Any point shooting .357 magnum from a snubbie?

[kcub]

If you shoot a soda can with a .38 snub it will fall over.
If you shoot a soda can with a .357 snub it will fly several feet.

For me you have to have all steel in a .357 snub and my choice is the Ruger SP101. For pocket carry of these relatively heavy pocket guns you need a high quality, stiff pocket holster and the very best is still the Kramer horsehide.

 

[FloridaVeteran]

.357 in a <2" snub. Well, if you're tired of listening to your wife's nagging, it's a good way to wipe out a few decibels' worth of hearing ability. Although it is always recommended to wear ear and eye protection at the range, if you're talking about a gun intended for non-range use, then you could lighten up your ear protection some time when you're all alone with your snub, like shoving some cotton in your ears instead of wearing muffs, to see what the difference will be. I found the blast from short-barrel .327 Mag and .357 Mag. to be terrible - would sooner go to a bulldog .44 Spl. or just the .38+Ps mentioned here.

In any event, I'd want a 4" SP101 before I'd be shooting .357s.

 

[rodfac]

BigJimP, Post #6, well done, great points. As you pointed out, it's controlability that's the issue...if you can't get follow up shots on target, you'll be in trouble.

Front Sight, the NV based training institute points out that you have 1.8 seconds from wherever you've packed your defensive hand gun to get two shots, aimed, and within a hand's breadth apart to the thoracic region at 21 feet. Will that stop the fight? Maybe, but it should give you more time to find cover, or get the heck out of Dodge.

They also point out that off the range and on the street, if you're lucky, you're shooting accuracy is degraded by 50%...that's why the hand's spread grouping is used...it'll still keep you in the thoracic region with a 50% degradation...practice that way...if your groups are smaller, then you are wasting valuable time, if bigger, you need to slow up to ensure hits where you need them. Again, it's contolability, that's the issue.

They also teach 'controlled pairs' vs 'double taps'. A controlled pair is two shots, delivered with two distinct tho brief sight pictures...the first with a sight alignment, the 2nd with a sight alignment, however brief. In a 'double tap'; it's two shots delivered as rapidly as possible from the first and only sight alignment. FS has shown that that 2nd shot in a double tap, most often goes too high to land in the thoracic region...and they contend that it's a wasted shot. The controlled pair method, gets both shots in where they're needed and takes only a split second longer...1.8 seconds from the holster is the qualifying standard.

Fire breathing magnums are fine, but if you can't get that 2nd, 3rd, or 4th shot off in a near panic situation, you're fooling yourself. The "one stop shot" is a Hollywood myth, unless you're very lucky.

JMHO, & Best Regards, Rod

 

[DragonDog]

Good thread, I have long wanted a snub, decided long ago that .357 would be the only way to go given only 5 rds capacity, and then I can never quite get over the "hump" of the waste of energy out of a 2" +/- bbl. I continually revisit this in light of new & improved ammo, but for now my "snub" is a G27.

 

[mavracer]

not all snubs are 13oz and hard to control with magnum loads

 

[Slamfire]

About 25 years ago a friend had a K frame snubbie in 357. I shot it with full powered magnums.

The fireball and recoil were so big and severe, I have not repeated the event.

I have shot thousands of 38 Specials in my 38 Special snubbies since then.

Maybe you can guess my position on this issue.

 

[jmr40]

I carry Corbon 125 DPX @ 1250 FPS from my 640 Pro.

My Glock 19 gets 1250 fps with 124 gr 9mm. It is about the same overall size, weighs 1/4 lb less and holds 3X more ammo. And does it with far less recoil, muzzle blast and far better accuracy. I haven't chronographed my G-26, but it is even smaller and probably still over 1200 fps. I see no point in owning a 357 and only getting 9mm performance

I have nothing against 357 revolvers, have had many. But if you need a barrel that short there are much better choices in handguns. A 357 with a 4" or longer barrel might be pushing those bullets at 1500-1600 fps and easily outclassing 9mm. For that much performance the blast and recoil are worth it.

 

[orionengnr]

Newton's Third Law is immutable, and it will tell you all you need to know, without a chronograph.

Using the same revolver, shoot a cylinder of .38s, then a cylinder of .357s.
You will feel the difference. The force delivered to your hands and wrists is proportional to the force delivered by the bullet.

That is Newton's Third in effect.

 

[lowercase]

I've always read that the .357 still has a noticeable edge in power over the .38 in a snubbie. Maybe only a few hundred fps, but still noticeable.

Here's my current choice in .357 snubbery.

It's a Charter Arms Mag Pug .357. With the Pachmayr Compac™ grips, it shoots like a dream, even with .357s. With the old-school Charter Undercover's "splinter grips", it carries like a dream. It's not horrible to shoot with the little wood grips, either. The ergonomics are different from something like a S&W 642 (which I have and love), and it isn't the hand-killing recoil monster that the small Smith tends to be with +P, even though the Mag Pug only weighs 19 or 21 ounces, depending on the source.

*Note: I'm a Smith & Wesson guy, and even a bit of a Ruger guy. I tried to not like this little Charter Arms .357, but the damn thing just carries and shoots too well.

 

[xanadrew]

"My Glock 19 gets 1250 fps with 124 gr 9mm...I see no point in owning a 357 and only getting 9mm performance"

The reason you get 1250fps from a G19 is that the barrel is over 4 inches. My LCR is smaller and lighter than a G19, and still maintains all the advantages in reliability that a wheelgun holds over an autoloader. It's a lot easier for summer carry (while I'm forced to wear light clothing), because I'm not announcing the fact that I'm carrying to the world just by walking through it. For me, these reasons are the point.

Also, the effectiveness all depends on the load you're putting in the particular gun you're using. The Federal 158 gr. Hydra-Shok will push the heavier round nearly as fast from a shorter barrel as a G19 pushes that 124gr 9mm through a longer one. The added bullet weight equals more energy transferred.

The difference in effectiveness isn't huge, but I still prefer the LCR 357 because I can shoot it well and does have more power if you're using the right loads, and it's small and light enough for my carry needs in the summer. Also while you do get more rounds from that 9mm (assuming it doesn't jam up), almost nobody is going to take 5 rounds of 357 and still feel well enough to keep up their argument unless they're very heavily armored or something, so l'm also of the opinion that if I can't get the job done in 5 rounds (10 with the extra speed loader), it's probably about time for me to make my exit anyway.