.357 Winchester Partition Gold for Self Defense?

3711 Views 6 Replies 5 Participants Last post by MikeO, Jul 29, 2004

Steve in Utah

Discussion Starter · Jul 25, 2004

I've heard of folks loving the .357 Magnum Winchester Partition Gold 180-gr. HP for all around self defense and wanted some additional opinions.

I normally carry 125-gr. for SD and wonder if the 180-gr. is overkill and what you experts like for protection with a .357 Magnum?

Thank-you in advance of your assistance!

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Mad Ogre

· #2 · Jul 25, 2004

Well they work great on game, so I would imagine they would do fine on goblins too.
Yes, I think that may be overkill... but then again I've never heard of anyone surviving a gun fight and then complain about having too much gun. Since you are in Utah, you are familiar with winter clothing.
Come winter time, that's exactly the kinda load you want in case you have to punch through many layers of heavy clothing.

In the winter I like to carry Hornady loads... sometimes the Hornady Custom, sometimes the XTP. All good. Hornady loads like to penetrate deep and that's what you need in the winter.

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csmkersh

· #3 · Jul 25, 2004

I'm going to anger the Facklerites by pointing out that M&S have found with their "studies" that the 125 grain HydraShok JHP .357 Magnum is the best "one stop" round around followed very closely by the 230 grain JHP .45ACP.

No, the M&S findings aren't scientific; far from it. Dean may be able to provide a quote from their first book's opening pages where they try to make it clear that their findings a subjective and based on their own criteria from data gathered from less than unbiased sources.

But back to your question; yes, 180 grain .357s are most likely "over kill." The heaviest I'd use would be 158 grain ldswhp similar to the bullet in the .38 Special "FBI load." If you can get them, you'll be hard pressed to find a better load than the 125 Gold Dot. You might try to lay in a supply of HydraShoks before they disappear from the shelves if you prefer Federal to Speer.

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LIProgun

· #4 · Jul 26, 2004

Steve, the 180 grain loads are intended for hunting critters up to whitetail deer. The previous entries in the field (like Federal's 180 grain Hi Shok) were not particularly impressive. However, the lastest offerings such as Federal's 180 grain CastCore (really an LBT hard cast WFN), the 180 grain Winchester Partition Gold, and the 165 grain Remington Core Lokt are apparently quite good loads. Still, they would not be my first choice for defense against two-legged varmints, as I would expect penetration to be excessive.

If you can shoot well with 125 grain JHP loads, there's no need to look further. I tend to prefer the 145 grain Win Silvertip JHP, as I find it has less blast, low flash, and penetrates a bit deeper. But that's just a personal preference.

Sam, the load that M&S (and Ayoob) made the self-defense benchmark was the .357 Mag Federal 125 grain Hi Shok JHP. The .357 Mag HydraShok is a 158 grain load, and is nothing great IMO. The Hi Shok loads now part of Federal's new Personal Defense lineup (which is not to be confused with the Premium Personal Defense lineup, which include the HydraShok and EFMJ bullet loads).

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csmkersh

· #5 · Jul 26, 2004

Thanks for correcting my errors, Rob.

I didn't know the Hi Shok were moved into the Personal defense line. I've seen blow-out prices ($89/250) and had thought Federal was dropping them and the Nyclad loads.

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LIProgun

· #6 · Jul 26, 2004

I believe they did discontinue the Nyclad line. It is no longer cataloged AFAIK.

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MikeO

· #7 · Jul 29, 2004

Wouldn't worry about it...

From my Ruger Security/Service Sixes, they aren't bad at all (as far as recoil). About 1000 fps, and they actually expand better, penetrate a little less than the Speer 158 Gold Dot. When shot into plastic water jugs anyway.

In the June 2002 issue of Handguns Phil Johnston got 1000 fps from a 4 inch GP100 and 17 inches of penetration, .69 caliber expansion in bare gel.

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