help me decide on a new 357 revolver

Ratshooter said:
I stated in my earlier post that there is not a thing wrong with your model 19 and heavy loads. I wish the poster Wil Terry would come along and chime in. IIRC he has a model 19 with a recorded 50,000 rounds through it and its still clocking along.
Click to expand...
Heavy loads and hot magnum loads with light bullets aren't necessarily the same thing. A Model 19 may shoot thousands of +P .38Spc rounds, but if the shooter switches to the .357 110gr or 125gr rounds, he may find the gun doesn't fare that well.
 
At the moment I have a 3" Barrel 66, two 4" Barrel 686's, a 3'"Barrel GP100 with Adjustable Sights, and a 6" Barrel GP100, among others. If I were planning on lots of hot 357 Magnum loads, I would put them through the 6" Barrel GP100 as my first choice. However I doubt I would ever hurt the old 66 Snub. The 6 Inch GP100 would be much more fun to shoot with a set of Houge Tamer Grips made for the 480 Super RedHawk, and the heavier full underlug barrel to help soak up recoil. The 6" GP100 is also more accurate with open sights due to the longer sight radius.

Bob R
 
Heavy loads and hot magnum loads with light bullets aren't necessarily the same thing. A Model 19 may shoot thousands of +P .38Spc rounds, but if the shooter switches to the .357 110gr or 125gr rounds, he may find the gun doesn't fare that well.
Click to expand...

Stargater If you will take the time really read my earlier post you will see that those hot 110 gr loads were 357 loads and NOT 38 special loads. I don't know of any 38 load that will shoot a 110 gr bullet to 1700fps. Do you?

I am speaking from real world, been there and done that experience. So tell me what you have done with a model 19. Because like I stated earlier this was my gun to learn reloading on. I had never heard of any weakness with this revolver and I treated it as a full blown 357 MAGNUM revolver. And it never failed me.

This was way before the internet experts who know so much but have so little real world experience. So lets hear your reloading experience with a model 19.
 
I too am looking for a new, well, new to me S&W. I want it to be on the K frame, .357 mag, 4" round butt, with or without adjustable rear sights. Does anyone have an idea of what models those traits might be? I was looking at the model 19 or the model 13, but is there one model that has them all?
 
I've owned dozens of 357's over the years. S&W mostly,both K's and N's, but a few Colt's, Ruger, and Taurs. I've still got a Model 19-4, the only 357 I own now. It will probably stay that way.

I also freely admit that I very seldom ever shoot 357 ammo in any of them. The paper targets I shoot don't take much killing and I never saw much sense in shooting high priced, loud, hard kicking ammo at a piece of paper when that's all I'm going to shoot them at. They're not S/D guns, they're not hunting guns, they're just guns to shoot at the range.

BUT...if I was looking for a new 357 Magnum, and I planned to shoot magnum ammo in it a lot, I'd look no further than the "new" Model 66 that Smith & Wesson introduced a few years ago. Once you get past all the weeping and moaning and gnashing of teeth about "the lock" what your're left with is a great revolver, without the weaknesses, real or imagined of the previous Model 19/66.
 
Cracked forcing cones on Model 19's are not an Internet myth. Just try to find a replacement Model 19 barrel, of any length.
They are rare as hens teeth, and priced accordingly when one turns up.
 
Thank you for all the replies. Maybe I have been over thinking about shooting mag load in my model 19. I love my model 19 and didn't want to take a chance on ruining it. Mine is a model 19-3 It is stamped with the serial number and under that E15 and under that 19-3. What is the E15 ?
 
If it might be pulling some SD duty, I would go with the GP100. My FiL has one with a 6" barrel. It has a great trigger and is very accurate. They are heavy duty. You would not wear it out.

If it's just for shooting, I would go with the Ruger Blackhawk. Mine has a 6.5" barrel. The trigger is like silk. It is even more accurate than the GP100. And Blackhawks are super tough. There are loads called "Blackhawk only" loads. I don't think you are likely to find a tougher 357.
 
You will not go wrong with either a S&W 686 or a Ruger GP100. I own both and both are good shooters.
Click to expand...

^^^^^^This^^^^^^^^^^

I own both, and both are good, solid revolvers.

