How many of you have fired full house .357 Magnums - - - in your snubbies

[ISCS Yoda]

How many of you have fired full house .357 Magnum rounds through a 2" revolver and will you ever do it again and would you carry that for self defense?

Just wondering..........

I just noted in another thread how useless I think full house magnums are in short barreled revolvers, ditto for +P in short barreled Airweights.

Anyway, it's a concept worth discussing.....


***GRJ***

 

[Erich]

I have in several .357 snubs. They're pretty darned controllable in this 23-ouncer . . .

 

[ISCS Yoda]

Erich, I can't see the gun on this computer but 23 ounces, well, maybe. I believe you that you can control it but it's still a waste. Just my opinion. And rough on the gun. I don't do it in my 30 ounce Model 19 and I admit it is controllable.

***GRJ***

 

[.455Eley]

Factory loads just in a 60. -10 I think. They were alright but I prefer top end 38+ps ( like the old.38-44 Super Police load). I wouldn't even think of using top load 357s that I load for my Highway Patrolman and Trooper.

 

[Cal44]

Well I did fire a few 44 Magnum loads in my 629 Snub.

Not too bad with big rubber Hogues.

 

[shot1971]

I have fired .357 loads in a 2 1/2 incher at dark & the "night blindness" that it caused was to say the least "Substantial"!! As far as recoil goes it was not brutal by any means. I would carry it for SD if that's all I had--but would rather have my Shield 9.

 

[Otreb]

Yes, when I don't have any decent .38sp on hand (rare).

 

[macktheknife]

Not too bad with my 640 with hogue tamers. Even with gold dot sb loads.

 

[wbraswell]

I've fired a few 158 gr. Remingtons in my Model 60 2.1" barrel. Reminds me of shooting an old Charter Bulldog, not pleasant.

 

[BearBio]

The question is nonsensical! At least poorly phrased! The poll asks "What do you do" but your post asks "what have you done in the past and what you will do in the future"

I have fired full load 357s in j-frame and K frame snubbies and 44 mag in N-frame snubbies. Which are your referring to? Big diff between a j-frame and a k-frame.

Have I have done so? Yes.
Would I do it again? Yes.
Would I like to do it again? No.

Plus P ammo? Yes, same as above.

However, as I have pointed out several times in the past, I live in an area where man is NOT always top of the food chain! I routinely carry a 454 Casull.

 

[Edmo]

In my 640 Pro (23 oz) I have been shooting more 38 and 38+P at the range followed with several handfuls of 357 rounds thrown for fun.

I'm currently carrying it with Hornady 125 grain Critical Defense 357s.

Reference the flash of 357 in a short barrel, so far I've tried nine different factory 357 loads in this 2 1/4" gun and have seen everything from a little flash (Hornady) to a small explosion (Remington). Apparently, all powders are not created equal.

Don't get me wrong, there is recoil and blast. However, I find it to be at an acceptable level in this gun and quite controllable... The next shooter may not.

Edmo

 

[Paul105]

Not a .357, and it's a 2 1/2 incher. I just got this and have been shooting full house ammo thru it.

.
.
Gotta admit it's much more pleasant to shoot than my 1 7/8" 340 PD. With full house .357s it is the most obnoxious handgun I've ever shot (including a 400gr WFNGC over 31.0gr H110 in a 500 JRH out of a 5" FA83). I actually split the web of my hand with the 340PD and Fed Factory .357s. It took seveal stitches to repair. For years, it was my everyday pocket carry
.

Paul

 

[Biggfoot44]

Statement #1 - .38 +P is certainly reasonably adaquate.

Statement #2 - Shot placement , and control for reasonably quick, accurate follow up / next target shots is very important. I place high importance on that. Everyone should use what they believe to be the best performing round that they have good control, no bashing by me for anyone doing that.


But to say that a full power .357 ROUND is not capable of beter performance than even a good .38+P ? Nah.( I don't want to get too side tracked , but a .357 158 isn't a desireable round for defense from a .357 snubbie , even if a 158 LHP is the bee's knees in a .38. Different construction , different designed impact velocity.)

Any and everyone who makes a rational choice that a .38+P is a better personal balancing act for them , I salute them. But it is a compromise.

 

[HarrishMasher]

I fired one cylinder of 357s in my 360PD, will never do that again.

I do however have a 686 PC 2.5" that I shoot 357s through. It weighs 34ozs though.

I'm picking up an As New 386 Night Guard today. 24ozs. We will see how it goes. If I find it is controllable and I can make follow up shots relatively quickly, I will carry it with 357s.

 

[regalsc]

I have fired cor bon 125 from my 340 PD they are harsh but not as harsh as 158 gr 357's. I shoot 44mags in my 329ng all the time and they aren't all that bad. My 329 has a larger grip.

