10mm vs .357 Magnum for Bear Protection in Alaska 

Underwood hasn’t spiked their ammo prices during the ammogeddon. Supporting them only seems right since they are doing such a good job keeping stock and reasonable prices.

When I moved to AK over 8 years ago, I was told to buy a 357 Mag and file the front sight down for bear protection. When I asked why file the front sight down, I was told it was so I could get the barrel in my mouth easier for when the bear mauls me.

One thing I think is often ignored is accuracy. Using a gun you are competent with is going to be more important than caliber.

Keep in mind that 357 mag has more potential than per round than 10mm because it has more case capacity and can be loaded way hotter because revolvers don’t have to same pressure limitations that semiautos do, and with a 180 gr bullet 357 Mag has more Sectional density than a 200gr 10mm, theoretically having a advantage when compared at identical velocity’s.

44 mag for revolver and 10mm for pistol. My choice for Mountain guns.

Great video and I like that you stuck with the same ammo. I've done some similar testing with .357, but I don't have a 10mm to run it against. I have noticed though, that different revolvers have significantly different cylinder gaps and that this has a lot to do with overall performance, as much as barrel length. My next goal is to run a 10mm side by side against my Coonan 357 with similar ammo to see what I get. Running 125gr .357 through it I was seeing velocities in the 1560 FPS range vs the same round from my Ruger GP-100 4" at about 1500 FPS, but that is here in CO at about 6K ft.

When I was young, I'm 74 now, and I went where the great bears roam, my side arm was a Ruger SS Blackhawk 4 5/8 barrel in 45 Colt. My hand load was Nosler 300 grain partitions at 1,100-1,200 fps. I figured I had only 2 maybe 3 shots to stop a bear on the move from 25 yards. I saw a fair number of bears, only one got close enough for me to smell his breath and hear him pop his chops. The Ruger was in hand with the hammer back, lucky for both of us , he changed his mind. I would liked to have a .454 Casull! The only thing I ever shot with my Ruger was a Chevy small block, WOW, made scrap out of it. Still own the gun.

Not only did 10 mm make it one jug farther than .357 Mag, but it did so with a better terminal ballistic shape that had a much wider expanded diameter that .357 Mag. I'd call that a pretty big win in my book.

My guess was 10mm would penetrate more because it’s a heavier bullet. I was surprised the .357 magnum had less velocity, but you’re probably right about the cylinder gap. I liked the test though.

Use what you shoot the best , is the most reliable, the power is so close it won’t matter and most likely you won’t have time to shoot more than 6 shots accurately .

More draw on bear targets videos would be great. Very much appreciate videos like this one as it helps me decide on future choices however not nearly enough "situational" videos are available.

When accompanying my adult son on his elk hunt this past year (in grizzly country), I carried a 12 gauge shotgun with Brenneke's slugs and a .357 mag with Buffalo Bore loads as a backup. Whereas I would have preferred a .44 mag, I find that the recoil is too great for my old a$$. My logic is that I could get more lead into the bruin with the .357 than the .44 mag.

Thanks for the shout out. GP 100 in 10 mm would do you some real service or maybe a SW 610. Agree with the other dude-10mm is the best mm

Thanks Brother. 10mm!!!🤠👍 Headed to the Turkey woods this morning. Hope y'all are doing great. Have a Blessed Day!🙏🕊🐟🦃🦌🏃‍♂️🇺🇸

Glock model40 10mm loaded up with Underwood ammo is a monster- I love mine… can’t beat it for Non-concealed handgun protection against all types of critters

The 10mm is awesome and slightly more powerful but I love a 8 shot 357 Magnum revolver. Reliability is a must and I have never had a FTF, FTE etc carrying a revolver in bear country for almost 5 decades. Running speed loaders and being quick with practice you can reliabily rain down some lead pretty fast and I have seen some big bears fold up pretty quickly from a 357. It's just a matter of personal preference. They both will do the job.

I own and love my many .357 & .44 magnums but 10mm and .357Sig are power + capacity and that means a lot these days. I enjoy lots of calibers and platforms. Thanks for the video.

Bad lot of 357 mag Ammo. Probably need to do test over with a s&w revolver 🤪

This test proves one thing to me, when I'm outdoors hunting for wild and dangerous "water jugs" or ":dinner plates" I'm carrying a 10mm !

Back when I lived in Alaska I did a lot of fishing and some hunting and my top bear protection was a s&w model 29 4inch 44mag in a chest holster and a marlin 1894s 44 mag lever gun. For my EDC I carried a Glock 23 40cal or sometimes a s&w model 66 3inch 357mag but I always kept the marlin in the truck. Now that I live back on the NC coast when I got fishing or duck hunting I keep a s&w model 60snubby 357 on me and when I deer hunt I have a Glock 20 on my hip and my model 60 in my pocket or backpack as a backup

Lookin like summer there. My favorites are the 10mm and 41 magnum.

