Thinking about buying an Airweight 357 mag J-frame

Love a 642

I loved it so much that I put a laser on it.
But practice finally became too painful and I traded for a 60-4.
 
Of course this is just my opinion based on my own experiences.

Fighting a "J" frame sized revolver is a bit different than a full sized revolver or even any autoloader. While many people are capable of great accuracy at distance... thats not the J frame sized revolvers forte'. J frames are up close and personal desperation guns.

The J frame is in it's environment when within contact distance. I dont know if anyone has fired a J frame with porting... I have. You seriously risk setting yourself, or something else on fire when firing it. One of the better features of a J frame revolver is the ability to shoot through a purse, a pocket, a bag, almost anything... With the porting it may catch afire. IMO Porting seriously negates one of the J frame's most valuable tactical advantages. I honestly dont have a clue to any advantages there are to having any revolver ported.

Many of us have become addicted to the whole light weight craze. A light weight gun is to be carried a lot but shot very little. Not to preserve the gun... it's just that shooting them is uncomfortable to most people. Another negative of the light weight it can get lost... you dont have the weight pulling at your body to remind you that the gun is there. An example is a friend of mind who switched to a scandium gun and carried in IWB. He used a public bathroom, and put the gun in his pocket. After finishing his business he washed up and walked away... I'll never forget the look of panic he had when he realized the gun wasnt in his waist band. Light weight gun's = out of sight out of mind. I carry a light weight J frame from time to time... I'm not knocking them...I'm just suggesting that they have their issues.

AS far as I know (and I could be wrong) the .357 gives optimum performance out of a barrel of between 4 and 6 inches. a .357 fired from a 2" barrel may not have much of a return in power for the loss of control in the hand gun. But I'm not a ballistics guy.

My recomendation for a "J" framed revolver would be ... well a J framed S&W revolver in stainless steel, or carbon steel. Or the Ruger SP series is IMO as good, and in some cases maybe better. The Colt short barrel "D" frame steel revolvers are a tad bigger but again just as good.

Again just my opinion... but a gun is a tool. The J frame is a fighting gun. A tool designed to get someone or someone's up off of you. A tool to allow you to put some distance between you and up close harm. The J frame is made to make contact shots. The J frame is made to hide easily. The J frame is made to work every time.
 
The reason I went with lightweight .357s was for added strength even though I consider it to be a .38 Special. Latest is the LCR .357 which is really nice .38 Special at 17 ounces.
 
I have a lightweight .357, the Smith MP340 comes in around 12 ounces. I can shoot +P 38's with no discomfort at all. I guess Im not recoil sensitive. That said I dont really plan on carrying it with .357 rounds. Im accurate with the gun to 25 feet and dont really practice at much further distances with it. I can hit a target at 25 yards but I dont think thats what the gun is designed for. I would not get a ported barrel either.
 
The only guy I know that owned on shot it once and sold it. The better +p ammo works fine in a snubby. I use DPX. If you want a compact .357 go for an SP101. It can handle full loads with no problem.
 
All the guns can handle the loads, its the shooter that con't handle the load. The SP101 is no solution as you get a 27 ounce gun that is still no picnic with .357 ammunition. I had one and got rid of it. With the SP101 you get the worst of both worlds, a fairly heavy gun that shoots best with +P 38 Specials. My 17 ounce LCR does that just fine.
 
I wish we'd see a return of the Colt D-frame to production... rated to +P. I'm guessing Colt would screw it up somehow, of course, but it would be nice to see. I love my J-frames and LCRs, but the first time I picked up a Detective Special, I KNEW that was the perfect small frame revolver size.
 
Different strokes for different folks for sure. I have a S&W M&P 340. I load 158 grain JHP to about 990 fps. Buffalo Bore has their 38 SPL +P OUTDOORSMAN - 158 gr. Hard Cast Keith 989 fps in a 1-7/8 J-Frame. Buffalo Bore also has Heavy .38 Special +P Ammo - 158 gr. L.S.W.C.H.P. --G.C. (1,000fps/M.E. 351 ft.lbs.). Both of these I consider a heavy .38+P, or a light .357 magnum load and rounds I carry in my 340.

I practice with reloads using 7.0 grains of Unique. This is about the maximum I am comfortable shooting. When I carry I have 4 .38+P followed by a 158 grain .357 magnum in the 5th chamber. I do not need to count my shots, as I know when I fired the 5th, and it is time for a reload (NY style).
 
