The expert at the LGS set me straight on the .357
When I was a kid, he told me it would only crack the block of a car engine, but a .44 would go 'clean' through it.
Wouldn't you know it, I soon had the opportunity to test his theory on an old, abandoned motor I found in the mountains. I don't know what it was, but it was big and apparently made of cast iron.
One day, I squared off against the beast with my trusty .357 and popped it one, right in the upper manifold.
PLUNK!
No dice: Zero penetration. The bullet hardly left a dent, just a smear on the surface.
I thence selected a weaker link in the chain for my target and tried again.
PLUNK!
This time, a nice but small and irregularly-shaped hole appeared. Admiring the hardware I held in my hand, I was well pleased.
Walking up and taking a closer look, however, proved rather more disappointing: The bullet merely finished the job that rust had started, probably in the Pleistocene.
So much for the block-cracking power of the .357 − and the insights of your everyday, ordinary Gun Shop Commando.
I was to meet many more of the type in later years, and I was always glad I got such a good start. 
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Complete thread:
- Should be a dandy small/medium game bullet -
Dave B,
2013-03-20, 12:35
![[*]](themes/default/images/complete_thread.png "Open whole thread")
- Boy! I'll say. -
Hoot,
2013-03-20, 13:20
- They are 162gr .357 - Dave B, 2013-03-20, 13:39
- In the 50th Anniversary Flattop -
Dave B,
2013-03-20, 13:45
- In the 50th Anniversary Flattop -
uncowboy,
2013-03-20, 17:23
- I have to be, saves me from embarrassment -
Dave B,
2013-03-20, 21:45
- Yes, that HP pin needs to stay HOT. Ignore a bit of sprue -
John K.,
2013-03-21, 09:16
- Thanks! - Dave B, 2013-03-21, 12:41
- Yes, that HP pin needs to stay HOT. Ignore a bit of sprue -
John K.,
2013-03-21, 09:16
- I have to be, saves me from embarrassment -
Dave B,
2013-03-20, 21:45
- In the 50th Anniversary Flattop -
uncowboy,
2013-03-20, 17:23
- Can you only hunt Chryslers with those? NM -
Andrew,
2013-03-21, 11:27
- THAT...was was funny:) - rob, 2013-03-21, 12:34
- Overkill if we're talking about K Cars - Dave B, 2013-03-21, 12:39
- The expert at the LGS set me straight on the .357 - FOG, 2013-03-23, 12:06
- That 5-point plug is a 'scary' but difficult proposition -
FOG,
2013-03-23, 08:57
- Dare to be different -
Dave B,
2013-03-23, 09:28
- You got that right - FOG, 2013-03-23, 11:33
- Dare to be different -
Dave B,
2013-03-23, 09:28
- Boy! I'll say. -
Hoot,
2013-03-20, 13:20