whats the scoop on the .356 round

[gringo5]

I saw a snubbie at the local gun shop the other day that was chambered in .356 . Is that a good round? what about buying ammo?

 

[Mike Irwin]

It was originally introduced, I believe, by S&W for their .356 TS&W handguns specifically aimed at the IPSC crowd. It was championed by the "Team Smith & Wesson" shooting team, Jerry Mickulek, Judy Woolley, and others.

The concept was to allow a 9mm cartridge to make "major" classification and still have a high mag. capacity.

It was chambered in 3 variants of the 3566, and was distributed by Lew Horton.

I've fired one of these, courtesy of a shooter at the range where I used to work. Nice guns, but the cartridge never really caught on.

 

[Daniel Watters]

In this case, I believe that Gringo is refering to the rare Centennial Carry Comp in .356 TSW. I've fired a cylinder or two worth of Federal factory ammo out one belonging to a friend. Felt recoil was similiar to the 640-1 .357 Magnum.