Oooh, you have my attention sir. I'm planning to whitetail hunt with a 16" suppressed 357 lever gun this fall. Just kind of planned to run with a Buffalo Boar load - probably the Outdoorsman, hadn't settled on the exact load yet. I do reload though and will have to give these bullets some thought. FYI, suppressed 158gr 38spl out of a lever gun is a freaking riot...
I bet! - suppressors are great. I don't have one but did shoot with a guy who has a silent 300 BO and we were talking over the noise of a 6.5 CM. Can imagine the .38 Spcl being at or near silent.
Send me a PM if you want to talk specifics about loads and such. Started with a single shot and then moved into a M77-357 bolt.
The pointy bullets changed things - 140 gr FTX, 158 gr Fury, 165 gr .355 FTX (for 350 Legend): For me, the 140 isn't impressive in the 357 or 350 Legend. I had gotten them for ease of use cause m77-357 doesn't take bullets out of the magazine very well - needed the point to have a prayer for a quick 2nd shot - haven't needed one yet.
BUT BUT the 158 Fury and 165 FTX are for real. We were blowing up 1-gal water bottles at 150 yards and apparently getting decent expansion w the bullets. Couldn't catch any bullets.
The pointed lead tip is Fury, HP is XTP HP FP (Flat Point has higher impact velocity rated than a regular HP - regular is 800-1,600 fps, FP tops out >1,800 fps). The flat soft point lead is a Speer - haven't shot any critters with those yet. All are 158 gr. Have to seat the Fury bullets deep to fit in the magazine for the M77-357.
This is the .355 FTX (for the 350 Legend) - works in the 357 mag. Loads long - I couldn't bring myself to seat the bullet any deeper - won't fit the M77-357 magazine. That's why I stopped using them in 357 mag but they'd be excellent in a single shot or as the first shot in a bolt and maybe lever gun.
Shot 2 deer with this bullet out of 350 Legend at 2,250 fps. Yearling DRT, the larger doe fell at shot yet somehow got up and moving, went about 100 yards - was spray painting trees out the entrance hole after 50 yards - blew a fist sized hole in the loose meat just behind the shoulder blade at about 50 yards. Exited thru paunch so not much blood out that side tho there was some.
If you like reloading, the 357 mag is a great round to reload - so many options for 38 spcl and 357 mag from shot shells to 200+ gr subsonics.