Why Not the .357 magnum?

Goat,

A .357 Mag. with HPs isn't known for overpenetration, especially in the lighter bullet weights such as the 125 & 140. This is especially true with lighter bullets and longer barrels, as the velocity threshhold for expansion is more easily crossed.

Solids will overpenetrate with the .357, but so will solids or FMJs from many other rounds.

And, quite frankly, I would rather have too much penetration than too little. The fears of an overpenetration whacking the little old lady down the street are GREATLY exagerated. Too little penetration may result in the target not being neutralized, which could result in a very unpleasant encounter if the target is intent on attacking the shooter.

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Beware the man with the S&W .357 Mag.
Chances are he knows how to use it.
 
the .357 is a fine round i have a Speed Six in .357 and a Weigland Combat conversion of an SP101 in .357 and i feel well armed with either one.
as far as the .357 being an over penetrator? well not with lighter hollowpoints. i used to hunt deer with an 8 inch 686 and i got thru and thru shoots on chest hits, but that was with 158 grain SWC's. most hits on humans with the 110, 125 grain hollowpoints don't make it thru the chest. many blow up in the lung/heart area. awesome damage.
having said all this i carry a K40 Kahr in .40 auto in my day to day life. reason? it is easier to stay practiced with and i can hit my target better with the K40 better than either of my .357's. your mileage may vary. add that to the fact that the K40 is very FLAT and very EASY to conceal and i don't carry my revolvers much now days.
i do however carry my Speed Six when i have to conceal a weapon and i am in a woodland enviroment such as hiking or camping. reason? it enables me to load a fast deep penetrating load like the 158 grain SWC's that are better on wild animals than most semiauto HP ammo. i admit most woodland danger round here is from two legged predators not wildlife but it is good to know you could deal with a detirmined black bear or hog if you had to.

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Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what is for lunch.
Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the outcome of the vote.
Let he that hath no sword sell his garment and buy one. Luke 22-36
They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night. Song of Solomon 3-8
The man that can keep his head and aims carefully when the situation has gone bad and lead is flying usually wins the fight.
 
Easy answer -- carry what you like.

Better answer -- carry both! (you know, a wheel and a hi-cap)

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"All my ammo is factory ammo"
 
.357 kicks ass.

In The steak house of our hick town a husband fed up with his wifes infidelity walks in and empties his .357 on her and others as they stood in line to get thier food.

Overpenetration killed one person and crippled another with a spinal injury.

One of the officers that responded talked to my high school history class. He said two shots to a human head leave it pretty much unrecognizable. He said It was like all the bones of the skull had been turned to powder. He said it was all sort of hanging like a sack of meat off to one side of her torso.

Six shots were fired, two people died and two injured, one of which was paralyzed from the waist down. One of the bullets missed his wifes head and went through her neck and lodged in the spine of a bystander. Another bullet went through the abdomen of another bystander(who survived) and struck the chest of yet another bystander(killed).

I agree overpenetration is an overhyped issue but it is still an issue none the same.

The moral of this sick little story is that getting hit with a .357 will put you down on the ground fast and you may never get up again.

Note: it happened in summer so clothes were light(no leather coats or jean jackets) -ddt
 
I think revolvers are best in the back up gun role and hunting roll. They are obsolete as primary fighting handguns. Revolvers recoil more for any given comparable cartridge, hold less ammo, are heavier, harder to shoot because of da only operation, Malfunction every 6 rounds, (running out of ammo is a malfunction It takes less time to clear most auto problems then it does to reload a revolver)Revolvers are less durable. I can drop my glock from 200 feet and it will still work try that with a smith 19. Did I mention that revolvers are slow to load are harder to shoot well under stress.
PAT

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I intend to go into harms way.
 
I would rather have a 16 shot 9mm than a 6 shot 357. All handgun calibers are marginal stoppers it is better to have 16 than 6. Besides I bet I could create a larger wound to the bad guy with 2 9mm than with 1 357 mag. You can shoot almost 2 9mms in the time it takes to recover from 1 357 mag shot. If I could only have one hand gun it would be my glock 31 it has the power of the 357 mag with the capacity of the 9mm and the recoil is alot less than the revolver.
PAT
 
I have seen .357 with major power loads fired so rapidly that it sounded like a grease gun, with about two inch groups at 7 yds. That is a lot of hole in a hurry. I agree that the wheelgun might not function after bein dropped.
Sam
 
I think 357Sigfan needs to put a stopwatch to what he is asserting in regards to two shots from a nine in the time of one shot from a .357. His time for the auto in a six-shot string would then be half that of the .357 revolver. I've timed them, and that isn't the case with me shooting. In fact they are basically equal in speed until the cylinder is empty.

I also take exception to the assertion that autos are easier to shoot. Smith & Wesson DA pulls, unless something is wrong with a particular example, are very smooth and shootable. Just as shootable as most autos and moreso than some.

It certainly seems easier to pack most autos concealed, though, than any of the medium to large DA revolvers. And I would agree that autos tend to be more comfortable in recoil.
 
AC For the average shooter the revolver will fire more slowly due to recoil. An untrained person has a harder time with recoil control and can usually fire an auto in 9mm much faster with accuracy.
PAT

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I intend to go into harms way.
 
355sigfan,

Six shot? Take a look up the thread a bit. Moonclips make reloading pretty quick, though I'll admit the standing record is pretty dismal at 2.9 seconds for 12 shots of .45 ACP (6/reload/6) from an S&W 645 in the bull at 5 yards. Haven't seen this attempted with a .357 magnum load.

You think the recoil on the shooter is rough with a .357 magnum, you ought to ask the BG on the other end. :eek:
 
If the gun fits the person.

Recoil becomes a minor thing.

I saw a 115 lb lady do a steel shoot with .357mag, major power loads, good times and zero misses. My normal weight is around 135, couple hundred rounds of .357 in a session ( switching hands ) makes a pleasent way to start the day.

Sam...686 2.5" carry and J frame for reload.
 
It used to be that you learned to shoot a revolver before you ever shot a semi-auto.
Atleast that is how I learned. All this talk about the .357 makes me want one. My wife has a little 2" snubby but it just aint the same as that 6" Hog Leg. It is a hell of a round though. When you talk defensive rounds now a days I think you are talking,in no particular order: .45, .40, .357 SIG. in a pistol and .357 mag is the old standard in the revolver. How can you argue with the .357 Mag whith all this hype over the .357 SIG. All they are doing is trying to duplicate one of the most proven fighting rounds in history.
 
This is my carry combo........I'd bet my life on either.....

View
 
For concealability, the 7 shot TAurus TI
snubbies can't be beat.

[This message has been edited by lucky085 (edited June 08, 2000).]
 
Some of the neatest things about .357 is that they are very loud, very big, very reliable, very accurate, very effective.

For some, the need to conceal is paramount but some times, I want everyone to know I'm packin and when I pull the big shiney from it's cradel and let loose a round I want people to think an angry god has been summoned and HE's Pissed! Yes, That sound that Oleg bemoans is exactly what I want. You know you are in the presence of greatness when a .357 is shot. KABOOOOOM! One BG down and the rest are suffering heart attacks. -ddt
 
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