Just restocked my supply of PMC Eldorado Starfire .357 magnum, 150 grain ammo. Back when Crazy Jay and I were chronographing and shooting holes in things that seemed to need holes, we discovered several points of interest.
From his admittedly shot to hell and back chrono's we were averaging a tad under 1300 fps from a 4" Ruger GP-100.
Since the old Starfire line was rumored to clog after passing through heavy clothing, we emptied a cylinder full through an incredibly heavy leather coat that was heading for the trash heap. Under the coat we folded a thick flannel shirt and a standard mans cotton undershirt. Never saw the need to shoot everything through denim, so keep this in mind should you ever find yourself in a gun battle during a rodeo.
4 of the 6 rounds cut through the clothing and mushroomed very well, returning an average diameter of .71". Two (2) did not expand well at all, averaging .45".
Replacing the coat with a lightweight nylon jacket we did the deed once more.
All 6 opened to approximately .68", and thats really as good as anything I've personally seen coming from a .357 magnum self-defense round. From these results I began using the Starfire ammunition in my CCW GP, and was caught flatfooted while hog hunting and had to either try a shot with what I had in the cylinder or take a chance that the hog would skedaddle while I was switching to some cast lead loads.
I took the shot. For a minute I thought the round had entered the shoulder as the hog tipped to his left and grunted himself into the ground. Less than 60' and through a lot of brush I probably shouldn't have taken the shot and thats what we all say when we believe ourselves to have missed the kill zone. But the round didn't take out the shoulder or leg, it cleaved its way through both lungs and had simply anchored the beastie then and there.
Good penetration (through and through a 260 lb'er), surprising expansion, and one of the most accurate factory rounds I've tried to date. And since it isn't a barn-burner like Double-Tap or Buffalo Bore loads, follow-up shots are a breeze.
As I've said before, PMC stopped making the Starfire line for a year or so, but had promised via several emails that they'd be back in business and were true to their word. Cheaper Than Dirt carries them in various calibers, and while I'm not suggesting anyone switch out their Federal HST's or Winchester Ranger-T's in .40, 9 mm, or .45 caliber, if you've a wheelgun in .38 or 357 that needs feeding there simply isn't a better brand to buy, unless...and I've done nowhere near the work to carve this in stone...you're hailing from Fargo. Then you might want to do your own backyard testing to see how the new stuff does against clothing barriers.
Not that its that much of a big deal. A non-expanding hollowpoint makes the same hole as an FMJ, but the wider the wound the better or we'd all be purchasing surplus mouseguns from Romania and calling it a day.
Oh and for new readers I might as well include the fact that I've never made a cent on anything I've written about or recommended here. All I do is pass along information that to the best of my knowledge is the real deal on any particular subject. If your results don't see eye to eye with mine, then don't be shy and let me know. Its not like I'll hunt you down and find you or anything.
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