Sellier & Bellot's 158-grain SJHP is the fastest of the 158-grain expanding loads on this page: 1,329 fps and 619 ft-lbs at the muzzle, a power factor of 210 that is well over the 165 USPSA major floor. The semi-jacketed hollow point leaves lead exposed at the nose and is built to expand. From a 25-yard zero it drops 0.9 inches at 50 yards and 7.3 inches at 100, still carrying 1,201 fps and 506 ft-lbs at 50 and 1,102 fps and 426 ft-lbs at 100.

Every other 158 in the set is at least 66 fps slower. Sellier & Bellot's own 158 Soft Point is that 66 fps back, Ammo Inc Signature 158 JHP and Hornady Custom 158 XTP are both 79 fps slower, Federal Fusion 158 is 89 fps slower and Blazer Brass 158 JHP, at 1,150 fps, is 179 fps behind. The extra speed comes with recoil: in the same revolver the SJHP produces about 9 percent more recoil energy than the Soft Point, about 11 percent more than the Ammo Inc and the Hornady, about 13 percent more than the Fusion and about 28 percent more than the Blazer Brass. Against the Fusion the gap holds downrange: 60 fps and 49 ft-lbs more at 50 yards, 37 fps and 28 ft-lbs more at 100, and an inch less drop at 100.

This is the .357 Magnum load for a shooter who wants the most velocity from a 158-grain expanding bullet and accepts the recoil that comes with it. If you want a softer 158, Federal Fusion 158 and Hornady Custom 158 XTP are the middle of the set. If recoil is the problem rather than the bullet weight, Winchester 110-grain JHP cuts recoil energy by about 54 percent in the same revolver, at 410 ft-lbs against 619.