.38 Special or .357 Magnum

R

RamonA Dones

New member
I am planning to get a revolver for my wife. I was thinking
about a S&W Model 19 supposedly on the best in .38 Special caliber. On the other hand, buying a .357 like a Ruger 100 or a S&W 686 will work for both calibers. How accurate are these .357 handling the .38 Special? Any other considertations and suggestions are welcome. Thank you.
 
My 2 cents: Buy a S&W 640 in caliber .357 magnum but shoot .38 special loads in it. This choice is because sometimes .38 special cartridges are mistakenly loaded in .357 brass, which is slightly longer. The longer chamber of the .357 j-frame will avoid any problems from questionable cartridges. Use a light wadcutter load to start and work up to the .38 Special +P loads if she can handle them. Eschew the hotter .357 loads; they are wasted in a short barrel anyway.
 
Try a model 65 instead. Bascially the same as a model 10 but chambered for .357 mag. Aslo they have the midel 65 LadySmith model.

Chris Nemeth
 
In my opinion (and only my opinion), getting a larger revolver in .38 is a waste. Why not get a .357 and have the ability to shoot either. One caveat: if you're talking smaller and lighter guns (ie, airweight or titanium), you might want to consider .38 only because that's all they come in. Does that make sense?
 
I would recommend buying only what you can fire without flinching

For example, a stainless SW640 is tolerable in .357 mag
A .38spl Taurus 85UL is pretty nasty in mere .38+P

One reason I moved away from tiny snubbies was the inability to practice due to the hefty recoil. BTW, .357 is far more potent out of a 2" barrel even (to my surprise) than .38 but at the price of more noise and flash.
 
My opinion has always been....

Unless you are going for one of the "lightweight" 38's, I would get a 357 and have the versatility of shooting either.
 
Go with an SP101.. and shoot 38's the extra weight should ease any perceptible/annoying recoil that you are likely to experience with lighter weapons
 
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