Hornady lists the American Gunner 125-grain XTP at 1,500 fps and 624 ft-lbs, the top muzzle figures among the 125s on this .357 Magnum page. The XTP is Hornady's jacketed hollow point, built to expand in a controlled way across handgun velocities. Power factor is 188, about 22 points over the 165 major floor. From a 25-yard zero the bullet is 0.6 inch low at 50 yards, where it still carries 479 ft-lbs, and 5.8 inches low at 100 with 377 ft-lbs left. The case is plain brass. The recoil estimate is the highest of the six loads in this set, shared with Critical Defense.

Hornady Critical Defense 125 FTX is this load's twin on paper: the same 1,500 fps, 624 ft-lbs and recoil estimate, 1 ft-lb apart at 50 yards and 2 fps apart at 100. The differences are the bullet, XTP hollow point against polymer-tipped FTX, and the case, brass against nickel-plated brass. Hornady Critical Duty 135-grain FlexLock is the mild option in Hornady's lineup: 225 fps and 137 ft-lbs less, about 12 percent less recoil energy in the same revolver, and 2.3 inches more drop at 100 yards. The sheet also puts this load 50 fps ahead of Remington HTP 125-grain and Remington UMC 125 JSP and 175 fps ahead of Winchester PDX1 Defender 125. Hornady rates its loads under different test conditions than Remington and Winchester, so read those as published gaps rather than what one revolver will show; the recoil estimate, about 24 percent over the PDX1, follows the same published figures.

This is the pick for a shooter who wants the most muzzle energy from a 125-grain .357 and a conventional hollow point, in a revolver heavy enough that the recoil estimate is not the deciding factor. If you want the same published numbers with a polymer tip in a nickel-plated case, Critical Defense 125 is the same load on paper. If you want a heavier bullet instead, Federal Fusion 158-grain lists 1,240 fps and 539 ft-lbs, 85 ft-lbs less than this load, with about 14 percent more recoil energy in the same revolver, so the heavier bullet arrives with less energy and more recoil.