.357 4" or 2" barrel?

2617 Views 13 Replies 14 Participants Last post by JohnK, May 5, 2003

MarkPaul

Discussion Starter · Mar 15, 2003

Is there a big difference in velocity between a .357 2" barrel and a 4" barrel, I haven't found any numbers on it. The idea is I'd like a light .357 in the unlikely event of meeting a cranky bear (hopefully even so a blackbear of smaller size than a kodiak). Where I usually pack in Idaho, I've never heard of a grizzly being in the area, but I have heard of black bear being around. The only reason I like the 2" is its weight and cost. On a 5 day pack trip, everything, including that extra roll of film you packed seems to add up.

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Fred

· #6 · Mar 15, 2003

You may find the following muzzle velocity information for .357 mag useful. It is from the Speer reloading Manual 13th Edition. As numerous people have pointed out to me there are a lot of other variables in addition to bbl length (cylinder gap being one of them). Speer does not identify exactly what the loads were that the data is based on:
bbl length/bullet wt........125........140........158 grains
2.5".............................1201.......1123......1013 fps
...................................(10)........(8).........(23)
4.0".............................1365.......1237......1135 fps
...................................(23)........(34).......(21)
6.0".............................1465.......1338......1203 fps
...................................(129)......(94).......(91)
Numbers in () are standard deviations. Study included 3 firearms for 2.5 inches, 7 firearms for 4.0 inches, and 10 firearms for 6.0 inches (all revolvers of course).
PLEASE! If anyone can return the favor I am looking for similar data on .38 special and .44 special.

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