YouTube weenies vs .357 Magnum...

S

Sturmpanzer

Moderator
Ok.. I dont know HOW many little vids I've watched of guys shooting a .357 snub...and then tell everyone to use .38+p's in it... Well, duh, why not just have bought a cheaper .38 rated for +p ammo... This might be an old gripe around here but Im kinda new... I always have been taught to control what I fire (gun), and master what I carry... I have no problems with .357's in a 2" snub...( Rossi 461...dont flame me)....so why do so many people seem to do this ammo downgrade... Yes, I get the recoil part...but that seems like a copout.. Just get a .38 and call it a day.... For some reason, this really irks me.... Thoughts?...
 
Well, I suppose there could be various reasons. For me I've own a S&W M66 which was one of the first gun I purchased new several years ago. At that time I carried and trained with .357mag. However, I no longer carry the gun, but it does have certain sentimental value to me. So, when I shoot it I may shoot a couple of cylinders of .357mag ammo and the finish the session with a box of 50 WWB in .38special. This saves wear and tear on a gun I plan to keep forever.

I have a friend who purchased a new S&W M686 for use as a home defense gun. His wife was all for learning, but had a little problem with the .357mag ammo. She does fine with the .38+p, so for them the larger frame gun with slightly less powerful ammo works very well.
 
I have two 357's. A 3" Ruger GP100 and a Freedom Arms model 97. I shoot 38's out of them. Why? Because 38's are nice, pleasant, relaxing loads to shoot and there were no 3" GP100's in 38 Special at the time and I did not want to pay an extra $400 for the 38 Special cylinder for the FA.
Does that irk you?

Jim
 
Seems like you got irked... I wasnt talking about range shooting but carrying... Why carry a .357 with .38's in it... Ive carried several 357's over the tears and this doesnt make sense unless someone just wants a dual caliber gun...not trying to flame anyone, just curious...
 
Over penetration, too loud in a vehicle or enclosed space,flash blindness at night, speed of followup shots, etc.
There are many reasons not to carry the hottest ammo you can shoot in a gun.

In fact that is the beauty of chosing a .357 magnum instead of the .38 version.
You can choose to shoot anything from mild wadcutters in the summer to the hottest woods loads in four legged territory, all in one gun. What's not to like about that?

Mayber you are carrying .357 magnum in your .357 magnum revolver, but are you carrying the hottest .357 made? In fact, there are some hot .38 special +p that are as hot out of a snub as low end .357 magnum. So just because the rounds you are carrying are labeled .357 doesn't mean much as far as your question goes.
 
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Most .357 Magnum ammunition consists of a hot round based on a 125 gr. JHP. Lots of flash and blast, little or unreliable penetration.

A .38 Special loaded with a 158 gr. SWC performs probably a little better in the penetration aspect. Good +P .38s perform just as well as .357 Ammunition form short barrels. Further, the .38s usually produce less flash, so less night vision loss from muzzle blast in low light shootings.

The plus factor is that ejection of empties is more positive with the shorter .38 Special case, as snub revolvers have shorter extractor throws.

I won't irk you, I carry a .45 Colt.






Bob Wright
 
Well, and this is just my opinion, the selection of 357 revolvers is better and the guns generally better built (more durable) than the current crop of 38's. So,
even for shooting 38's, the 357 revolver is still a good option.

Jim
 
First you state that it irks you that people would choose to shoot .38 special from their .357 snub nose. That sounds like attitude to me.

Then, when someone else shows a bit of attitude in response, you accuse THEM of being irked.

Duh
 
Yeah, from a snub you might as well shoot 38's. IIRC, the 357 doesn't get 357-style velocity from a 2" barrel.
 
Yeah, from a snub you might as well shoot 38's. IIRC, the 357 doesn't get 357-style velocity from a 2" barrel.
Click to expand...

actually, you do.
I was getting 1246 and 1250 with Buffalo Bore's 180 grain .357 outdoorsmand Hardcast out of my 1 7/8" .357 LCR. That comes out to 625 foot pounds ME. Much higher than you can get any .38 special +P even in a longer barrel.
 
