Winchester Silvertip .357 Magnum VS .40 S&W Ballistic Test 

Never understood the anger toward .40. It's one of my favorite rounds.

As Paul Harrell said: “If over penetration is a really big concern for you, selecting some thing other than 357 magnum might be a good choice.“

That 40S&W kicks butt

357 mag still so scarce around these parts (as is .38 special and .380 acp) that I’ve had to switch to carrying 9mm so I can at least train a bit. As always, thanks for the content!

A 155 gr. projectile at 1,250 fps is impressive. The expansion was very impressive; nearly 3/4 of an inch expanded diameter and the penetration depth was good. I might have to give Silvertips a chance. I'd like to see what this ammo does out of a 4" or 3.5" carry sized pistol.

40 is such an underrated round with lighter loads, I EDC a sig p239 in 40 and also have a S&W 4006 TSW CHP. 40 isn't obsolete, it just isn't a good round for guns weighing under 1.5 lbs like 9mm is.

The 9mm silvertip didn’t “fail” per se during the 1986 FBI shootout. It actually performed as designed and caused a fatal wound to the suspect….just slowly. But the FBI needed “something” or someone to blame for the loss of four agents, when it was really poor tactics and poor training that they received. The FBI didn’t like the fact that one 9mm silvertip, failed to penetrate the suspect’s heart, by missing it by mere millimeters. It was more of a shot placement issue, than the failure of the round itself.

Nice review. 40 is a good round that I feel kinda gets overlooked and/or hated on even. Clearly it does the job with the proper ammunition. Here it went toe to toe with a 357 Magnum. Maybe it was a light magnum but still decent power. I don’t own a 40 caliber but it will be my next semi auto purchase. Be hard to actually pick a winner here for me. 357 is my favorite and I suppose you shot the 686 a better but I think you just shoot it better than most of your guns. Good test.

NICE! This one I was really waiting for... It's an excellent content, as always. Great work, Sam.

Back in the 80's the number one man stopper was 357 mag, 125 gr with a 96% 1 shot stop (Combat Handguns - Massad Ayoob) 40 S&W is literally a semi auto 357. Faster, lighter bullet does more soft tissue damage (Ayoob) If you get a chance, like to see 357 125 gr vs 40 S&W 135 gr test. I still carry 4006 to this day. Heavy yes, but built like a tank. Manufactured plastic for 40+ yrs, it cracks, warps, melts, rots. Of course I'm partial to stainless. I believe the FBI wimps just couldn't handle a full power cartridge !! They wanted something that would stop a car, rumor says. Funny how they went back to 9 mm.

That’s the mildest recoiling magnum I’ve ever seen. Good info, keep ‘em coming Sam.

The .40 is a better round for my purpose. Yes it's more expensive than the 9, but much less than the .357. Back in the day the .357 with the 125 jhp were king of the carry pieces. Now, it seems like most want the 9 which has come a long way, but it will never reach the .40. Back in the day the silvertips could always be counted on to expand unlike many early hp bullets. Thank you for all the tests you do for us.

Back when we carried real guns (.357Mag revolvers) we were issued Federal Hydroshock, Remington 125 SJHP, and Winchester Silvertip. Of the three, the Winchester loads were a might less effective than the others. The Federals gave a good account of the the one shot fatalities on suspects that were stupid enough to try and shoot it out with our offices. The Remington, the old standby, did almost as well in the one shot stopping business. The county Medical examiner's office once advised that the overall damage to tissue by the Remington bullet was what he judged others by.

That 40 is impressive! Like that cheap defensive Silvertip round!

