why I always keep a 357

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Doc Holliday 1950

New member
In my 50+ years of carring a revolver, I have always depended on the 357 in magnum wheels. Semi's can misfire but wheels almost never misfire.
My new gun that I'll never trade nor sell is the S&W 686 3" 347 in magnum
7 shot wheel.
As far as I am concerned, the 357 magnum ammo is always the go to gun.
My Glocks are fine, but my 36 oz. 7 shot 357 mag revolver is my ultimate
gun. don't care if its used as a range toy or a self defense gun
 
Yes...there are times when being able to shoot THROUGH things someone is using for cover can be to your advantage. If you are not able to employ a long gun a powerful handgun is the next best thing.

Love .357's
 
Semi's can misfire but wheels almost never misfire.
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That's a redundant statement. Any pistol can misfire, revolver or semiauto, the trick is to find out which pistol does... and either fix it or get rid of it.

Having said that, one of the most accurate pistols I've ever owned was a 4" 686, a retired Westerville, OH police issue pistol I bought for just over $200.

I am completely out of the .357 business, and only have 1 .38SPC, for sentimental reasons.
 
I'm more comfortable with a little longer barrel, like 4 inch, but I agree a midsize .357 magnum wheel gun is a VERY versatile performer. And for sure, revolvers can have their very own problems, as we have discussed and discussed and discussed...
 
A great stopping caliber. It's a small fry compared to the big .44s and .45s, but gained a wicked little reputation on the street regardless.
 
When I was a young fellow, gunwriters like Bill Jordan, and Skeeter Skelton convinced me that a 4", medium frame, Smith & Wesson was about the best "all around" handgun you could buy.

I haven't seen anything to change that opinion, even though I seldom shoot 357 ammo. 38's have always worked just fine for punching holes in paper and that's all I ever use them for. That and I've got a bucket full of 38 brass.

I've got a Model 19, a 66, and a S&W "Highway Patrolman" (Pre 28) with a Dan Wesson Model 15 on layaway.
 
Besides the 12 gauge shotgun in our bedroom. Both my wife and I, rely on .357 revolvers as our go guns. Hers is the Kimber K6s, mine is the S&W 686 Plus.
 
what I love about the 38/357 revolver is the flexibility of loads. In one cylinder you can have bear loads, sd loads and snake all at the same time.

What I don't like about the .357 is the noise in the event you have to use it without hearing protection. Possibility of permanent hearing loss.

I just got a box of the new Federal HST Micro .38 +P and these will be my new carry load after seeing results of some penetration results in gel on youtube. The bullets mushroomed back perfectly. Controllable load and effective. They are loaded like wadcutters, but effective like hollowpoints. Can't wait to get to the range with the chrono to see how they come out.

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I will always keep a .357. And 10 more .357's. And a handful of .45's, a couple .40's, a truckload of 9mm's, one .32 Wadcutter is probably enough, a dozen .22's, a .460 Mag, a cache of 10mm's, many .38's and assorted other goodies.

.380's-- don't need any of those.
 
I feel the same way about 357 guns. I have five 4" barreled 357s and a 6" GP-100. When the 357 came out it was touted to be a belt carried carbine for rural police work. That was with a 6" barrel and maybe longer. But the idea was to have the power of a carbine rifle that was handy and portable. And with the original loads it was close.

The now gone Robert T Shimek (sp?) wrote in one of his excellent articles that a 6" 357 could be used for some competitions, hunting and as a house gun since being able to conceal it was not a concern.

I will admit that a 4" 357 is about as handy as it gets. My bud went to Colorado for a couple of weeks last winter and went to his place to feed the cows and run the fences since he has a bull that can seem to escape from about any pen or field he is put in.

So I wore my 4" GP-100 and rode his 4 wheeler all over the property checking fences. I never noticed the weight of the gun on my belt but it felt good to be there.
 
Great post Doc and a thought provoker too. Seems like when I've been on an auto kick for awhile...like now working up loads for a new to me, 9mm Hi Power, it's refreshing to pick up an old friend...a S&W K frame and re-acquaint my self with just how accurate a revolver is....I do at least as well with the DA function of my Smiths as I do with the good SA triggers on my 1911's and a pair of Hi Powers. And...the SA trigger pulls on any Smith I've ever owned beat the very best of my gunsmith tuned 1911's.

And there's always the pleasure of dumping your spent brass into the hand vs. picking a magazine's worth of auto brass out of the weeds on my outdoor range. Hell, I don't even have to tumble them (no sand nor debris to contend with, eh?).

Power, reliability, a manual of arms that's simplicity itself...what's not to like. But seem's like sometimes we're a vanishing breed; those of us who consider ourselves, 'revolver men'. And I'll admit to taking a perverse pleasure to dumping a cylinder full into a single ragged hole from the 10 yd line while a handful of bottom feeder shooters look on.

So thanks for reminding me of the sheer utility, dare I say, "beauty", of a good six-gun... Rod
 
But seem's like sometimes we're a vanishing breed; those of us who consider ourselves, 'revolver men'.
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When double action revolvers became common the single action guys probably thought the same thing. Well single actions are still here and still have a place and double action revolvers will be around way into the future as far as I can tell. What is old will be new again.:)
 
I roll my own and have found the Speer Gold Dot 135 SB over 7.5 grains of Unique to be very shootable and easy on the ears like a .38.
 
when I was in the SEAL teams, the divers always carried the 686 stainless with 357. good enough for them, good enough for me.
I use a hi standard mk2 3". works fine, wife likes it, I like it....why chase fads? im sticking with what works.
 
I firmly believe a man so armed with a .357 magnum revolver and speedloaders who can reload with swiftity is a man well armed!

The "King of the Street" for sure!!
 
I've been loading and shooting my .41 mag since the early eighties and just love the caliber. But 4 years ago I finally broke down and bought my first .357, and now I hardly shoot the .41's other than my lever action. I love the much lighter recoil and the versatility with .38 sp. and the fact that between the revolver and rifle it can do anything I would ever really need a gun for out to 100 yds.
 
Tomorrow at the range I will be shooting six handguns:

Browning Buck Mark 22lr auto
S&W K22 Masterpiece 22lr revolver
Star BM 9mm auto
Taurus (Old Model) 66 357 revolver
Ruger P90DC 45acp auto
Ruger Blackhawk 45acp "convertible"

The autos are good ones and I shoot them just fine. But the revolvers are where my heart is. The K22 has the best trigger I have ever shot on anything. The Taurus is tied for second (with my friend's S&W 66). It has a 6" barrel and nice big sights. It's stupidly accurate, enough to make me look good. When I shoot a 50 round box of ammo through it at 15 yards, I will have a couple of fliers and will be able to cover the rest of the holes with the palm of my hand.

I have a lot of handguns, but a 4" 357 is next to my bed when I sleep. On one unfortunate evening it came in very handy. I like to shoot autos for fun, but I count on revolvers (especially 357's) for serious business.
 
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