 

[ISCS Yoda]

BearBio, it's that big .454 weighing you down that makes you grumpy!

A compound question - the poll is not the same as the compound question:

How many of you have fired full house .357 Magnum rounds through a 2" revolver

That's 1 question.....

and will you ever do it again

That's a second question.....

and would you carry that for self defense?

And that's a third question....

Anyone can answer one part or all parts. The poll is disconnected from the three part question. But there is nothing nonsensical about it.

How many of you have fired full house .357 Magnum rounds through a 2" revolver

I have - but I apologize for writing 2" without considering 2.5 or 3 inchers.

and will you ever do it again

I did it in a 3" 629 I used to own and that was only one cylinder full - and never again. The next owner did it more often, to show off for lady friends - and the crane screw broke.

Nuf sed....

But....at the range I'll do it in my 2.5" M19 and M686+, it is really quite manageable in those steel guns, but I NEVER load them that way for SD purposes. .38 Special and +P are the way I go in that case.

and would you carry that for self defense?

Absolutely not. Ignoring the flash, the bang, and the difficulty in getting off a second shot - it's way too much power to use for ordinary, daily self defense. BUT AGAIN - YMMV - I won't argue if you're doing it, that's very personal.

As for being at the top of the food chain, which I am NOT when I am in Northwestern Colorado at my friend's house, I stoke a 4" Ruger Service Six with full house magnum loads and I'm satisfied. Oh, for S&W fans, which we are, I use the Ruger there because I don't want to leave my M27 there - and I do leave the Ruger. My buddy carries a .40 caliber Glock around the neighborhood. Neither of us wanst to mess with a .454 Casull but I understand the choice.

***GRJ***

 

[at_liberty]

A little gun that shoots 357 is a pretty useless thing for me unless making provision for custom ammo. I don't shoot 38 in them, because if I wanted to do that, I would have bought a 38, which I do have covered in another gun or two. I reload so can get whatever performance I want from a 357 case, currently using 11.0 gr of HS-6 and 125 gr SWC. For SD there aren't many choices. I use Speer Short Barrel Gold Dot.

 

[snowman]

All I use in my 2-1/4" SP101 are Fed. 125gr .357s, and practice with comparable reloads. My reloads clock around 1220fps on my chrono. out of that gun. A waste? I don't think so. Neither are they unpleasant to shoot, flash too much, make too much racket, etc., etc., etc. -not in my experience anyway. Maybe if I were using one of Smith's super light guns I wouldn't be as enthused about them, but the question was whether we used them in our snub revolvers.

Oh, and yes, I carry these for SD.

Regards,
Andy

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

I have fired them through a 2.5" M-19 and my Dan Wessons with 2.5" barrels. Skeeter Skelton was quite enamored of the 2.5" M-19 when it was introduced, later he wrote that it really wasn't such a great idea, and Jeff Cooper wrote that all the "magna' need a long runway to get up to speed.

 

[Bullzaye]

The question is nonsensical! At least poorly phrased! The poll asks "What do you do" but your post asks "what have you done in the past and what you will do in the future"

To an extent, I have to agree. In spite of your explanation, I feel that you stated one thing in your thread title, but then went in a different direction in the poll.

In fact, I mistakenly answered your poll question with an incorrect answer. Your thread title says, "How many of you have fired full house .357 Magnums---in your snubbies". I answered, "Only in all steel guns", which I was then going to follow with the explanation that I don't actually own or care for .357 snubbies (I should qualify this...I don't care for J-frame/lightweight .357 snubbies...I've never fired, but imagine I would enjoy, a K, L, or N-frame .357 snubbie), but that I answered as I did because I have fired full house .357 Magnum ammo through my COP 4-barreled derringer on many occasions. It's definitely an eye-opener, but nothing unbelievable. Of course, even though it's relatively compact, it is a little brick of stainless steel.

However, after answering, I observed that your poll question differed from your thread title. Your poll question asks, "Do you load your snubbies with .357 Magnum rounds for self defense?", which is a completely different question from the one posed in your thread title. Had I noted your actual poll question, I likely would not have participated, because (aside from the aforementioned COP) I don't own any .357 snubbies, only .38 Specials.

FWIW, I do have a M.629 snubbie, which currently sports fairly small after-market wood concealment grips, which I LOVE firing full-house loads through! I only fire reduced Magnum loads (not .44 Specials) through it to save a bit of wear and tear, and to ease some folks into firing it. Even though I know it's not as practical as my 5.5" Redhawk, or my 4", 6", or 8" Dan Wessons, it might still be the .44 Magnum I enjoy shooting the most! I need to get a 4" or 6" M.629, to go with it.

Tim