Buffalo Bore 357 Mag 125gr JHP Low Flash – Ideal Snub Nose Load

Description

The Buffalo Bore 357 Mag 125gr JHP Low Flash is built around a problem most 357 ammunition ignores: almost all of it is loaded for a four or six inch barrel, and almost everyone carries a snub. This one is tuned for short barrels, uses a flash suppressed powder, and runs 1225 fps for roughly 416 ft-lbs from two and a half inches. Twenty rounds per box, item 19G/20.

• Buffalo Bore 357 Mag 125gr JHP Low Flash Overview
• 357 Magnum Short Barrel JHP Ammo Ballistics
• Why A 125 Grain Low Recoil Revolver Bullet Suits A Snub
• Specifications
• Carry Notes For This Flash Suppressed 357 Snub Load

Buffalo Bore 357 Mag 125gr JHP Low Flash Overview

Two things define this load. The powder is fast burning and flash suppressed, so it finishes its work inside a short barrel instead of throwing the unburnt remainder out the muzzle as a fireball. Standard magnum powders are slow and count on barrel length they will not get in a snub.

The bullet is a conventional lead core jacketed hollow point at 125 grains. Nothing exotic, and at these velocities nothing exotic is needed, because a lead core bullet expands readily once it is moving above about a thousand feet per second.

Buffalo Bore describes the line as lower recoil as well as low flash, and both are true relative to their full power 357. The Buffalo Bore 357 Mag 125gr JHP Low Flash is not a mild load in absolute terms. It is a magnum load that has stopped trying to be the hottest one in the catalogue.

357 Magnum Short Barrel JHP Ammo Ballistics

The published figures come from real revolvers and are unusually complete. A 1.875 inch Smith and Wesson 340PD gives 1109 fps for 341 ft-lbs, a 2.5 inch Model 66 gives 1225 for 416, a three inch Model 65 gives 1322 for 485, a four inch Mountain Gun gives 1445 for 579, and a six inch Colt Python gives 1388 for 535.

Look at the last two. The six inch Python is slower than the four inch Mountain Gun, which is not a misprint. Cylinder gap and bore dimensions vary between guns enough to swamp two inches of barrel, and this table is a clean demonstration of it.

More to the point, look at the snub numbers. Even a 1.875 inch scandium J frame is producing 341 ft-lbs with this 357 Magnum short barrel JHP ammo, which is comfortably above what a 38 Special +P manages from the same gun and well above what a conventional magnum load would deliver after losing most of its powder charge to the air.

Why A 125 Grain Low Recoil Revolver Bullet Suits A Snub

Muzzle flash is the underrated problem with a magnum revolver. A defensive shooting is overwhelmingly likely to happen in poor light, and a conventional 357 fired from a short barrel throws a fireball that will cost you your dark adaptation for several seconds. A flash suppressed 357 snub load is not a marketing idea, it is the reason this product exists.

Recoil is the other half. A lightweight snub firing full house 357 is genuinely unpleasant, and unpleasant guns do not get practised with. A 125 grain low recoil revolver bullet at 1225 fps is still firmly a magnum, but it is one you can shoot a cylinder of without dreading the next one.

The bullet weight is the right one for this job. At 125 grains a 125 grain low recoil revolver bullet has the velocity to expand even from a very short barrel, where a 158 grain magnum load can arrive slowly enough that the hollow point behaves like a round nose.

Be aware of the weight limit Buffalo Bore flags. In revolvers under sixteen ounces the felt recoil of this tactical 357 Magnum carry ammunition is still considerable, and they suggest a 38 Special +P load instead if you are recoil sensitive with a gun that light.

Specifications

Carry Notes For This Flash Suppressed 357 Snub Load

Test it in low light if you possibly can. The entire argument for this load is what it does after dark, and you will learn nothing about that on a bright range at two in the afternoon.

Check your point of impact. A 125 grain bullet is light for the calibre, and in a fixed sight revolver regulated around 158 grain loads it will usually print low at twenty five yards. Find that out on paper.

Think about gun weight before you commit. Buffalo Bore is explicit that revolvers under sixteen ounces produce tremendous felt recoil with this load, and they recommend 38 Special +P instead for recoil sensitive shooters with very light guns. That is sensible advice worth taking seriously.

Practise with 38 Special and confirm with this. It remains the traditional and still the sensible approach with a magnum revolver: cheap ammunition for volume, then a box or two of this flash suppressed 357 snub load to verify function, recoil and zero.

Tactical 357 Magnum Carry Ammunition Availability

This tactical 357 Magnum carry ammunition is in stock and ready to ship from MAG5 Firearms, a family owned FFL dealer in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Ammunition orders ship to most states, and local customers are welcome to pick up in the shop. If you need case quantities or another 357 Magnum short barrel JHP ammo option from the Buffalo Bore catalog, call us and we will check what our distributors have on hand.

Manufacturer details are on the Buffalo Bore site. For an all copper bullet in the same low flash line, see the 357 Mag 125gr XPB low flash. For full power in an all steel gun, compare the heavy 357 Mag 125gr JHP, or browse our full ammunition selection.