I’m carrying my S&W 686+ today (as usual), but I’m still a fan of .40 S&W. I’m sitting on 3,000 rounds of .40 FMJ, and probably 600 rounds of JHP. The pistol is a Sig P229. I love these out of fashion calibers. 👍👍👍👍👍

A cup of coffee and a new video, nice start to a long day : )

Sam, have a question for you. Have you ever questioned the FBI's testing procedures? I have always wondered why no one questions why you would put 4 layers of denim in front of the gel block or anything else you shoot when testing. Who wears 4 layers of denim?? Yes, I get it that in cold country a suspect will have more clothing on, but I have never seen anyone have 4 layers of denim on. It just seems crazy that everyone just assumes that the FBI is the end all in bullet testing. For example, take the issue of over penetration and trying to get a bullet to just go 14 to 16 inches and stop. Over penetration is moot when you know that police officers miss 80% of their shots in a gunfight. As far as I am concerned, the FBI lost all credibility with me when they did away with the 9mm after the Miami shootout and then go right back the 9mm. If you read their findings justifying going back to the 9mm they said that they were not saying that the 9mm was the best cartridge to use, but that it was best for the FBI. They said that they have a lot of female agent and small agents and they are able to shoot the 9mm better. Just an old 357 Magnum law dogs musings. I love your channel!

This is the closest I've been able to shoot my new GP100 and box of Silvertip. Maybe next week I'll get out. Thanks. Good information.

Seriously a good test. Must've been a pain but the multiple shots through different barriers really makes it easy for me to get the info I need. Good stuff.

.40 s&w is the ideal cartridge caliber, but 180gr was always too heavy for the .40 s&w, great for 10mm auto though! Between 135gr minimum and 165gr maximum parameters with 155gr/150gr is the best weight bullet for the .40 s&w!

That Smith&Wesson in your hands is golden 👍

Two of my favorite SD cartridges … I have 3 guns in 40 S&W Glock 27 Glock 23 and a Charter Arms Pitbull in 40S&W 2 revolvers in 357 both Rugers 4 inch Security Six and a LCR357

As time passes you are becoming a good shot. I guess practice makes perfect.

It just seems like the 357 hits at 25 yards harder. Even looks like it removes more paint.

Nice to see the 40 s&w enter into 357 mag territory while packing 15+1 rounds of it at over 500ftlbs of energy!!!! That's a lot of firepower!!!

Content is better than ever.

Both preformed very good. 👍👍Thanks for your excellent test.

I discovered your channel very recently and subscribed.

Very few of the guns we buy fall into the Goldilocks category, same with ammo. Silver tips has been that round for me for decades. Great review and impressive shooting progress. Sempre Fi.

Surprised how hard the 40 hit the steel target. Was surprised to see the 40 had more Ft.lbs of energy (533 vs 483). Looks like you get varying degrees of loads, just like in the 10mm. Amazing and enjoyable video, as always, & I always play your videos before I look at anything else. Thanks for your dedication and excellent presentation.

These 2 rounds are excellent, I love them both. Thanks

👍I'm digging all this content you've been putting out lately. 👍 👍 Both rounds did very well, the .357 sure did a lot better from the 4in than out of the snub,and didn't make you bleed lol. Looked like quite a bit less recoil as well.

"Failed" is a strong word (and the word the FBI used to toss out the 9x19). In fact, the round that hit Platt went through his arm, blew out his brachial artery (creating what was described as a likely non-survivable wound), entered his chest, transversed his right lung, collapsing it, and cutting his pulmonary artery (creating a non-survivable wound in the parlance of the ME at the time) and stopped about an inch from his heart. In fact, he was hit two other times (arm and leg, I think) AND took a full load of 00B to his ankle yet never missed a step. Both he and Mattix took head wounds from pistol rounds but although Mattix initially is believed to have passed out, he woke back up with clear lethal intent. Neither stopped being a threat until hits to their spinal cords (both from head shots, one severed Mattix's spinal cord and one bruised Platt's). IIRC both of those hits, while fired from .357 revolvers (S&W model 13 3" IIRC), both from .38 spl +p 158 gr LSWCHP if I remember right. Sorry, not trying to be pedantic I just think that round did a great job and performed exactly as designed. The hit was in a poor location yet was still lethal and even buckshot "failed." The whole thing was a tactical failure but at that time with tactics of the day, I doubt anyone would have done better. The outcome is what really got police working on better tactics and started the modern ammo debates. That and someone at the FBI obviously wanted 10mm (probably a Miami Vice fan, LOL). ;)

Probably the two best EDC rounds for someone needing something for around town AND in the hills. Definitely not grizzly bear territory, but everything else... absolutely. I like a little heavier bullets for 4 legged critters, but a 125 JHP for the 357 or a 155 for the 40 in urban areas is about right. GREAT test and review my friend!

