Winchester's 110-grain JHP is the lightest expanding load in this .357 Magnum set, and the numbers follow from that. It leaves the muzzle at 1,295 fps with 410 ft-lbs of energy, a power factor of 142 that clears the 125 minor floor by 17 points and falls about 22 short of the 165 major floor. From a 25-yard zero it drops 1.0 inch at 50 yards and 8.4 inches at 100. The case is plain brass. The recoil estimate is the lowest of the six loads on this page.

Remington HTP 110-grain matches it figure for figure, 1,295 fps and 410 ft-lbs with the same recoil estimate, so between the two 110s the difference is brass against nickel-plated brass. Every 125-grain load runs harder. Winchester PDX1 Defender 125 adds 30 fps and 77 ft-lbs. Remington HTP 125-grain adds 155 fps and 174 ft-lbs and produces about 57 percent more recoil energy in the same revolver. Hornady American Gunner 125 XTP and Hornady Critical Defense 125 FTX list 1,500 fps and 624 ft-lbs, about 67 percent more recoil energy than this load; Hornady publishes its figures under different test conditions than Winchester and Remington, so that 205 fps gap is larger on paper than one revolver would show.

Buy this if you want an expanding .357 load with the least recoil the caliber offers, which usually means a small-frame or lightweight revolver or a shooter who is new to magnum loads. Buy the PDX1 Defender 125 instead if you can take a step up in recoil for 77 ft-lbs more energy and a power factor that just makes major at 166. For practice ammunition, do not expect Fiocchi's 142-grain FMJ-TC to feel like this load: at 1,420 fps and 636 ft-lbs it produces about 96 percent more recoil energy in the same revolver.