My two cents on best bullet for bear in 10mm-175/180 gr truncated cone pushed at max velocity. The reliability of feeding from the TC-the 180 gr weight which is adequately heavy without eating up case capacity and finally the 10 in a 6 inch self loader with 14+1 capacity is just about as ideal as it gets.

Great video. I’m a fan of the 454 Casull for bear protection. It would be interesting to see the difference between the 10mm and 454 Casull at 10-15 yards.

Each to their own. No doubting the power of 10mm but I like and trust stainless heavy frame .357 revolvers. It's a preference and my shooting with a revolver may only be better because I favour a heavier gun.

The 10mm has deeper penetration and roughly twice the frontal area after expansion. Plus, 10mm can fire more than twice the number of rounds in the same time interval, and can be reloaded much faster. 10mm for me.

10 all day

Great vid. I think 357 snub 2" is more commonly carried. I'd like to see how much more is lost . a compact g29 10mm vs 357 snubby

I was in Ak for a few years and saw a bear at great distance. My only thought was U need a bigger gun

This is why I bought the glock long slide and build my own loads using long shot. The more videos you make, the more money I spend sir!!!

It seems you got a bad batch of .357 Magnum. Underwood has excellent customer service. I would contact them.

Yes we need to see a quick draw video!

Pre-viewing comment: if they are both hard cast. Than it dont really matter, shot placement be king at that point. And training with your gun. Post viewing comment: 10mm for brown bear country, and 357 for black bear country. Atleast in these loadings. Although 180 gr of hard cast lead going 1200 fps, is definitely still making it through a grizzly skull.

I been wanting to see this comparison, so thank you for it. I carry a 44Mag SB on my hip and a 45-70 in my hands in big bear county. My 357 is for city preds, however, in solely black bear country, I feel perfectly safe with a 357 only.

Good video. I know I am late with this. Both loads are about the same in power as a 38-40 rifle. The 10mm is almost exact as a 38-40 uses a 40 cal bullet. With a 187 gr 357 GC bullet and AA#9 powder I got 1300 fps from a 4 inch S&W 686. They were about 5 fps apart.

The problem with the performance specs the manufacturer puts on the box is they never will state what the test barrel length actually is, and that can have affect the velocities.

Definately love to see a draw and fire for accuracy video!!

When you absolutely, positively, have to kill a charging Brown or Grizz 12 gauge sabot slug is the way to go

I live in Alaska I hunt in bear country all the time and I never go with out my all favorite S&W 500 with 500gr hard cast lead. But I do train and shoot it all the time. But I am going to get a 10mm more lead to throw is good..

Because of the leak between the cylinder and the barrel on the revolver for such a loss of velocity. Were no gas losses on the semi auto.

I'd also like to add, that although no longer available I have several hundred.357 TMJ/SIL bullets in both 180gr and 200gr from my old silhouette days that will out penetrate ANY .357 or 10mm bullets I've ever found. The shape and construction is just perfect!

Timer draw from various rigs would be interesting. Obviously whatever you usually use will be faster, but it'd be interesting to see the mechanics of the various "standard" carry methods looked at while wearing actual field gear. Kind of a "He's coming right for me!" test. Chest rig, on pack strap, on hip, but with the gear that would be carried worn as well, to be realistic.

Having looked at a lot of numbers and penetration tests, 10mm seems to be just about the best round out there for applications other than concealed carry (I'm not saying it can't be a good CC round, but lots of people have criteria for a CC gun that would rule out lots of 10mm pistols. If you don't plan to CC, those criteria go out the window). I think it has the best balance of mass, velocity and surface area of pretty much all the calibers out there. Carry it in a full size or competition/long slide gun, and you've got yourself a hell of a package.

Well presented. Straight to the point. 10mm for me, simply because it has adequate power, more rounds, easier to shoot (for me). Glock 40 is also the choice for consistent trigger pull, reliability, and again, capacity. Thanks man

The big difference in these rounds are as why 40 caliber is more deadly than 9mm, it's all in the weight and bigger diameter of the bullet, especially with close same velocity bullets are compared

Back in the 1970's I partly remember reading an article about explorer's skiing across the Arctic taking down a 1500 pound Polar bear with 5 shots from A 357magnum. That encouraged me to get my mother to buy my first 357 for me when I turned 18, could carry hunting at 18 but could not buy until 21 in PA. $175 for a Ruger Security Six SS 6 inch barrel....stupid me sold it

I'd like to see the 10mm tested on a real piece of meat, something with some bone too. Hardcast and hollow point.

