juliet charley
New member
Eric -
My major problem with the .357 Magnum in snubbies is the blast, recoil, flash, recovery time, etc. become very significant negative factors when you move up to the .357--particularly the .357s that may expand from snubbies. I've have had the SP-101, and it's a hoot to shoot on the range, to watch the shock wave roll down and see how it effects other shooters physically, but that does not make it an effective round for the snubbies mission--in fact, most of that neat stuff on the range is contraindicated in the real world. If you want to shoot it, go ahead, it's your choice, but there are some very big negatives associated with it that to me far outway any positives.
As for energy, at the levels we are talking back, it is really insignficant (and it probably remains insignificant until you reach much higher levels than about which we are talking). The primary wounding/incapacitating mechanisms for these small revolvers remains crush cavity. Even if the the .357 does manage to expand, which will always be questionable, there's no guarantee that it will deliver a bigger crush cavity than the .44 Special--don't forget it has to expand to approximately 140% of its original size to create the same frontal area with which the .44 Special begins (and the lower velocity out of snub will definitely be a deterence to full expansion). The unarguable bottom line is than from a two-inch barrel, the .357 might expand--the .44 Special will not shrink.
But again, my primary objection the .357 is tremendous loss in tactical efficiency to possibly gain a very slight edge in terminal effectiveness. I can put five .44 Specials center of mass (and tighter) than I could even think about doing with a hot .357 load--and I think that holds true for most shooters.
My major problem with the .357 Magnum in snubbies is the blast, recoil, flash, recovery time, etc. become very significant negative factors when you move up to the .357--particularly the .357s that may expand from snubbies. I've have had the SP-101, and it's a hoot to shoot on the range, to watch the shock wave roll down and see how it effects other shooters physically, but that does not make it an effective round for the snubbies mission--in fact, most of that neat stuff on the range is contraindicated in the real world. If you want to shoot it, go ahead, it's your choice, but there are some very big negatives associated with it that to me far outway any positives.
As for energy, at the levels we are talking back, it is really insignficant (and it probably remains insignificant until you reach much higher levels than about which we are talking). The primary wounding/incapacitating mechanisms for these small revolvers remains crush cavity. Even if the the .357 does manage to expand, which will always be questionable, there's no guarantee that it will deliver a bigger crush cavity than the .44 Special--don't forget it has to expand to approximately 140% of its original size to create the same frontal area with which the .44 Special begins (and the lower velocity out of snub will definitely be a deterence to full expansion). The unarguable bottom line is than from a two-inch barrel, the .357 might expand--the .44 Special will not shrink.
But again, my primary objection the .357 is tremendous loss in tactical efficiency to possibly gain a very slight edge in terminal effectiveness. I can put five .44 Specials center of mass (and tighter) than I could even think about doing with a hot .357 load--and I think that holds true for most shooters.