Jim Taylor
Chronographing the little .357 S&W
Thursday, June 25, 2020, 13:38

I've heard a lot of times over the years that the short-barrel .357 revolvers don't produce much velocity. Some feel that you get about as much out of a .38 Special in the short guns. I was playing with the chronograph at the range today and ran a few .357 loads through it.

The Rossi Model 92 levergun in .357 has a 24" barrel.
My load was a 125 gr. Speer JHP and 20.0 gr. of WC820 (Military Surplus H-110)
The velocity was 2184 fps.

The S&W Model 340 .357 has a 1.75" barrel.
125 gr. Speer JHP and 20 gr. of WC820 = 1339 fps.
That's not too shabby for a pocket pistol.

I do receive a nice blood blister on the web of my hand next to my thumb. About 15 shots and I had enough. Recoil is quite stout.

This is a screen capture from the video of me firing that load in the shop.