.357 magnum

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tom327

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You all know that ammunition has been hard to come by lately, especially .357 magnum, but I was lucky enough to get a couple of boxes of 158 gr/sjhp rounds a couple of weeks ago after having them backordered for what seemed an eternity.

I don't have time to get to the range often, but today I had a day off and brought my 686-1 so it could taste some magnums for a change. After shooting a box of .38 special, I decided to splurge with half a box of .357. Happy to say, I was getting 3" groupings.

To my amazement, after shooting a couple of cylinders, I turned around an saw a group of 20 somethings with their mouths hanging open. "What was that?" they said. ".357 magnum," I replied. :)
 
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I was at the local indoor range shooting some .357 magnums not long ago.
After I fired the first round, I could hear some guy 3 lanes down ask
the rangemaster...
"good god almighty, whats he got down there , a .44 !?"
That made me smile.

Lewis
 
Might sound kind of corny to ya all but I've had a thing for shootin' these noisy, buckin' flame throwing suckers since the first time I shot one many years ago and at age 74 I'm still turning them out on the re loader. and shootin' them every chance I get Been blessed that at my age I can still crank some off occasionally. Everything I carry and everything I keep handy in the house is 158gr 357s' except a 66 I gave ma that has 38+ps so she can handle it better. I prayed to Skeeter to forgive me for puttin' those 38s' in one of my 357s' I think he understands. Lightning hasn't struck yet anyway. Those of you on this forum know I'm a 357 nut job so I better hush. Good shootin' guys" Later! God Bless! Popper
 
I did not draw a crowd the last time I was shooting my 686-1. I did have someone about 3/4's of a mile from me, who also lives on the lake, ask if I had been firing a cannon. The sound must of really reverberated over the water. I only shoot during the week in the back yard adjacent to 700 acres of power company forest. This way I do not annoy the weekenders and boaters. :eek:
 
When I bought my 686 in 1986 I also bought a box of 50 .357 cartridges at the same time. That box still has about 40 rounds left in it. I guess I'm just a puss, nearly everything I've put through the gun has been .38 SPL.
Once upon a time my wife shot it with a .357 round, she screamed and handed it back to me saying "I never want to see that thing again".

It is however in my bed stand loaded with .357s
 
Always gets a few looks at the range.
Click to expand...

I always shoot .357 Magnum ammo at my indoor range, and I always get one or two coming up to ask what I'm shooting, and I love it. Of course I always use both ear plugs and muffs.

As most are shooting bottom feeders, if they are polite, I'll ask if they want to put six through it? Some are willing and others not so much.
 
At least......

2hawk said:
Yep. We live in non-magnum times.

Good on you for showing 'em how it's done!
Click to expand...

At least nowadays every rifle cartridge doesn't have to be 'belted'.

I was in the indoor range with my .357 and I heard a few rumblings from the crowd which I thought kind of funny. I didn't shoot it a whole lot though because I don't like being obnoxious. .357s are much better outside where the sound can spread out and echo through the trees.
 
I would NOT......

DDDWho said:
When I bought my 686 in 1986 I also bought a box of 50 .357 cartridges at the same time. That box still has about 40 rounds left in it. I guess I'm just a puss, nearly everything I've put through the gun has been .38 SPL.
Once upon a time my wife shot it with a .357 round, she screamed and handed it back to me saying "I never want to see that thing again".

It is however in my bed stand loaded with .357s
Click to expand...

LOL I would not fire a .357 in the house and prefer hot .38+Ps for HD. We are musicians and value our hearing.
 
I do find it puzzling to read on the net about the terrible recoil of the 357 mag, even in service sized revolvers.
When I owned a 2.5" Model 19, I shot it all the time with magnas and a T-grip...no problem.
Yesterday, I was shooting my 3" GP100. For a while, I watched another club member shoot a 6" Model 28 at 7yds...he was using his range bag for a rest off the bench and was complaining that his shots were all over the paper from the recoil. As I watched him shoot, I noticed his grip...he was holding the grip at least an inch down from the recoil shoulder at the top of the frame, the barrel was really flipping!
I didn't know him, so I didn't give him any pointers. Meanwhile, I was shooting smaller groups, standing offhand at 25yds with my fixed sight 3" Ruger! Even at 7yds, rapid fire DA, I did better.
I have 38's to shoot, my 357 will rarely see any. I really like shooting it.
 