Great test! I liked the way both of these performed! I would feel well protected sporting these Silvertips in either caliber....

Many thanks. Always look forward to your reviews. In this one I perceive that there would be no discernible difference in real world effectiveness and autopsy analysis. I have both same or similar handguns and my favorite is ….. the one that I have in my hand at the time when I am doing IDPA shooting. I have zero real world experience and hope to never gain any.

Thanks for the videos Gun Sam no one does what you do!

Excellent shooting Sam. .357 magnum still reigns supreme. .40 cal in the light to medium grain load is still a worth round to use if nothing else outside of a magnum round. I have both 9mm and .40 cal Glocks with metal recoil guides to help with recoil control and longevity. ♠️☯️🎩

Great comparison. Thanks

Great video as usual. I just came across some of those silver tips in 22LR. They worked pretty good in a video I’ve got coming out Friday where I shot various types of 22LR into something…it’s a secret until the video comes out

I just acquired box of those 145 grn 357 Silvertips. I Replaced the 158 grn Federal JSPs in my Office drawer gun with them. It is a SW 19-3, 2.5 inch, and should not shoot hotter, lighter loads. 145 Grn at around 1150 fps in that barrel is about perfect. My office is in an outbuilding here in Rural New England, and would be called upon more for critter problems, like coyotes and such. I don't generally like Silvertips, but am glad to see how they perform here. Nice VId. Thank you.

Gratifying to see how well the 40 did. I expected it, with that velocity. I was hoping for a touch more expansion from the 357, say .60" or so, but it still did well, a little over 1.5x expansion. The Silvertips have been redesigned 2 or 3 times since 1986. The 9mm in the FBI shootout actually did well. It penetrated rhe arm, broke the humerus bone, entered the chest cavity, and stopped slightly short of the heart. Few if any handgun bullets of the time could have done any better, and most 9mm's would not have done as well. The FBI chose to focus on bullet performance and gloss over poor training and tactics, iffy marksmanship, etc. No disrespect to the agents involved- felony stop procedures were not as evolved then. They did the best they could with what they had. It is worth noting that one perp was neutralized with the initial shots, in the car. The other one, with the rifle, did all the damage after sustaining that wound. Never understimate the power of adrenalin. Most sources indicate the tox reports were clean. The perps were not hyped up on drugs, as was initially believed. A good argument for rifles in LE, as was the North Hollywood bank robbery shootout 11 yrs later.

Good show ,even loaded down to wimp level that 357 would be ok,the 40 is great.

Picture perfect test runs and as always great shootin. Thanks for making high quality material.

Despite the common Silvertip label , the individual loadings had very different design parameters , with oversimplified being either : Penetrate to deep end of ( human ) self defense , with simultaneously being medium penetration for Hunting/ large animal self-defense . Think ST in .357 Mag , 9mm 147gr, .40S&W , 10mm , .41 Mag , .44 Mag . Or maximum Expansion , even at expense of penetration . Think .32acp , 380acp , 9mm 115gr , .44 Spl , .45acp 185gr , .45 Colt . Multiple .38 Spl loads with 95gr , 110gr , 125gr , in both standard velocity and +P . Trivia - the .357 Mag ST was one of the first mass market .357 Mag loadings to be fully flash suppressed .

That 40 was awesome for the money hard to beat it

The 155 grain .40 S&W Silvertip was one of the best 90's era .40 loadings. And according to Marshall and Sanows research statistics from the time? Was about on a par with .357 magnum 125 grain perp stopping stats. Well, in that DOCUMENTED, 90-96% one shot stop bracket. Nowadays. If one picks up a box of Winchester Silvertip .40 and looks at the ballistics Winchester advertises? It's muzzle energy still exceeds the best 9mm+P ballistics from companies like Federal or even Winchesters own 124 grain 9mm +P PDX line. And still coming very close or even matching a lot of brands 125 grain .357 magnum ammo.