I had a 360 PD, 640-1, SP 101, LCR 357. I now have a 640 Pro, best production J frame sized gun made IMHO. I love my lil 640 and carry/shoot it with magnums.
 
lowercase

I have a ported snub. The ports are absolutely the worst feature of the gun.
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Really? What gun with what port's

jmortimer

All the guns can handle the loads, its the shooter that con't handle the load. The SP101 is no solution as you get a 27 ounce gun that is still no picnic with .357 ammunition. I had one and got rid of it. With the SP101 you get the worst of both worlds, a fairly heavy gun that shoots best with +P 38 Specials. My 17 ounce LCR does that just fine.
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I carry my 3" SP101 stock grips in my front pants pocket no problems, and I shot and carry .357s "No problems".
 
^ No doubt with +P+ as a nom de Firing Line. SP101 3" .357 Not comfortable for me with 500 plus ft lb loads. If I'm going to carry a 27 ounce gun, it would need more rounds for me to justify.
 
Going with the 357 over the 38 you get the same size gun to gain the option of being able to use two different cartridges. The power gain difference is a lot less than the cost you'll pay in recoil, but the option is there!
I keep Remington 158 grn LSWHP's in my S&W 360sc.
I can shoot full house 357 loads in the SP101 without discomfort.
I'd forget the porting.
IMG_0719-1.jpg
 
Thanks for the info guys. I carry a model 38 smith, right now. It was my Grandfather's and I'd HATE for something to happen to it. So I'm considering stashing it in my safety deposit box and replacing my EDC. I love the J-frames and the biggest pro(imo) to the Airlite's is their 11oz weight. I could do without the 357, but since they don't make 11oz revolvers in 38spl(WUWTbtw) I'm looking at the 357.

I've seen some video's of the 11oz 357mag on youtube. Looks VERY jumpy. That's why I inquired about the porting. From my research, porting seems to reduce felt recoil by 20% while only losing a very minimal amount of velocity. Seemed like a good payoff. But those are internet numbers so who knows.

As far as shooting a ported revolver from the pocket, that would introduce different problems than the fireball from the muzzle? Also, is the blindness from a ported snub that much worse than a non ported barrel?

--

As for the SP101, I've been wanting one. Not for pocket carry, though. I love the light weight guns for carry. I'm liking the Ruger(for me) as a backup HD gun[hi-power] that's beginner friendly. I think it has the potential to really shine in that role.
 
Another concern about porting on these small guns that I've always had is that if they are fired from a high retention position you could end up with a faceful gas, powder, and other debris.
 
I have shot the 340 Pd. And two things......one the recoil pulled crimp on the bullets in the chambers and locked it up with full .357 loads........second......if you want know what it is like to shoot.....go out to your car an open the door and place your hand where the door meets the frame and slam it shut as hard as you can.......

I have shot full house .44 mag that felt tame compared to the 340 Pd.

If you had to pull the trigger on a bad guy...you might get two shots off....then you will want to let the bad guy shoot for a while so your hand can regain feeling.
 
Really? What gun with what port's
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I have a Charter Arms Mag Pug .357 with a ported 2.2" barrel.

I've had the gun spit debris back at my face when shooting. To a large degree, it has been an ammo-dependent issue (certain .357 ammo really spits, most .38 doesn't), and I think the problem was worse when new. Perhaps the underside of the ports wasn't relieved enough, and needed some sort of break in period. I'm not an expert on ported guns, so I don't know. Also, to echo Mike Irwin, firing from a high retention position could end up with the shooter getting a face full of burning gas and powder.

Other than that, I like the gun a lot. It's a small, light .357 that carries and shoots well.
 
I've had the gun spit debris back at my face when shooting. To a large degree, it has been an ammo-dependent issue (certain .357 ammo really spits, most .38 doesn't), and I think the problem was worse when new. Perhaps the underside of the ports wasn't relieved enough, and needed some sort of break in period. I'm not an expert on ported guns, so I don't know. Also, to echo Mike Irwin, firing from a high retention position could end up with the shooter getting a face full of burning gas and powder.
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I had a Taurus (Shhh, don't tell my mom) .357 608 with a 4" barrel that has similar looking ports (8 instead of your CA's 6) at the same place of the same concept. I'm thinking it's a bullet shaving thing at the cylinder and not the port's. I never shot a snub with port's so it's hard for me to judge.

Glad you like the gun!
 
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