.357 Magnum is obsolete

[geraldo]

The best !!

If I could have only one handgun it would be my model 65 3inch, it will do anything a reasonable person could ask, will shoot .357, .38 special. snake shot and easy to carry and mentioned above if you cannot handle a situation with six rounds of .357, man or animal , I would advise you to spend more range time or stay at home !

 

[ladyT]

I'm kinda partial to my 586-3 6 inch.

 

[tinman931]

Anytime I hear the (fill in the blank) is obsolete, my answer is "stand in front of one while I shoot it at you."

No one has ever taken up that challenge.

 

[Iggy]

Everybody sez I'm obsolete too. I reckon I'll take my 7 .357s somewhere and sulk.

 

[shouldazagged]

Everybody sez I'm obsolete too. I reckon I'll take my 7 .357s somewhere and sulk.

Hell, I was born obsolete. Doesn't bother me. They know the drill if they can't take a joke.

 

[leeloader]

There is an article by Greg Ellifritz Equipment or Caliber and he found it very stron in comparison to other handgun rounds. The 44mag wasn't listed.

 

[shil]

Obsolete? Balderdash! It's arguably the most versatile handgun cartridge extant. Handloading makes it even more versatile. It has a high fun factor as well if one is into light bullet/slow powder maximum flasho-blasto loads! A few years ago, I made up a few of those just for what turned out to be an annoyance factor. 125 grainers in front of W296 in a 4-inch 686. The indoor range at which I was shooting had nothing in the way of sound baffles, some of the other shooters began to cry, and I was asked to leave. I said OK as long as you waive the range fee or charge me for no more than ten minutes. No, I am not buying any of your lead reloads, sorry. This is what I came to shoot. Fortunately for me, they saw it my way. I did pay for the target and backer. Haven't been back. Speaking of obsolete, there's this neat top-break in .44 Russian................ .

 

[WaMike]

Funny to see this post resurrected.

A recent Handloader/Rifle article by (IMHO) a very respected Alaska guide says that both he and his daughter use .357 revolvers as backup. I forget the load/bullet, but what struck me was that he didn't advocate the various larger cartridges.

And these folks hunt really, really big bears. Really big.

And I agree with those of you lovin' the 4" L-frame (and, to be fair, those from Ruger). A handier, more versatile....and reliable....handgun cannot be found.

 

[2hawk]

Over 4 years later, and the .357 magnum is STILL not obsolete!

Imagine that!

Well, you went and done it, Dr. Frankenstein! It Lives! (considering this was originally started in Jan. 2010!)

Anyone feeling that there's no room for a .357 Magnum caliber gun in their collection, and those who like the .357 as well, ought to read this. Like this thread, kind of old but still relevant:

My Friend, The .357

I'll never be without one, that's for sure!

 

[ibewbull]

Back in 1970 or so I recall the cry of: the .45 colt is doomed.
Well it is still kicking just as the .38 special and .357 Magnum. The good ole .41 mag still hangs on also. M-58 / M-57 having great records in both hunting and defense with PROPER loads.
I must admit I shoot .38 specials more than magnums in my .357
My first center fire handgun was a M-28 S&W 4 inch which I still have along with my K/L frames.
There is not much you can ask of the 38/357 that it can not do well. If you need more power grab a long gun.

 

[YeshuaIsa53]

After back surgery, I really like it when leaving the shooting range even more. Target usually sports a large hole in it. People around you watch round after round hit the dirt at 100 yards in the same place. Clean up the spent brass while sitting at the table. Don't need a broom. I can even shoot .38 if I want in it, which is most of the time all that is needed with a well-placed shot. Military and Police used the .38 for many moons, so why argue about the .357 Magnum? Carrying your shotgun and rifle in the window of your pickup, with a pistol hiding somewhere, may be going obsolete; but not the .357 Magnum.

 

[JeepinSoldier]

Instead of calling it obsolete, I'd call it versatile. Possibly the most versatile revolver/ammo type yet.

