Non-firing replica The .357 Magnum was developed over a period of time in the early to mid-1930s in a direct response to Colt's .38 Super Automatic. At the time, the .38 Super was the only pistol cartridge capable of defeating automobile cover and the early body armor that was just beginning to emerge in the post-World War I "Gangster Era"[2]. Tests at the time revealed that those early ballistic vests defeated any handgun cartridge traveling at less than about 1000 ft/s. Colt's .38 Super Automatic just edged over that velocity and was able to penetrate car doors and vests that bootleggers and gangsters were employing as cover.
In order to reassert itself as the leading law enforcement armament provider, Smith & Wesson developed the .357 Magnum. The new round was developed from its existing .38 Special round; it used a different powder load, and ultimately the case was extended by 1/8th of an inch (3.2 mm). The case extension was more a matter of safety than of necessity. Because the .38 Special and the early experimental .357 Magnum cartridges were identical in physical attributes, it was possible to load an experimental .357 Magnum cartridge in a .38 Special revolver, with potentially disastrous results. Extending the case slightly made it impossible to chamber the magnum-power round in a gun not designed for the additional pressure.[2]
Much credit for the .357's development is given to hunter and experimenter Elmer Keith. Keith's work in loading the .38 Special to increasingly higher pressure levels was made possible by the availability of heavy, target shooting-oriented revolvers like the Smith & Wesson 38/44 "Heavy Duty" and "Outdoorsman", .38-caliber revolvers built on .44-caliber frames. While the .38 Special cartridge is limited to 16,500 c.u.p. (copper units of pressure), the .357 Magnum is loaded to 35,000 c.u.p. The objective was to create a handgun cartridge that combined deep penetration, flat trajectory, and long range. U.S.A. - 1955
Non-firing Replica
Length: 14 1/5 inches
|
.357 Magnum
