picked up where they left off. And when 2400 powder was finally developed it was used in the .357. Approximately 15.8 gr. of it. I have read a number of different experts who state that it was 15 gr., but the point amount fluctuates from .2 to .8 grains, depending on who you read. I get 15.8 gr. from a WRA .357 magnum cartridge I opened and weighed. It was a factory load from the late 1930's. The velocity of those WRA cartridges were well over 1500 fps.....knocking out speculation that the original loadings in .357 did not get as high velocity as the advertising stated. The advertising stated 1510 fps and the original loads were above that.

So the .357 ads were not hoopla but truth. And the load data that Keith gave them (that generated "so much" pressure) was the pressure they had to go to anyway. They could have saved themselves money and years of development and testing if they had listened to Keith from the start. The interesting fact here is that Keith was using 40,000 psi pressure in the .38/44 handguns for years. And never had a problem with the guns not being able to handle it, and then some. But when S&W brought out the .357 magnum handgun they said it had to have special steel and special heat-treating and a lot of other statements about the uniqueness of the gun's structure over the other handguns. Chances are that other than cosmetic changes in the .38/44 specs, and a .357 magnum length chamber.....both guns were made of the same steel and had the same heat-treatment.

Like is stated by many knowledgeable gun folks, there are better caliber's to hunt with for big game. But if the .357 mag is NOT powerful enough for soft animals 200 pounds or so down .... then how can the experts recommend the .357 for Law Enforcement? Some of the criminals I've run into over my career were much bigger, far stronger, very hard, downright nasty, and much more aggressive than any poor soft-bodied deer-sized game.

Lets give that whole line of thinking a rest. Either it is or it isn't.......it cannot be one and not the other. Of seventeen shootings I was involved (either personally or in an investigative capacity) where the .357 was used, I would have to say it is well capable of handling living creatures of 200 pounds and above. Especially when you consider police-type guns usually have 4 inch barrels or less. And the trend today is to use even less powerful ammo and caliber's like the various 9mm's. And they incapacitate nasty criminals every day.

Hunting handguns usually have six inch or better barrels and heavy hunting loads, unlike some police guns and loads. Practice, the right bullet, the right load, the right gun and the right sights are the keys. We do the hunting public (those that can't handle the big .40 plus magnum caliber's) a disservice by not explaining how to, and what to use, with the .357 to hunt. There are folks out there that are going to hunt with the .357 no matter what we say. No....we should be in the business of guiding them and giving them knowledge to make them and their firearm effective.

The big Rugers, Taurus, S&W's and other strongly made handguns should be the ones recommended for hunting. And it should be carefully explained that the smaller and lighter .357's are for personal defense and police work. Information on what loads are effective, what bullets work well, and what the limit is on distances should be made accessible to those who choose to hunt with the .357 magnum. Exactly like is done with the larger caliber's.

I have read horror stories of how deer and black bear were not stopped with .357's. Like the famous story of one writer who shot a black bear at point-blank range several times without stopping it. He blamed the .357 that he used. But when you find out his load data a different story emerges. His load was a 158 gr. cast bullet at 1100 fps - a warm .38 Special defense load! That is not a .357 hunting load!

And that is my point. My coyote load alone is a 170 gr. or more cast load at near 1500 fps. My deer load today uses a Hornady 180 gr. XTP at over 1400 fps. I keep my hunting range at 50 to 75 yards. Hunting loads, .357 magnum pressures, in hunting handguns.....not a .38 +P defense load.

The lowering of pressures and the smaller defensive handguns in .357 have been a great added plus to personal safety, but a detriment in the hunting field. When we hunt with the .357 let's use a real .357 magnum gun and load.

[Scott Tschirhart]

I think that one of the reasons the 125 gr .357 JHP has proved to be so effective is that it launches from a 4 inch barrel at 1450 or so FPS (Remington load).

Had we maintained these velocities with a heavier bullet, instead of dropping the specs, folks would probably think more kindly about the .357.

My current load with H110 and a 158 gr XTP lit by a Remington small rifle primer seems to be pretty peppy and I would not hesitate to pop a deer with it.

John Taffin wrote: "The original .357 loading in 1935 consisted of a 158 grain swaged bullet over 16.0 grains of #2400 ignited by a rifle primer. This load is too hot today for most guns as #2400 has changed through the years and is better suited for 158 grain bullets with 14.0. to 15.0 grains."

http://www.sixguns.com/range/Firstmag.htm

That's smoking hot!

