JHP or JSP?

[zack coyote]

I'm trying to load up 300 rounda for my wife's Rossi in .357 mag. I wanted to load 125 gr. XTP's, but can't seem to find any anywhere. Midway does, however, have some 125 gr. Remington soft points. Should I go with these, or wait for the XTP's? We have some hogs around here, and some Coyotes. As We live pretty remotely, we may have some two legged vermin also. You gentlemen know more about these things than I do, so I defer to your opinion. I think cast is out, because of the velocity of these little bullets.

[TedH]

If you're going after hogs, I wouldn't use a 125 gr. bullet of any kind. Nor would I use a hollow point of any weight out of a rifle. I would be very concerned about adequate penetration on a big hog with the light bullets. I'd go with jsp or cast bullets of 158 gr. minimum with 180's even better. For what it's worth, my Rossi doesn't shoot the light bullets nearly as accurately as the heavys.

[Blaine]

What Ted said. If the hogs are big, even 180s would not be a bad idea and you won't even have to run them all that fast.......

[horsesoldier03]

I seen some .38/.357 158 grn LSWCHP with Gas Checks on one of the bullet websites that I found not to long ago. I beleive the BH rate was aroun 10. Those things will flaten out pretty good on impact and IMO would be ideal for a snubnose revolver. My S&W 642 prefered the 158s over anything else that I shot in it. IMO I dont think a 125 JHP would be very good on a hog. It just wont penitrate good enough IMO>

[Hobie]

Try the 158 gr. Hornady XTP-FP over 18 gr. Lil'Gun. That gets 2000 fps out of my .357 Mag carbine. It has a good rep on game and placed correctly will kill any vermin as well as hogs. Recoil is not as much as with the .30-30 due to the lower total ejecta weight because of the lower charge weight.

Frankly, in my carbine, the 125s seemed a bit of a bust ballistically as they didn't produce the velocities and energy expected.

[Tennessee Hayre]

I have several .357 mags and one of them is a stub nose rosi. My first handgun was a .357 mag purchased in 1982 and I have nevered used anything less then a 180grain bullet. They do their best work in that size of bullet. I have always used a hard castcore 180 grain on everything from groundhogs to dogs.

[Idiot]

I have shot javalina with 125 grain XTP bullets and 158 grain Winchester JHP bullets. Both bullets were out of a 6" barreled .357 Magnum handgun.

The javalina shot with the XTP bullet was within 15 yards. It took three well placed bullets to kill the little pig. Only one bullet stayed together long enough to get to the heart. The other two bullets fragmented and were of little use.

I shot another javalina with the 158 grain hollow point bullet at around three yards. It came apart and only a couple small fragments penetrated the skin. I bruised the pig and slowed it down. I shot it again, dead in the chest, at 50 yards and knocked it flat. The bullet penetrated all the way through.

I should add, I have a large stock of Winchester 158 grain JHP and use have killed more javalina with it than any other bullet. But it is because I have a lot of those bullets that I use it, and because I want something that will expand on a lion if I trip across one while hunting javalina that dictates it use - not because it's the best suited to the task. I also know the load's (bullet's) strengths and limitations.

One more example, this time using a carbine. I shot a javalina at 100 yards using the Winchester 158 grain bullet. I hit it dead in the chest. The bullet pentrated all the way through, making a big hole in the heart along the way. This javalina never twitched.

The moral to the story is this. Don't use a 125 grain bullet of any kind (except perhaps a hard cast SWC) on pigs - they are too light and too fragile. Second, if you use a hollow point bullet of heavier weight, don't load it to full velocity, it too may come apart. And finally, if you have a choice, do as TedH says and use nothing lighter than 158 grain and nothing weaker than a JSP. Now days I use a 158 grain SWC for javalina, but would be reluctant to use anything lighter than a stout 180 grain SWC for real pigs. When it comes to killing, penetration is the name of the game. Have fun.

[cshold]

Good info.