One of my favorite carry guns is a 2.5" S&W 686.  With 145 grn Winchester Silver Tips how much muzzle velocity am I losing out of the 2.5" barrel vs what I'd get out of a 4" ????

I can't change ammo, WST is what my agency dictates I carry in this caliber.
Thanks in advance for any reply.

I'd like to know about 130 grain Hydra-shoks while we're on the subject.

I'm looking for a source of data on this, but .357 kinda sucks out of snubbies. Still better than .38, if the recoil and blast doesnt bother you, but the Magnum does best out of long barrels. I'm Googling now.

Here is a similar discussion with some answers.

www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135073

With the Silvertips, probably about 80-100 or so fps loss with the shorter barrel. Hard to say for sure without chronographing it through your gun...barrels can be "fast" or "slow" to some extent and the barrel/cylinder gap will have some effect as well. It is a good load and should work as well as anything from your revolver.

My guess is that the lighter Hydra Shock will lose a bit more since it should start out a bit higher in a magnum load. If it is a .38+P round, it will probably not lose so much. For years, we carried Federal #357B 125gr, JHP magnums, and I have chronographed many out of all sorts of barrel lengths. Standard velocity from a 4" barrel was around 1375-1400+ and the 2.5 in guns would usually run 1250 fps or so. 6 inchers often were right at the 1500fps mark, and after seeing numerous shootings involving this round I can tell you that it works, and works very well, with any and all barrel lengths.

Quoted: I'm looking for a source of data on this, but .357 kinda sucks out of snubbies. Still better than .38, if the recoil and blast doesnt bother you, but the Magnum does best out of long barrels. I'm Googling now. Here is a similar discussion with some answers. www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135073

Thanks for the link but the only guy who gave stats said the 125 grainers were achieving 1250 fps from a 2 inch barrel. Is that right? That's just about 200 fps less than what you get from a four incher.

Edited to say that ikor beat me to the post. Thanks for the info.

My issue with snubby .357s isn't related to stopping power, its still effective. However, I really don't like the concussion grenade at arms length every time I pull the trigger.

From Mcumpston at sixgunner.com