[JimT]

It is hot. My standard load for the .357 is the Keith SWC and 14.5 gr. 2400 with a Small Rifle primer. With the 125 gr. jacketed bullets I load anywhere from 18.5 to 20 gr. of WC820 (Military Surplus H110). What is crazy is how hot that is from a 1 3/4" barrel! From my little S&W they averaged 1339 fps! Out of the Rossi levergun they do close to 2200 fps.

[JimT]

Early .357 Magnum case compared to a modern one. The first .357's used a Large Primer.

early357_1.jpg

early357_2.jpg

[.45colt]

Great article. Thanks Jim. "They could have saved themselves money and years of development and testing if they had listened to Keith from the start." .

[piller]

In a revolver which can handle the high pressure, a 158 grain . 357 bullet is quite effective for most purposes. I have never seen proof of it being ineffective. I have a Ruger GP100. When using it with hot loads, I do not feel undergunned for anything I might encounter where I live. Even the factory modern 125 grain hollow points are more than enough for most things.

[High Desert Hunter]

If you would have asked me when I was a kid, I would have told you a Ruger Blackhawk 357 could kill just about anything. I once watched my grandad drop an Eastern Oregon 4x4 bull elk at dusk from over 50 yards with once shot to the neck. That pistol was the first centerfire handgun I ever shot. He loaded nothing but 158gr jacketed softpoints, even with the 6 1/2" barrel, first time I squeezed the trigger was something I'll never forget.

Dave

[Sixgun]

Keith went with common sense and personal experience......S&W, because of liability and reputation, had to go with the science of metallurgy......makes sense to me.....

In my .357's, my favorite load is 7 grains of Unique and a 160 Keith....fast enough for me.

In metallic silhouette competition, I'll use a .357 Max out of a 10" Ruger.....I'll push a 180 Hornady 1400. Knocks down those 80 pound rams at 200 meters with ease.

[Bill in Oregon]

Jim, I did not know the early .357s used a large pistol primer. First handgun I bought when I turned 21 was a Smith Model 28 with 4-inch barrel. I'll admit that I thought I might have bitten off more than I could chew when I shot up my first box of SuperVel out of that sixgun.

[Scott Tschirhart]

My best shooting.357 isn’t my favorite. But nothing else comes close. Smith & Wesson M&P R-8. Well used.

[mickbr]

This article was a great read

[stretch]

John Taffin wrote: "The original .357 loading in 1935 consisted of a 158 grain swaged bullet over 16.0 grains of #2400 ignited by a rifle primer. This load is too hot today for most guns as #2400 has changed through the years and is better suited for 158 grain bullets with 14.0. to 15.0 grains."

I run 14.0 gr. of 2400 driving a 158gr. JHP for my carry loads.

Very accurate, very controllable. Not the most powerful, though.

If I ever get a Ruger single action in .357, I'd experiment with hotter loads.
no reason to abuse my S&W revolvers with a steady diet of hot loads, though.

-Stretch

[Scott Tschirhart]

John Taffin wrote: "The original .357 loading in 1935 consisted of a 158 grain swaged bullet over 16.0 grains of #2400 ignited by a rifle primer. This load is too hot today for most guns as #2400 has changed through the years and is better suited for 158 grain bullets with 14.0. to 15.0 grains."

I run 14.0 gr. of 2400 driving a 158gr. JHP for my carry loads.

Very accurate, very controllable. Not the most powerful, though.

If I ever get a Ruger single action in .357, I'd experiment with hotter loads.
no reason to abuse my S&W revolvers with a steady diet of hot loads, though.

-Stretch

I think that is a reasonable approach. 14.5 is my typical load in the .357, though I am loading a great deal more H110 and 296 for heavier loads.

[piller]

The 586 and GP100 are both big enough to be holster carry, and both can handle heavy loads without coming apart. Good for almost any handgun hunting. I wouldn't put many hot rounds through a lighter built . 357 just because of both the harsh kick and the potential for making it come apart.

[wvfarrier]

Hell, I run a 180 xtp with 15.2 grains of Lil Gun, its a smoking load and knocks the stuffing out of anything it hits