Just purchased a Model19-4 .357 mag. I have seen some people have had problems with cracking the forcing cone shooting some ammo. Can I shoot 158 grain in .357 in this gun safely? Can I fire 130 grain 38 spl safely? This gun has hardly been fired and looks real good.
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19-4 ammo
- Thread starter sls321
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If you want to shoot .357 Mags through your mod 19, I would suggest 158-gr ammunition. I like the Winchester and Remington offerings, 158-gr JHP (defense use), or jacketed softpoints.
If you want to shoot .38 Specials, take your pick. Your mod 19 will handle any of them. Just be sure to clean the cylinder charge holes well before shooting magnums again.
Congrats on a sweet revolver!
-Jim
If you want to shoot .38 Specials, take your pick. Your mod 19 will handle any of them. Just be sure to clean the cylinder charge holes well before shooting magnums again.
Congrats on a sweet revolver!
-Jim
armsmaster270
US Veteran
158gr and 140gr Silvertips are fine you should avoid 110 & 125gr ammo as a steady diet.
First... congratulations on purchasing a exceptionally fine revolver! Second... fire any .38 Special ammunition to your hearts content in that nice M-19. Third... you may most assuredly shoot any 158 gr. .357 Magnum ammunition in your M-19... unless it is some funky home loaded concoction put together without any reference to or regard for safety, etc. Factory loaded ammunition will be just fine. If you want some really stomping hot stuff... check out Buffalo Bore. Their loads are really remarkable. As to other bullet weights of .357 Magnum in the M-19... limit your use of the 125 gr. JHP loads. Those things are positively lights out excellent for SD/HD. But conventional wisdom is that they are hard on the forcing cones of any revolver, including the M-19. HTH. Sincerely. brucev.
Texas Star
US Veteran
That M-19 will feed your addiction! Keep in mind that it was never intended to be a full-time .357 Magnum. Fire maybe 10-15% .357 ammo, the rest.38's.
Even Bill Jordan, who pressed S&W to make a .357 the size of a .38 acknowledged that it was meant mainly foir use with .38's. The idea was to get a lighter gun on cops' belts.
He told me this in person, and I believe that it's in his book, "No Second Place Winner." It's not an Internet rumor! Moreover, S&W reps confirmed it when I was invited to review the then-new M-586/686 at a firing range. BTW, they said that Plus P Plus .38 ammo had caused more damage to forcing cones and generated more cylinder endshake than .357 ammo. Avoid that like the Plague, if you ever find any. It was made only for LE agencies who had to sign a waiver conceding that it caused accelerated wear. Conventional Plus P .38 is fine, but will probably wear the gun sooner if you use a steady diet of it, and paper targets and tin cans don't need that level of power.
Don't load .357 ammo for home defense. It may damage your hearing when fired indoors without ear protection.
Keep in mimd that the modern .38 Special loads will do most of what a revolver needs to be doing. Load Magnum ammo as really needed.
Even Bill Jordan, who pressed S&W to make a .357 the size of a .38 acknowledged that it was meant mainly foir use with .38's. The idea was to get a lighter gun on cops' belts.
He told me this in person, and I believe that it's in his book, "No Second Place Winner." It's not an Internet rumor! Moreover, S&W reps confirmed it when I was invited to review the then-new M-586/686 at a firing range. BTW, they said that Plus P Plus .38 ammo had caused more damage to forcing cones and generated more cylinder endshake than .357 ammo. Avoid that like the Plague, if you ever find any. It was made only for LE agencies who had to sign a waiver conceding that it caused accelerated wear. Conventional Plus P .38 is fine, but will probably wear the gun sooner if you use a steady diet of it, and paper targets and tin cans don't need that level of power.
Don't load .357 ammo for home defense. It may damage your hearing when fired indoors without ear protection.
Keep in mimd that the modern .38 Special loads will do most of what a revolver needs to be doing. Load Magnum ammo as really needed.
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SLS, I no longer shoot much .357 Magnum through my M-19, that is what my L and N frames are for. I do though load FULL charge .357 Magnum ammo in my M-19 when I carry it for self defense.
roaddog28
Member
Hi,
First off, you bought in my opinion the finest all around revolver S&W ever made. One of the best "out of the box" double action triggers that I have ever used. I have three K frame magnums. A model 13, 19 and a 66. The reason, all three are among my best shooters.
Now for ammo.
Your model 19 should be able to handle any factory 38 special ammo including +P. The model 19 was designed to handle 357 magnum pressures, so using 38 specials at there lower pressures won't hurt the revolver. Personally, I shoot mostly target 158gr 38 specials.
As far as 357 magnums rounds. If you want to shoot 357 magnums stay with the heavier 140 to 158 gr rounds. For practice at the range I use a lot of the CCI blazer 158 gr hollow points. This round is a mid power round that won't hurt a model 19. I have used this round in all of my K frame magnums.
As for a self defense round. I would suggest staying with a quality 38 +P round like the proven "FBI" round made buy either Remington, Winchester and Buffalo Bore. They have a good track record and at one time were the choice of most LE agencies.
For most people, using the 357 magnum is not the best option. Recoil, blast and follow up shots are harder plus indoor use is harder on hearing.
I would start shooting at the range 38 special 158 gr rounds and then once you get used to your revolver then try the 357 magnum round.
Good luck,
Howard
First off, you bought in my opinion the finest all around revolver S&W ever made. One of the best "out of the box" double action triggers that I have ever used. I have three K frame magnums. A model 13, 19 and a 66. The reason, all three are among my best shooters.
Now for ammo.
Your model 19 should be able to handle any factory 38 special ammo including +P. The model 19 was designed to handle 357 magnum pressures, so using 38 specials at there lower pressures won't hurt the revolver. Personally, I shoot mostly target 158gr 38 specials.
As far as 357 magnums rounds. If you want to shoot 357 magnums stay with the heavier 140 to 158 gr rounds. For practice at the range I use a lot of the CCI blazer 158 gr hollow points. This round is a mid power round that won't hurt a model 19. I have used this round in all of my K frame magnums.
As for a self defense round. I would suggest staying with a quality 38 +P round like the proven "FBI" round made buy either Remington, Winchester and Buffalo Bore. They have a good track record and at one time were the choice of most LE agencies.
For most people, using the 357 magnum is not the best option. Recoil, blast and follow up shots are harder plus indoor use is harder on hearing.
I would start shooting at the range 38 special 158 gr rounds and then once you get used to your revolver then try the 357 magnum round.
Good luck,
Howard
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