Revolver Recommendation

Hello,Sulaco,
If it was me I would go with a Ruger SP101 with a 2 1/2 or 3" barrel. It may be a little heaver then you think you want but trust me its really not that heavy. I have the 2 1/2" barrel for a house gun for the wife & she & I love it. We put Houge grips from Ruger on it. It makes a better grip & eats up the recoil of the 357mag rounds. I do down load it with 38sp +p for her. Great gun for sure. I loved it so much that I got soon after the GP100 4" barrel in 357mag. I did get the same Houge grips for it but never put them on. The stock rubber grips with the rooswood insides fit my hand great & do a fine job with the recoil of full house 357mag rounds. Good luck.
 
I'll agree with earlier posts that it sounds like you are looking for a 3" S&W 60 or 3" Ruger SP101. If you can find an old 3" S&W K-frame or 3" Ruger Speed Six (or similar) they'll also be a good way to go, have an extra shot, and they aren't really all that heavy on the belt. Personally, I still want to get a 7-round S&W 686 Plus 3" as a carry revolver at some point. While it sounds like it is heavier than you want, could the 7-round capacity make the 37oz worth it to you?
 
Seems like people are responding without reading the OP, only the thread title and couple recent disjointed replies. This premise is just wrong and not in the best interest of the OP or other gun owners, never mind the gun.
 
Seems like people are responding without reading the OP, only the thread title and couple recent disjointed replies. This premise is just wrong and not in the best interest of the OP or other gun owners, never mind the gun.
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I disagree. It may appear so if you only look at his lightweight requirement, but he also says "enough barrel length to do 357 Magnum (because why not?) justice" which means at least a 3" or 4" barrel to most of us. The very lightweight polymer and alloy .357s are only available in 2" or less. It just seems that the rest of us went with his longer barrel requirement over his lightweight preference (and they did address it, with several people mentioning the S&W 60 and Ruger SP101 as the lightest weight .357s with 3" or better barrels). Now there is one exception that I know, the Taurus Tracker in titanium, but it was only made for a year or two and has been out of production for over a decade so he isn't likely to find one, and he said in a later post that he doesn't really trust Taurus. Unfortunately, a lightweight alloy .357mag revolver in a 3" or 4" barrel seems to be a missing niche in the market right now. Funny though, you can find such a thing if you move up to .44mag (the 25oz N-frame S&W 329PD).
 
Reader850 said:
Another vote for 9mm revolvers - Ruger or S&W.
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While it is smaller than what the OP wants, I love my 642-1, which is converted to 9mm.

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I am not really a fan of .357 Magnum (rather go .44 Magnum), but dealt with .38 Special in the Airweight due to how light it was. But when I switched to 9mm in my back up guns, I really didn't like the length of .38s in HKS speedloaders.

Browsing AR15.com, I saw a converted 9mm cylinder that would fit my revolver. Got that, some moon clips, and a BMT loader (if they make one for your moon clipped revolver, definitely recommend them). Had it fitted to my revolver, then sent it to Robar to match my gun (NP3 Plus).

Shoots great, and reloads are less than half the length of the .38s in speedloaders. Recoil is not that much more than .38 +P, but I don't shoot anything +P or higher... my carry load is actually 147 grain Hornady XTP.

I was considering other 9mm revolver options, but didn't want to change that much with going with a 9mm LCR. Trigger is too different, so there goes years behind the 642-1... not to mention holsters and other gear I have invested in it. If they did a 9mm short barrel LCRx... I might have made the switch, since I'd get SA out of it. Would make the switch somewhat worth it.
 
It has more to do with a jogger shooting dogs and expecting no consequences.
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Ah, yes. In my case, I am assuming he has other non-lethal forms of defense covered (like pepper spray) and he only plans to use a gun if he is attacked and doesn't see any other choice. Of course, you know what they say about assuming... So, if the OP doesn't have other options in mind as well, 1st line of defense should be pepper spray IMO (back in my pizza delivery days when I did semi-regularly encounter mildly to very aggressive dogs, that was my 1st line of defense, and I never actually had to spray a dog despite several encounters, but it was nice to have the spray in my hand when some dogs got too close and aggressive for comfort).
 
Thanks all for the replies and good info. Given me lots to think about.