Wow, man... I’ve shot quite a few of the 38 special version of the hard-cast Keith load from Underwood and it averages just under 400 ft-lbs muzzle energy from 3 different snub-nose 38s (a Taurus 85, a Ruger LCR, and a S&W 642). I can hardly believe Underwood 357 loads can suck that much. Thanks for the test!

10mm is the best millimeter for me! I just need to own one now so I can confirm it 🤣 great video Chuck, good bless you and the family brother!

In a recent survey of those that survived bear attacks, all of the bears recommended either the .357 or 10mm over a 12 gauge.

The places I get ammo are always both out of .357 and 10mm.

10mm.....other than that it's a big jump into weight, size, caliber with revolvers. No debate IMO of a 10mm over 357.

Thanks for the stuff you do, Chuck! Two of my favorite calibers. Both look pretty good. I wonder if that coating actually reduces leading in a standard Glock barrel.

AND the 10mm can easily have 15 bullets in the magazine, versus the six from the .357.

Very glad to see ammo manufacturer's adopting coated bullets in there line up. Now if the reloading manuals can get with it.

Test the new " bear" bullet offerings from Buffalo Bore in .38 and 9mm. Both are hard cast bullets as well .

This is very disappointing seems like Underwood is very incompetent in loading 357 magnum.... maybe for 357 we need to get Buffalo Bore, Underwood is NOT measuring up. Thank you for another really good review.

Thanks for the great test and demonstration.

I love 10mm! It's actually a versatile cartridge. From light weight soft shooting to heavy, hard hitting. It and its little brother .40 are like the .22 short - 22 long rifle, .38 - .357 mag. , 44 special - .44 mag ect. All except capacity. That is always a bonus! Like an old buddy says, " Wouldn't it be a b!tch to be in a shooting situation and run out of bullets !?" I suppose you could always call time-out, right?!

I watched you shoot. Either keep your gun level or tip it up to let the powder settle against the primer. The more you vary the barrel rise on each shot the wider variation you will see. Tis was notable when you shot the revolver. Might explain your wider extreme spread. Dinner pates are harder than bear's skulls.

When the 357 came out it killed all types of dangerous game..yes the 10mm is more powerful ..but I would not ever feel undergunned with a hard cast 357 or an Underwood deep penetrator

10mm ftw!

Thanks for doing this test, I've been looking forward for a long time. What disappointing velocity from Underwood on the .357. I shot Buffalo Boars 180 grain load from a 6" GP100 and got 1,473 fps across a LabRadar.

Damn!! This video should go viral, most amazing comparison ever made! The mythical 10mm outperforms the famous 357 Magnum and leaves it in the dust, un-be-bloody-leavable!!

The 6" revolver actually had a 1/2"-ish actual barrel length advantage. 10mm is to back of chamber, revolver starts at the face of the cylinder, so the cylinder gap was apparently stealing a lot of pressure.

Revolvers always makes bullets go slower because of too much gas escapes from the cylinders. Compared to a semi auto pistol. Try shooting it from a coonan 357 pistol or q desert eagle 357.

A good ol 12g slug is enough to drop any bear from grizzly to polar!

A Smith & Wesson Revolver, six inches or longer and an L Frame or larger, would've produced better results. I have a Desert Eagle 50AE for when I visit Wyoming Bear Country.

I have .357s, I have 10mms, but I ALSO have a long barrel S&W .500 magnum ;)

Your demonstration clarifies the issue for me. On the other hand, .357 ammo is alot cheaper.

When you get a chrono reading just over 1000 fps when you are expecting much higher, you may be reading the shock wave's shadow travelling at the speed of sound. I sometimes get about 1050 fps for 17 cal bullets going much faster.

Good test! Thanks!

10mm was impressive

10mm for the win once again. 😉

Some of the buffalo bore jhc ammo in 357 is pushing 1700fps+ 357 isn't typically made or carried with a 200gr slug, but you already knew that.

Yes 10mm won this contest. And I was surprised on the 357 magnum performance. So glad the 10mm is getting more popular. It should have always been but we know the 40sw story😄. The chest rig draw would be neat👍

10mm for the win

On his tombstone reads, “IT WAS ALL GOOD UNTIL HE HAD TO RELOAD”

I think it just depends cuz Paul Harrell did a 30+ min video on .357mag versus 10 mm and they're about dead even. But I know people that are in Alaska and they carry Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan .44 Magnums

Honestly comes down to what you shoot better, if I can shoot a 3” group at 25 yds with a 357 then that’s what I’m going with, and vice versa for the 10mm

I like 12ga. Dragon breath for bears or anything else!

