Emulating The Manstopper

Guns Magazine, Sept, 2000 by Massad Ayoob

The 125 gr. .357 Mag. semi-jacketed hollowpoint at 1,450 fps became a legendary manstopper. The .357 SIG auto pistol round was developed by Ted Rowe in hopes of duplicating that performance in a more modern gun package. The state troopers of Delaware, Virginia and Texas have all bought into the concept, as have many city and county police nationwide. So has the Secret Service. Shooting reports are trickling in, and so far, it's looking good.

In one Texas shootout, the older trooper's .45 slugs couldn't pierce the truck cab where the armed gunman held forth, but the younger trooper's .357 SIG rounds did, killing the opponent.

Virginia lawmen told me that the 125 gr. Gold Dot bullet from the .357 SIG hits at high velocity and stops in their tracks the pit bulls who used to absorb round after round of the over-hyped but under-powered 147 gr. subsonic 9mm JHP. Troopers described a couple of shootings where the .357 SIG proved so potent it instantly dropped human offenders with non-fatal hits.

Those who have .40 S&W caliber pistols can closely approximate .357 SIG ballistics with a bigger bullet by using the Pro-Load Tactical, Triton or Cor-Bon 135 gr. JHPs loaded to 1,300 fps. (While Pro-Load modestly lists their offering at 1,250 fps, chronograph tests show it surpassing 1,300 from service pistols.) The massive wound channels are comparable in width, and in roughly 10" depth, to the tried-and-true 125 gr. .357 cartridge. Both the 125 gr. .357 SIG and the 135 gr. full power .40 S&W kick distinctly less than the .357 revolver load, however.

We have guns that work. We have ammo that works. The answer to maximum performance won't be found in a search for The Magic Bullet Excalibur. It will be found with ammo like this, in familiar and proven handguns that the good guys n' gals have learned to shoot fast and straight under pressure when innocent human life is on the line.