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Handgun Ammo

.357 Magnum Ammo

In stock from $0.58 / round · 10 of 12 products available now

It gains more from barrel length than almost any handgun round, and every revolver chambered for it will also shoot .38 Special for practice.

In stock today

Cost per round
$0.58 to $2.05
8 Brands
Barnes, CCI, DoubleTap, Federal, Hornady, Liberty Ammunition, Remington, Winchester
Bullet weights
50, 125, 130, 135, 140, 158, 165, 200 grain
Pack sizes
20, 25, 50, 250, 500, 1,000 rounds

Order before 4:00 PM ET on a business day and it ships the same day, then 1 to 5 business days in transit depending on how far it travels. You will see the arrival date before you pay.

Learn more about .357 Magnum

At a glance

Also known as
.357 S&W Magnum, 9x33mmR
Common bullet weights
125, 158 and 180 grain
Typical use
Revolver hunting, woods carry, lever-action carbines
Before you buy
It gains more from barrel length than almost any handgun round: a two-inch snub gives up a great deal of it
Age to purchase
21+ (the federal licensed-dealer minimum for ammunition suitable for a handgun, applied as TAS policy)

.357 Magnum is a .38 Special case lengthened and loaded to far higher pressure, and when it appeared in 1935 it set the template for every magnum handgun cartridge since. It is genuinely powerful, genuinely loud, and it gains more from a longer barrel than almost any other handgun round, which is why a .357 lever carbine is such a satisfying thing and why a two-inch magnum snub is mostly fireball. It is also, uniquely, a cartridge you can practise with cheaply, because every .357 revolver will safely shoot .38 Special.

What to know before buyingCommon questions

Before you buy

What to know about .357 Magnum

What people buy it for

  • Handgun hunting for deer and hogs at moderate range
  • Woods and trail carry
  • Lever-action pistol-caliber carbines
  • Revolver silhouette and steel competition
  • Defensive revolvers, with .38 Special for practice

Barrel length is not a detail here

The .357 uses slow-burning powder and needs barrel to work with. Out of a four-inch or six-inch revolver it delivers what the cartridge promises; out of a snub it gives up a great deal of velocity and turns most of the difference into muzzle blast and flash. Out of a sixteen-inch lever carbine it gains substantially and becomes a genuinely capable short-range hunting rifle. Buy the load for the barrel you own.

125gr and 158gr do different jobs

125gr magnum loads are the fastest and the loudest, and built their reputation in police service. 158gr is the traditional weight, carries more momentum, penetrates deeper and is the usual choice for handgun hunting and for lever guns. Heavier hardcast loads exist for woods carry. Fixed-sight revolvers are generally regulated around the heavier bullets.

Full-power magnums are hard on light revolvers

A steady diet of full-power ammunition (and particularly of very light, very fast bullets) is demanding on medium- and small-framed revolvers over time. Heavier-framed guns shrug it off. This is one reason so many .357 owners practise with .38 Special and save the magnum ammunition for carry, hunting and periodic confirmation.

Indoor ranges and flash

.357 Magnum is unpleasant to shoot next to and can be genuinely disorienting indoors in low light. Some loads use flash-suppressed powder and advertise it. If you carry a .357 for defense, that is worth paying for, and it is worth firing at least a few rounds of your carry load somewhere dim before you rely on it.

Questions

Common questions

Can I shoot .357 Magnum in a .38 Special revolver?

No. The .357 case is longer and will not chamber in most .38 Special revolvers, and in any case the pressure is far beyond what a .38-only gun is built for. The relationship only runs one way: .38 Special is safe in a .357 chamber, never the reverse.

Should I practise with .38 Special in my .357?

Most people do, and it is a genuinely good idea: it is cheaper, far more pleasant, and it lets you shoot enough volume to actually improve. Do two things: scrub the carbon ring out of the chambers afterwards so .357 cases still seat cleanly, and shoot enough of your actual magnum load to know where it hits and what it feels like.

How much does a lever-action carbine add?

A great deal. .357 Magnum is loaded with powder that is still burning when the bullet leaves a revolver barrel, so a sixteen- to twenty-inch barrel converts that into meaningful extra velocity rather than muzzle flash. The practical result is a quiet-recoiling, low-blast carbine that is a legitimate short-range hunting rifle, and one that shares ammunition with your revolver.

125 grain or 158 grain?

125gr is faster and flashier and made the cartridge's reputation as a defensive load. 158gr penetrates deeper, recoils with more push than snap, and is the standard choice for hunting and for carbines. For woods carry against large animals, a heavier hardcast bullet again. Sights on fixed-sight revolvers are usually regulated for the heavier weights.

How much does .357 Magnum cost per round?

.357 Magnum runs from $0.58 to $2.05 per round in stock right now. Every price on the page carries its cost per round beside it, so the comparison is one glance rather than arithmetic.

Is it cheaper to buy .357 Magnum by the case?

Usually, yes. We stock .357 Magnum from 20 rounds up to 1,000, and the cost per round beside each price is what shows whether a particular case actually beats the box. It is not automatic: a discounted box sometimes wins.

Which brands of .357 Magnum do you stock?

Barnes, CCI, DoubleTap, Federal, Hornady, Liberty Ammunition, Remington and Winchester are in stock in .357 Magnum today. Stock changes as the feed runs, so the list on the page is the current one.

What bullet weights does .357 Magnum come in?

The .357 Magnum in stock runs 50, 125, 130, 135, 140, 158, 165, 200 grain. Weight changes how the round feels and where it prints more than most shooters expect, so it is worth matching what you already shoot.

Is .357 Magnum in stock?

10 of the 12 .357 Magnum products we list are in stock right now. Out of stock items stay on the page rather than disappearing, so a link you saved still works and you can see what normally sits here.

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