Hello everyone,
Thanks to everyones help and support on this forum I have been the proud owner of a newish 649 in 357 for the last couple months and I absolutely love it. I really enjoy shooting 357 through it, I mostly practice with blazer 158 gr hollow points which is what I keep it loaded with for cc.
I am an avid fisherman and spend a lot of time in the back country in the pnw where the only real issue is tweakers, cougars and black bears. Soon I will find enough cash and the right timing to get a 629 for adequate protection against the very rare charging black bear or cougar, until then I pack my 649. I want the best possible round in 357 for that low chance situation. I picked up some buffalo bore heavy 357 180 gr but have been hesitant to try it out.
I have done a bunch of reading and called S&W, the guy I talked to right off the bat said no buffalo bore ammo, then said I need to call buffalo bore and make sure the pressure behind the bullet does not exceed 350 which is the maximum pressure rating for my 649. Buffalo bores site says dont call and ask if their rounds will work in jframes because it will work in all steel 357 revolvers. A little more research on 3rd party sites talked about how BB ammo it is a bigger bullet with standard pressure for 357.
So after all that I guess im just wondering will this bullet damage my gun, I only plan to put 10 rounds or so at the range to see how I can handle them and then continue to practice with 158 gr and less in 357. I am new to revolvers( this 649 is my first) so I apologize in advance if this is a dumb or repeatedly asked question, I did search other threads on this forum and did not find a definitive answer, some peoples opinions were to never give a jframe a steady diet of 357 so that confused me even more. Just trying to figure out how to protect myself currently efficiently and decrease the chances I blow the top of my gun. Thanks in advance.
Thanks to everyones help and support on this forum I have been the proud owner of a newish 649 in 357 for the last couple months and I absolutely love it. I really enjoy shooting 357 through it, I mostly practice with blazer 158 gr hollow points which is what I keep it loaded with for cc.
I am an avid fisherman and spend a lot of time in the back country in the pnw where the only real issue is tweakers, cougars and black bears. Soon I will find enough cash and the right timing to get a 629 for adequate protection against the very rare charging black bear or cougar, until then I pack my 649. I want the best possible round in 357 for that low chance situation. I picked up some buffalo bore heavy 357 180 gr but have been hesitant to try it out.
I have done a bunch of reading and called S&W, the guy I talked to right off the bat said no buffalo bore ammo, then said I need to call buffalo bore and make sure the pressure behind the bullet does not exceed 350 which is the maximum pressure rating for my 649. Buffalo bores site says dont call and ask if their rounds will work in jframes because it will work in all steel 357 revolvers. A little more research on 3rd party sites talked about how BB ammo it is a bigger bullet with standard pressure for 357.
So after all that I guess im just wondering will this bullet damage my gun, I only plan to put 10 rounds or so at the range to see how I can handle them and then continue to practice with 158 gr and less in 357. I am new to revolvers( this 649 is my first) so I apologize in advance if this is a dumb or repeatedly asked question, I did search other threads on this forum and did not find a definitive answer, some peoples opinions were to never give a jframe a steady diet of 357 so that confused me even more. Just trying to figure out how to protect myself currently efficiently and decrease the chances I blow the top of my gun. Thanks in advance.