As always Sam great video 👍🏼

I have a box of 38 super silvertip and I love the stuff. I know it has gotten a bad rap in the past but so far so good. Now if we can find the stuff without having to take out a second mortgage to buy it.

I'm slow. I just figured out in today's video at 45 seconds in the medium density fiberboard was MDF. I've been wondering "Self, what is MDF?" Got it.... I like your tests. They're hard to refute. They're not exhaustive or infallible but very hard to argue with.

My first centerfire revolver was a S&W686 and my first semi-auto was a Sig 229 .40. This was about 1992? They're still my go-to for carry and general shooting. I see they perform pretty close to the same in your testing. It reinforces what I always suspected. Thanks for the video.

Wow, it looks like Winchester has really dialed in the Silvertip in terms of performance. I’ll have to grab some next time I find it.

Most people that doesn't like 40 cal. Can't handle the extra recoil lol

thank you for all your research. it looks like the 40 performs a little better than the 357 here. now that you're using gel instead of jugs, you might want to write a bok comprised of your findings.

I just got me a box of this stuff to pack in my sig P226 .40 cal. Hopefully it never gets used 👍

Always a good video. And good shooting. Thanks for sharing. Take care.

I was surprised to see the .40 produce more power and larger expansion than the .357 and not over penetrate. Depending on the price that might be a viable carry option. My 'go to' 40 cal is an HST.

Sam if you can find Test the .40sw Magtech Gold 155 grain jhp, that load was and till this day is widely used by millitary police here in Brasil , with GREAT street performance, MANY bad guys here got wasted by that ammo, with only 1 or 2 hits in the torso ... the handgun used is in general 4,5 or 5 inch barell service weapon such as taurus pt 100, 24/7 and imbel md7....

Not bad results. Thank you. Either is a viable option.

Great test! Great shooting! I really liked you calling your shots. Don't you hate it when you hit the Carriage Head Bolt! I'm always glad to see it survive though!

1205 obviously tested with a 4 inch barrel. That 5th inch adds a little more. I’m sure that Winchester published the test barrel length for the 357 also. You make good videos partner. Keep it up.

A fair 1 to 1 comparison via scaled to match would be a 180gr .357 magnum vs 135gr .40 s&w

Interesting test. I normally don't see the silver tips performing all that well.

357 silver tip was the next best thing to the typical semi jacket hollow points and semi jacket flat nose back in the day.

The Silvertip for FBI 3" S&W13 did 13.76" .499-don't know if this is average of all their tests or not w 82.5% overall. Assuming not great against windshields and steel, but still seems good for Civilians based on your MDF results. The Postal Service Inspectors carried Federal 125 sjhp in there very special 3" G33 Ruger Six.

Nice video thank you. Play it again Sam

Would love to see a 357 Sig comparison to these calibers too.

Nice neck shot with that beautiful 357 bro🤣✌🇺🇸

Great video as always. Very good info. Ammo is becoming much easier to find and I’m always wondering how the self defense rounds will perform.

Cool video thanks.

I thought the magnum was just going to blow away the .40 , it was a fairly close comparison, Nice ! , I still have a box of the Black Talons I've always liked the .40 cal .

Very well made video

I like both calibers. But this is a great video that shows a person ( Attacker) is just as stone cold dead with either calibur. I am a little surprised by how well the 40 did.

Great video. I have a 40 S&W with a 4 inch barrel and a 4 inch Ruger Gp100 and silvertip ammo in both calibers. The silvertip has a reputation for shedding its jacket and underpenetrating in the .40 during testing for FBI protocols. This was particularly true when hard barriers were used such as car doors and windshields. I see that you did not have that issue and penetration with both was spot on. I am curious as to how well the .357 will do in my newly acquired Dan Wasson with an 8 inch barrel.perhaps Winchester improved the bonding process after seeing complaints of jacket and core separation.

I have Good luck with Silver Tips 10mm , 44 mag , 30-30 , 308 ... not sure about the new 22Lr . Sam did other Silver Tip tests that they did well .