Yes, a 3" lightweight 357 would be great, but it looks like the closest thing is one of the PD's from S&W or the LCR/SP101 from Ruger, with the SP101 being a little on the heavy end.

Real Guns I'm in SC also. I'm a native and I know so many LEOs its absurd. My line of work is the legal field in a round about way so I'm a little familiar with defense law in this great state. I'm not worried about being vilified or legal ramifications of protecting myself and those I care about on my property, home or hunting. I don't jog.
 
Screwball that 642 is pretty neat. I carried one of those on my ankle for years and years. Loved that little gun and shot the snot out of it. How'd you convert it to 9mm? How's the downrange performance out of that barrel compared to 38s?
 
Sulaco said:
Screwball that 642 is pretty neat. I carried one of those on my ankle for years and years. Loved that little gun and shot the snot out of it. How'd you convert it to 9mm? How's the downrange performance out of that barrel compared to 38s?
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I picked up a cylinder that was already converted by a member on AR15.com. It was Pinnacle High Performance, out of Pennsylvania, that did the work. Conversions are easy... send the cylinder in and that's it. I believe TK Custom does similar work. Big thing, use quality moon clips.

Accuracy is identical as it was prior to .38s. UMC bulk 115 grain 9mm did similar to the 130 grain .38s. But the big issue is shooting a short barrel revolver. It takes practice, which is why I wanted to stick with the 642-1.

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This is a comparison target, as my first range trip with it being converted was met by a range officer that thought he was going to teach me how to shoot my gun (he didn't notice the shrinking groups from the time walking on). Target was at 15 yards. The four shots he hit were the three on the right (would be the target's left) arm area, then the one on the lower 9. I believe the fifth round went right... but his four shot group was just under 6".

You can also see mine, which was 2". Neither was slow fire, but semi-rapid. Considering I didn't shoot the gun for about two months prior to that range trip, then only did 40 rounds prior to that five shot group, more practice would have probably pushed that group out to 25 yards. Since getting the gun back from Robar in December of 2015... and getting back into regular practice, I feel just as comfortable shooting 9mm as I did with .38s. I actually feel more capable, being moon clipped 9mm is easier to reload than .38s in HKS speedloaders, plus I tend to carry more ammo than the two speedloaders I used to carry.
 
Speaking for myself, I'm very interested in the new Kimber K6, but who knows when/if I'll ever see them in my area.
 
I was carrying my LCR this weekend. It's "only" a 38 special, but I don't think there are lighter full-sized revolvers. IIRC, the LCRx is available in 327 magnum.
 
I was carrying my LCR this weekend. It's "only" a 38 special, but I don't think there are lighter full-sized revolvers. IIRC, the LCRx is available in 327 magnum.
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I think of "full-sized" as carrying 6 rounds of at least 38/357 caliber. I think the Smith K-frame pretty well defines the lower end of "full-sized", but even it is compromised when in .357 Magnum.
 
Well, my two favorites are the Taurus 608 4" and the S&W 627 5". Both are solid. The Smith is more polished literally and figuratively but both are great. The Smith will set you back almost twice the 608. Can't beat an 8-shot 357 . . . :)
 
I'm not sure what type of dogs you're fending off, but in some remote areas dog packs are a problem. Some of these are wild dogs descended from lost hunting dogs. These packs can be dangerous and can range from two dogs to more them ten. They have annoying similarities to wolves and can be very determined. In such situations it's always important to find the lead dog -- the one calling the shots. The other dogs will all be looking to the lead dog for instruction. My uncle used to hunt and he'd tell me about these dogs.

I live in a nice suburban neighborhood and I was laywaid by two dogs I later learned had dug their way out under a fence. These dogs were well-groomed, beautiful Red Setters and clearly pets, but these dogs were determined to do me harm, and not being armed, these dogs had the advantage. The lead dog here was the larger dog and I noticed the smaller one shooting quick looks to him. I had a small backpack on, so I used it and went after the larger dog. It worked and the larger one soon broke and ran. The other one could have moved in to attack while the other was diverted, but it ran with the other when it could have had a piece of my leg.



I think spray would be the best option unless you want to rid yourself of the dogs. I that case a S&W 66 or Ruger Speed-Six would be the best way to go. A .357 puts out impressive blast and should provide a quick clean kill. Smaller guns might also work, but I like the mid-frame guns better.
 
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