Winchester's Silvertip .357 Magnum carries a 145-grain jacketed hollow point, a weight that falls between the common 125 and 158 loads. It leaves the muzzle at 1,290 fps for 536 ft-lbs. Power factor is 187, 22 points over the USPSA major floor of 165. From a 25-yard zero the bullet is 1.0 inch low at 50 yards and 8.2 inches low at 100.

The two 140-grain loads bracket it. Barnes VOR-TX 140-grain leaves 25 fps slower with 38 ft-lbs less, and the Silvertip carries about 11 percent more recoil energy in the same revolver for that gain. Hornady LEVERevolution 140-grain runs 150 fps faster and produces about 13 percent more recoil than the Silvertip. Against the 158s the Silvertip keeps pace on paper: Fiocchi Defense Dynamics 158-grain JHP is 70 fps slower and 14 ft-lbs behind, yet it produces about 8 percent more recoil energy because of the heavier bullet. Sellier & Bellot 158-grain SJHP is the hot one, 39 fps faster and 83 ft-lbs ahead, and Hornady Critical Duty 135-grain is the mildest of the group at 487 ft-lbs.

This is a load for a shooter who wants more muzzle energy than the standard 158-grain hollow points with a little less recoil than they carry. A shooter who wants the most energy in this group should take the Sellier & Bellot SJHP at 619 ft-lbs. For range practice, the ball load here is Fiocchi 142-grain FMJ-TC at 1,420 fps and 636 ft-lbs, but its recoil energy runs about 13 percent above the Silvertip's in the same .357 Magnum revolver, so it is not a like-for-like practice round.