I have this same m&p fde 2.0 in 40, and use this load and the 165 speer gold dot. I think if a close opportunity presents itself I'll try the winchester 40 silvertip on a deer. Should have plenty of horsepower within 40 yards which I'm comfortable shooting too. I can hit a pop can that far if I am dilligent.

Whoa! Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't that velocity put that .40 round into the realm of 10mm Norma? That's definitely hotter than the 165gr HSTs I have in any of my .40s. WOW! :O And it went to almost 17" too. I was at a ballistic seminar once and we shot .40 HST (165 from my Kahr PM40 and I think 180 gr from a Glock with a custom 6" bbl) through gel with 2 layers of t-shirt and both stopped exactly at 16". Seems like 16 - 17 " is the magical spot for the better .40 rounds. "Enough" penetration and some pretty good tissue destruction. The .357 surprised me. I might misremember but I thought the .357 STHP was lackluster "back in the day." My info was wrong or they've updated a few thing. Either way, I like it! ;) As always, EXCELLENT video and great information! Thanks!

AS i always said .40 sw in full size guns, can get pretty close to 357 mag levels, i see no point in 357 sig, just go with .40sw with lighter bullets..... generally 158 grain 357 mag in 4 inch barrels are about 1200 fps, going up to 1400 fps in HOT loads.

The Winchester 40 S&W Silvertip seems to be best in 40 class as far as I can tell and very comparable to the 357 Mag.

Just curious where you shoot is that a private range or just somewhere in public or your property? Great video

Gun Sam...... Could I request a Gel test with both 4 in and snub .38 Special Buffalo Borer LHP +P please? Im having to carry a 38 Spl revolver on a new security contract and want to use this ammo. Thanks for all you do!

Hi Sam, did the 357 rounds seem hotter or more mild shooting? Andbany chance of testing these Silvertips out of a 3 inch barrel? Or the Fiocchi 148gr JHP. Thanks for your time.

Definitely takes a combat hold. Mine hits dead center of the front dot with the tops perfectly lined up.

145/158gr is good enough for me, and if I'm scared of overdoing it, 125gr, will work.

I'd like to see the winchester white box 180 gr hollow point.. supposedly it's the ranger run off but don't know how true it is

Wonder how if any the Silvertips have or had not changed over the years

Are you sure the velocity of the 357 magnum was not write it in a 6 inch barrel?

Sometimes I listen to your videos while driving . Could you articulate the expanded diameters also ?

I've been a .40 S&W man for several years now,and I've had 9mm's .45's and a 10mm once. The .40,to me mind you,makes the 9mm and .45 obsolete, and the 10mm too much. Unless you get the Super Duper Ticonda Delux Hertzneberger ammo that's $50 a box for the 10mm, a .40 and 10mm are doing about the same thing anyway.

Love both rounds. That said, .357 ammo has become very weak due to gun manufacturers making snubby magnum revolvers in ultralights. Full load .357’s in a 4” are well over 1500fps & 1700fps in 6” in underwood’s &/or Buffalo Bore. I can see by the lack of recoil that Winchester downgraded the .357.

I don't own a .40 S&W handgun, but anyone that calls it short and weak, is an ignorant fool.

40 is the correct answer vs human sized questions

Watching the .357mag headshots, you can clearly see the bullets shatter. Probably explains the shrapnel.

Cool video do you see a big difference in 125 grain and 110 grain 357 magnum in recoil?

135gr Cor Bon in 40sw?

I bought the last three boxes of pistol ammunition my Walmart had. $25 a box. 50 silver tip 40 in each. I thought it was so expensive. I believe it was early 2020.

I want a 10mm so I can shoot 40s but when I want to pack a punch load 10s but they are way more expensive and a 40 is plenty on its own

Have you thought about publishing some of your data ? Accentuate the + eliminate the -.

I have a Gen 3 Glock 22 and the spent cases have Glock smile I’m told this is normal but in the back of my mind I’m like I hope this case doesn’t rupture

Winchester could have put a bit more boogie on that 357