From poppers barely strong enough to get through paper targets to 200 grain hardcast shooting through-and-through on whitetails, it can do loads of things. There's lots available for reloaders and tons of factory ammo as well.

Agreed. Also does not meet the definition of obsolete:

ob•so•lete (ˌɒb səˈlit, ˈɒb səˌlit)

adj., v. -let•ed, -let•ing. adj.
1. no longer in general use.

Plenty of .357 guns still in general use, from revolvers to lever action carbines. Seems they are still so popular that wallyworld and LGS have problems keeping .357 Magnum ammo in stock.

2. of a discarded or outmoded type: an obsolete battleship.

See above. Plenty of people looking to acquire them and many who own quality .357's holding on to them.

3. (of a linguistic form) no longer in use, esp., out of use for at least the past century: used in this dictionary to indicate that a word has not been in widespread use since c1750. Abbr.: Obs.

Probably over a million still in use.

4. rudimentary in comparison with the corresponding part or trait in related species or in individuals of the opposite sex.
v.t.
5. to make obsolete; antiquate.

[1570–80; < Latin obsolētus, past participle of obsolēscere to fall into disuse, perhaps =ob- ob-sol(ēre) to be accustomed to + -ēscere -esce]

ob`so•lete′ly, adv.

ob`so•lete′ness, n.

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary.

 

[shouldazagged]

So to sum up, could we say the claim the .357 Magnum is obsolete is basically a load of pasture pancakes?

Just asking.

 

[Voyager28]

Fresh! With syrup!

Bob



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Tim@DOA]

I love hi-cap's, one can miss fast and often! Sure the odd exception occur's now and again, but if a trained shooter cannot solve the problem with six round's, it wont get solved with seventeen. The 125gr JHP in .357 is the round that is the standard for one shot stop's. They dident call it the lightning bolt for nothing!

A trained shooter cannot stop 7 threats with 6 rounds, wear the wrong color while making a wrong turn in south central L.A. and you'll wish for hi cap support.

 

[sodacan]

That settles it. My thirteen 357's are now for sale.

 

[eb07]

Someone argued this point to me the other day.

The argument was that if you were looking for a woods gun or something to defend against predators, the .44 magnum is a better choice, whether it's a S&W 29, Ruger Redhawk, etc. If the recoil of the 44 is too much for some shooters, they can use downloaded rounds that are manageable but still more effective than the .357.

If you are looking for defense against humans, rounds like the .40 S&W and .45ACP are better, because they have plenty of knockdown power without the recoil, flash, or muzzle blast of the .357 magnum. This is not a revolver vs. semiauto thread, but a Glock 22 will hold 16 rounds vs. 6 rounds of .357 in a S&W 686 and still only weighs a little over half as much as the 686.

What do you think? I am not saying that I agree with this argument, and I will always be fond of the .357 magnum, but I find myself perhaps agreeing to an extent. If I am in the woods I take my .44, which I can load with anything from light to hot 44 specials up to magnums. For civilian (or even LEO) self-defense, I don't feel like the .357 magnum does anything that the .40 S&W can't do, with less recoil, blast and noise. You could argue that the 45ACP does not have enough penetration, or that the 9mm doesn't have enough power, but the 40 seems to do well enough.

The fact that the individual used "knock down power" in regards to a handgun caliber tell me he has no clue what he is taking about.

 

[sonora]

The 357 Mag. Is tops for versatility. Light .38 special wadcutter loads, +p .38 special and Magnum loads in .357. There is an abundance of revolvers in both single and double action. If I had only one center fire revolver make it a .357 Mag.

 

[Mad_Charlie]

The .357 is never gonna be "obsolete", but maybe this thread oughta be...or is. 2010-2015 R.I.P.

 

[IAM Rand]

If a company like Ruger would team up with Federal and build a rimless 357 so it could be used in a carbine like an M1 or M4 it would be very popular.

I researched the Winchester 351WSL and thought that with a little modification it could be converted to shoot the 357. Not sure if it would be possible but, they are almost identical.

I would love to see a semi-auto 357 rifle.