Simple, it gives you the option to choose whether or not you want to use .357 or 38. It also enhances resale value. Personally, I own .38's so I can just shoot .357 in my .357 and .38 in my .38's.
 
Yikes and boy, am I irked!

I like Plus Ps in my .357s!

But wait, I shoot mostly Model 15
Smiths and they are .38s to begin
with.

But I'm irked.

And my new name is going to be
Panzer Snitzel. :)
 
The only snub .357 revolver worth shooting .357 in, IMO, is the Ruger SP101. It's weighty enough to make it tolerable to shoot .357, whereas the airweight S&W and LCR is stuff I don't even want to try.

If I have to carry a snub that's not an SP101, I'd rather carry a very lightweight .38 for two reasons: 1. the lighter weight is more comfortable and 2. they cost less than .357 snub revolvers do. I know people won't be surprised to hear me say something like that, but for a revolver whose only purpose is for concealed carry, maybe a stash gun somewhere on one's property, I don't think it's sensible to spend $100 or more for something that has a limited intended use.

But, this topic of .357 snub revolvers is the reason that I love the .327 in a pocket revolver because it is lower recoil when using proper ammunition, but only Ruger is willing to make .327's and were I to buy a snub .327, I want it to be like a S&W Bodyguard with the DA/SA trigger.
 
I carried this S&W Model 19 loaded with Federal 158 gr. Nyclad SWCHP for awhile:



I'm a reformed YouTube weenie.


Bob Wright
 
I never owned a snub anything. All I can comment on is some first hand experiences.

The most prominent in my mind was a work buddy/good friend bought a
S&W M19 2" or 3", I don't remember which or what they made back then. He was going to school at night in a shady part of town. That's why he bought it.

He is 6'6" and no light weight by any means.

He wanted some stout loads that were gonna be loud and fiery, according to him "if I miss, it will scare the s^*t out of them and they will run".

I loaded some 125 HPs with some 2400 (Hercules back in those days).

He went out to a friend of his dad's to get some firewood and decided it was time to try it out. He was very shocked with what he had in his hands. It was about 75 degrees to the vertical and the flames scared the crap out of him.

He wanted something else after that.

Thinking back, if you let one loose and it raised up that much, a second shot would take some time to get back on target.

The Speer #8 (which was the latest one I had back then) had loads for a 2 1/2" barrel and max was 19.5 gr. I had him loaded up at 19.0 gr. The latest Speer manual tops out at 17.5 gr.
 
I bought a Taurus 605 because it is a .357. Why, simply because I have a bunch of .357 empty cases. I can easily load them to whatever level I want. However I normally load them pretty conservative, as the hotter .357 are lood and simply not a lot of fun to shoot. Carry for me is more beating around the farm and a .38 level load is plenty.
 
Sturm,
The 357 in magnum has more weight than it's counter point in a 38 special P+.
This extra weight greatly improves ones ability to shoot DA and bring it back to
your target much faster than the 38 sp. P+.
Sure I carry a 686 plus 3" in 357 magnum, but I have the choice of using full bore 357 in magnum ammo or 38 special P+ ammo. In my opinion, this is a super plus for me. One last comment. I do not carry a light weight snub.
I don't see the value or the why.
 
I dont know HOW many little vids I've watched of guys shooting a .357 snub...and then tell everyone to use .38+p's in it... Well, duh, why not just have bought a cheaper .38 rated for +p ammo...
Click to expand...
This is a common practice with the Ruger LCR. They never intend to carry magnum rounds but want the extra couple ounces of weight to help mitigate the horrid, punishing recoil of 38 Spcl +p. LOL:rolleyes:
I went the other way with my LCR. Bought the 38 +P model for the lighter carry weight. Shooting 158 gr. "FBI" loads, and Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel +P.
 
Cheap Shooters comments are also right on. The more weight in a snub, the better the ability to bring it back on target faster than the 38 sp. But again. I will not carry a light weight snub. It has to weigh at least 23 or 25 ozs or more.
 
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