.357 Magnum is obsolete

[Texas Star]

When a writer for one of the gun rags can't think of anything else, they pick a popular cartridge and say it is obsolete. Today it's the .357 Mag, tomorrow the .30-06.

Col. Chas. Askins told me that he did that very thing. He knew that angry readers write to editors, proving that his material was being read. He was dead serious, too.

Actually, I think he did write that the .30/06 was obsolete.

This very day, I got an Online magazine with a feature saying that the stainless .357 with four-inch barrel is the ideal survival handgun. I tend to agree.

I think you'll get enough responses here to let you know that your thread was noticed.

 

[Texas Star]

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!

I read the linked article again, and liked it once more. Skeeter had a way of saying how he felt that kept the reader both informed and entertained. I hope that I did the same in the app. 5,000 articles that I've published, many about guns. Skeeter was one of my mentors.

Gun writers are not usually known for literary ability, but he could connect very well with the average reader of those magazines. John Wootters was a better wordsmith, and he also liked the .357.

Thanks for the chance to read that story again. Yes, I saw where it needed some typos corrected. But the meaning was always clear, and the reasoning lucid, with ample experience stated.

The only thing that needs to be added is to mention some of the best modern factory loads and to update the handloads. That story dates from the mid-1960's and the half jacketed bullets referred to have been replaced in the manufacturers' lines by modern JSP and JHP versions.

A local detective had access to shootings by police in this area using Winchester's 145 grain Silvertip ammo. He said they almost represented overkill. With that in mind, I've avoided using the hot 125 grain bullets that cause accelerated wear on guns, esp. the smaller .357's.

The .357 cartridge is also one of my best friends. Skelton moved in good company when he said that.

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

I take it that he did not volunteer to be a target of this "obsolete" round?

 

[S&W SS Revolvers]

Fact: 357 revolvers are the most versitile (sic) weapons out there...can handle everything from 38 short Colt, shotshells, all the way up to armor piercing 357 rounds.

Fact: 357's can be had in everything from J frame Smiths up to something that can only be mounted in the back bed of a large pickup (so to speak)

Without getting into the semiauto/revolver feud, most defensive situtations occur in just a few feet with only a few rounds fired. A 357 (and even 38+P) with proper loads are a sure stopper.

I often carry a Charter Arms (1980's) Tracker 357 snubby during road trips and on hikes in the woods and have complete confidence in it. A "survival" gun, if you will. Today, I will be packing my M28-2 4". (loaded with Remington 158 SJHP's)

As far as obsolete, I think if it ever came down to it, the 357 Magnum would probably be around long, long after the others have fallen.

No, it's not going to stop everything (what does?) but what it does it does very very well and has done so since 1935.

Agreed. It is my favorite round powerful,controllable , available and versatile...

 

[RubenZ]

Lol I love when someone calls .357 obsolete and pushes a .40. The .40 imo is the most not needed caliber around.

At least the .357 mag can be loaded in many bullet configurations and packages.

Plus .44mag ammo is very expensive.

 

[STCM(SW)]

The .357 is not my favorite round, but of all the revolvers I own the only caliber I have more of is the .44 Special....
Man, am I an old timer? ...

 

[silentflyer]

Who come up with this type of argument? A .357 is more than enough for anything in North America short of a brown or grizzly bear. I have taken several deer, and with .38's in the same gun rabbits,turkey,squirrels etc.
I think the springs and plastic crowd believe in "if you can't shoot well, shoot often". Never ceases to amaze me when I go to the range with my "obsolete" wheel guns the looks I get when I start sitting up my gong targets at 75 or 100 yards, and then start making them ring like a bell.
A few guys will wonder over and ask, what are you shooting, and how do you do that? Have won a few bets with the spray and pray crowd after a friendly wager about the auto's ability to shoot at long ranges. made a few converts along the way. Long live the .357, if I was told I could only have 1 handgun it would have to be a .357,nothing beats its versatility. long live the .357, Thanks Skeeter for the wisdom of your writings years ago.

 

[RubenZ]

Good Ol' Hickok never lets me down.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLm2tqJ-8bI[/ame]


Even he says at around 11 min into vid that if he had to give up all his glocks, guns etc and just had that little .357 mag he'd be very well off and protected. YOu can't say that about a lot of other calibers.

 

[Muss Muggins]

I better give away all my .357s then

I'll pm my shipping address.

 

[Muss Muggins]

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.

Let me just say that if 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 don't understand what happened to 1 and 2 and run away in your scenario, then they ought to be pretty easy to deal with . . .

 

[max]

Years ago some writer said that the 357 was the most powerful handgun the average shooter could handle. It is probably still true. I don't shoot many magnums, mostly 38 specials. but I am not about to give the magnums up.

 

[ccso7d100]

If I was limited to only ONE handgun, it would be a 4" .357 (prob. a "k" frame Smith)..... It will do anything you need it to......

 

[edmeloy]

Hi there.

As far I know, the .357 Mag got developed for the highway police. Hence the .38 Special wasn't enough going thru a bonnet and kill an engine. If the .357 is doing that then the man stop effect must be given? What you think?

If someone is a bad shooter than, I agree, he needs all capacity he can get. If he is good enough he loads only two rounds.
9mm would be only my second choice. All other are perfectly fine for self defense. Comes down to preferences.

Cheers Edgar

 

[sunnyd]

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 glock 20 10mm will take care of all of these issues.

 

[jtcarm]

Browse revolvers on Gunbroker and the page displays the number of hit subtotaled by category. The top caliber is .357, followed closely by .38 special. There's half as many of the next caliber, .22 lr.

 

[rwsmith]

Or.....

It's only obsolete to the guys who want a gee-whiz semi-auto with a 500-round magazine!

Or a .500 S&W magnum. X FRAME!!!! With a compensator.

 

[rwsmith]

The reason that these cartridges are 'old'...

The reason these old, obsolete cartridges are still around is because whether by chance or design they work well.

 

[357-RevolverGuy]

I've yet to own or shoot a Redhawk/model 29 that fits in my hands as perfectly and is as easy to carry as my model 19.

 

[DocB]

So Many Deer

My 45 year old son has killed so many deer on our timber farm over the past 20 years with his S&W 686 with a 6 inch barrel I can't even count them anymore. It's all he uses and has never lost a deer. I sure hate to have to tell him that he's been using the wrong gun all this time.

 

[Krell1]

NEWS FLASH: ALL calibers are now obsolete. I'm willing to take all you have off your hands and I'll see to it that it is disposed of properly....DOWN RANGE!!!!

No such thing as obsolete.