The 686 does have a much better DA trigger.
 
Ruger SP101! You will have to choose barrel length.

My 101 is 2 1/4" and is excellent. However 125 grain +p is a max for me.

Higher grain bullets make it have a bit of a jolt...lol!
 
If you want a 357 and can't stand the recoil, you might consider the S&W N-frame eight shot 357. I have one with a 4" bbl and really like it.
 
The Ruger GP100 and the S&W 686/686+ are both so good that all other contenders pale by comparison.

The S&W Model 60 and Ruger SP101 are good if you want something small.

The S&W 627/627PC is a great revolver but very expensive.

I own all of the above excepting the Model 60, and those are my thoughts based on a lot of shooting.
 
I own a Ruger GP100 and a S&W 27-2. For a range gun, I definitely prefer the S&W over the Ruger.

They are both great guns and the stainless Ruger is easier to maintain, but the S&W just feels better to me. Both guns shoot well, but the S&W always edges out the Ruger at the range.

The stock Ruger grips fit my rather small hands pretty well but the S&W target grips were way too big for me. I find the Hogue Monogrips to be just right for a person with small hands shooting a S&W N frame revolver.

You can't really go wrong with a Ruger GP or a N frame S&W.
 
The S&W Model 60 and Ruger SP101 are good if you want something small.
Click to expand...

I have a model 60. It is a great concealed carry gun. It is not a great target shooting gun. With target loads it is not bad to shoot but long range accuracy is not great. With .357 mag loads it quickly becomes no fun to shoot. The recoil is just too hard on the hands for range fun, in my opinion.
 
Pretty easy to decide on a .357 revolver. Any S&W that suits your fancy, especially an older used one. If you are gonna shoot 110 and 125s in it get an L or N frame gun, your K frame is good for anything else.
 
I love my S&W Revolvers especially my 28-2. However as a reloader I am very fond of my Ruger GP100, you can shoot ANYTHING through these tanks!
 
I couldn't get past the mental issue of all the negative talk on Taurus...but my 66 had a lockup and trigger that was better than my GP100. 7 rounds too. Once you Mothers polish it, it looks almost like a S&W 66/686. meh?

The Rossi 972 has the best trigger I've felt. However, it is a small frame, with a pinned striker on the hammer that some say is fragile. $300 and lifetime warranty...could be worth a look too.
 
My very first gun, that started all this "gotta have that" madness, was a 627PC.

Since the purpose was home defense, with occasional target shooting for training and proficiency, the 5" fit the bill, and I liked the idea of 8 shots.

I chose the 627PC because I liked the balance and trigger. The underlug is kinda odd, but i grew to accept it. I think it helped to keep it from being too front heavy, and I am sure it was cheaper for S&W to build LOL.

Yes, it was expensive, but I am of the "buy once, cry once" mentality. HA if i had only known then what this would lead to, it was definitely NOT buy once! I now have a number of 357s', S&W K,L and N frames, and a couple Rugers, too.

I find that the ones i routinely pull out of the rack for range time are the original 627PC and the 19-4. That 19-4 has the sweetest trigger, even better than the PC. Thousands of rounds helps that, i suppose. I have a 19-3 i like a lot too, but that trigger on the -4 is just so sweet...

For 357 ammo, i only keep 158gn on the shelf, so I don't have to worry about the K frames. I don't see much difference between the 125 and 158 in recoil and noise, anyway, but that's just me.

I always say that there is NOTHING like a double action revolver to keep your trigger pull honest. I almost always start my range sessions with a revolver before proceeding to the semi-autos.

You already have about the finest revolver S&W made in the K frame, IMO, so you don't really need another one if you choose the right ammo. But if i had to make a recommendation, it would be among these:

S&W 19, 66, 686, 627, Ruger Security Six or Blackhawk (if single action intrigues you). If you can find one, the convertible Blackhawk also comes with a 9mm cylinder just for fun, though i find i don't use it much.

Just the two cents from a woman who likes revolvers a little.
 
I have an S&W 28-2 with a 6 in barrel and a GP100 in stainless with a 4 inch barrel too. Love them both. Good luck with your choice.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top