Another win for the 10mm! Do you have an upgraded recoil spring in your Glock 40?

9mm for the hoods. 10mm for the woods. I use to carry a 44 magnum in the mountains but switched to 10 mm. With max loads 10mm is about on par with 41 magnum. Be careful with that. A lot of 10mm is loaded to 40 S&W pressures so get you some good Underwood, Buffalo Bore or Garret. I figured it was a no brainer to make the switch. 16 rounds of 10 mm beat 6 rounds of 44 any day of the week. Since I carry a 9mm Glock daily, the 10mm Glock feels familiar to me and I shoot Glocks way more than my revolvers. I also don’t want to be staging a double action trigger pull as a Grizzly is closing the distance. So I get nearly 3 times the rounds in a far less recoiling gun, that’s lighter, cheaper to buy, same trigger pull, same sights (Ameriglo), grip and battery of arms as my daily carry. And 10mm isn’t that expensive to shoot. Definitely more than 9mm but cheaper than 44 mag. Actually about as cheap or slightly under 357 mag in my neck of the woods. Another thing people don’t think about is how loud a 357 or 44 is when firing without ear plugs. That cylinder gap with those high pressure rounds can really do a number on your ears. If I have to fire without earplugs I’d rather do it with a 10 mm. I had always heard of the power of a 10mm but just figured it was just powerful for an auto loader. Nope. It is truly in the magnum class and can hang with 357 and 41 mag all day long. If you haven’t shot one you are missing out. And equally amazing is the pleasant recoil compared to a powerful revolver. I’m glad to see it making a come back. It’s an awesome round and in a Glock 20, an awesome gun.

Awesome versus video , Alaskan Ballistics !!!!!!!!!!!

Good video ! I've noticed a little difference in advertised velocities and my revolvers and semi autos. I tested certain ammo brands in both my 10mm Glock and 610 Smith and Wesson revolver. The Revolver always had a slightly lower velocity. This is due to the cylinder gap in a revolver. The gases just kind of dwell there and escape while a semi auto forces the gases down the barrel, or allow them to escape in the short rechambering time.

I would like for you to tie two big grizzly bears to a tree, somehow get them very agitated, and then test the 10mm against the .357. Nothing like a real life example!

I regret getting a 45acp 1911 instead of a 10mm 1911.

I've had no experience with 10mm. I'd feel fairly secure with .357mag, with a heavy bullet in bear country, but totally secure with .44mag. with almost any weight bullet.

I have seen numerous videos with this comparison and half have the videos show .357 penetrating more the other half have the 10mm , I have both a GP100 in .357 Magnum and 10mm 1911 Rock Island , bottom line in Alaska in taking something Bigger haha 😆 in Idaho where I live either will do the job ! So it’s a what do I feel like rocking that day choice ! Thanks for the vid 👍

Something strange is going on. The 10 mm shot more than 50 fps faster than the box's advertised velocity, and the .357 shot more than 125 fps slower than the box's advertised velocity. Edit: Okay, your second video on this topic clears up my confusion. Thanks!

It would be interesting to see what the .40 s&w 200 grain hardcast would do. Sometimes more velocity means less penetration. Love your channel btw.

Is that really hard lead? Seems to deform a lot for just a dinner plate.

Weight creates momentum and it is why the 10mm beat the 357 magnum in penetration test media.

Great comparison. My brother lived in Alaska and had a black bear charge him in his backyard. He used a ruger blackhawk 44mag in 7 1/2 inch barrel and it stop the bear in its tracks. And it turned and ran aways and died. Also he was hunting with his buddy and he shot a Grizzly with a 338 Sako rifle and it took off running into the brush. They fallowed the blood trail for aways till he stopped bleeding. They have so much fat it must of slowed his blood trail down. Not many hand guns are more powerful then a 338 Sako. I stay in my pickup in Grizzly areas. Lol.

I own both calibers, the only problem I see is that I would've preferred to see the G20 test with the stock 4.6" length barrel. Most people aren't going to change the barrel on their g20's. Other than that I enjoyed the video and your channel! Thanks for sharing.

How to reload a .357 magnum instantly? Pull out your other .357 magnum...

BOTH are WAY too light for bear . At least in heavy bush where you may get charged unexpectedly and can only get off a shot or 2. For a handgun I would suggest a Hot loaded .41 mag with Underwood Extreme penetrator slugs as MINIMUM in bear country. JUST my opinion fellas

Best millimetre for the win

I used to practice a lot with my 454 Cas..... but I am not getting any younger and have settled for a Glock 20 these days.

some 10mm Underwood hard cast, 15 round capacity, with one of the chamber is my go to.