Nothing like shooting .357 mags using W296 powder in a low light indoor range. Not so much the noise but the fireball is what gets noticed. :)
 
I did my my last LEOSA qual with 2 guns, a G33 (.357 Sig), and M58 S&W. Since lead loads are prohibited on this indoor range, I had to use full power Gold Dot .41s in the M58. A certain number of indelicate comments were sent my way, and then I used the .41! :D
 
I've been seeing a good supply of off the shelf magnums at a couple of gun shops. None at the sporting good stores. One gun shop even had no limit on quantity. Also been seeing a lot of ammo for sale in the newspaper classifieds. Interesting. Yes, I also enjoy the nice healthy skull massaging pop of a magnum and it's destructive force on a bottle of soda or similar 'household item' targets...
 
No Wimps...

amd6547 said:
I do find it puzzling to read on the net about the terrible recoil of the 357 mag, even in service sized revolvers...
Click to expand...

As do I.

It's just a darn gun. Hang on to the thing and feel the power you're unleashing, I always say. It's not THAT monsterous. And I'm an old geezer with an arm injury and a bad back.

Of course some suggest starting new shooters with an airsoft, then a BB gun, then a 22, then primer only 38s etc.

Heck, shoot the darn thing. Heat that barrel up and it's easier to clean..:D


Sgt Lumpy
 
Not a 357 mag, but. A few years ago I took my 629-4 with the factory port on top of the BBL to check zero for deer season.

They had just put up a sign that said "NO 50 CAL REVOLVERS!"

After the 2nd shot one of the range officers was tapping me on the shoulder pointing at the new sign. I pulled a 44 Mag round out and handed it to him. He said shoot it this time but don't bring it back. I took it back every time after that. No one tapped me on the shoulder.
 
Hillbilly77 said:
I heart .357 Magnum.
Click to expand...

Could'nt have said it better than Hillbilly
And Oldbear hits it right on the head as
well. When i am shooting at my local outdoor
range if someone shows interest and is polite
i too will offer to let them shoot a cylinder full
thru one of my .357's. I've had a couple of takers
including a gent and his wife who we're shooting
a Saiga 7.62x39 rifle at the nearby 50 yard range.
I like to share the great feel and actions on my
old Smiths. Most people really enjoy them once
they shoot them.
I also don't believe the .357 mag loading to be
un-manageable at all. A fairly mid-range recoil
thats not at all hard to handle.

Chuck
 
Having been on a .44 lead bullet load development binge over the past few months, the .357s I shot out of a 686 last week seemed like a whole lot of nothing! If it weren't for the racket, it would have been like shooting a .22. Fortunately, it's an outdoor range that is very little used on weekday mornings where most of the trigger pulling is done. Haven't shot closer than 25 yards much at all this year, mostly because it encourages expenditures of way too much ammo...

2013-03-08jmoorestuff001_zps287c4c8e.jpg

Old photo, but it's a favorite spot!
 
I was at an indoor range once with my 2 1/2" Model 19, we were given Lane 1 to use, which is all the way to the left, against the wall of the range. After we were done shooting the guy that I was sharing the lane with told me that while I was firing the Model 19 he noticed the other shooters stopping and looking our direction with a "What the heck is that guy shooting?!?" look on their faces. I replied "Yeah, these short barreled magnums have a thump to them." Which to me, for the first and only time, naming a firearm, I now refer to it as 'Thumper'.
 
I can relate to the 20 something year old's reaction. When I take my long barrel"obstolete" revolvers to the range, and start sitting up "gong" targets at 100 yards, it gets a few looks from the springs and plastic gang. When I start shooting and ringing them it gets a lot more looks. A few have ask if they can try my hand cannons, and I let them have a go at it. A couple now have purchased "old" guns and are getting better every time I see them shoot. :)
 
rwsmith said:
LOL I would not fire a .357 in the house and prefer hot .38+Ps for HD. We are musicians and value our hearing.
Click to expand...

I keep a set of electronic ear muffs by my bed stocked with fresh batteries. If I feel the need to get the gun from the safe I put the muffs on. I am not a musician but I still value my hearing. And the gun is loaded with standard pressure 38s. I have shot inside enough to know that even the 38s will blow your eardrums out.
 
I got put on a lane recently next to a group of young ladies getting familiar with firearms handling. Everyone was shooting .22 LR. No one complained after a box of 9mm through a 6906. Nor was anything said after a box of .38 through the little J frame. But after one cylinder of .44 mag through the PC 629 UDR, the range master hollered 'cease fire'. I looked around and had about 8 women glaring at me like I had just kicked a puppy.
 
You guys are killing me. I sold my snub .357 years ago and have missed it ever since. I've been looking for a quality Model 19 snub to snap up, but have yet to find one at a reasonable price. Love the .357.
 
I was shooting some Federal 357B .357 Magnums from a S&W 686 2.5" at a local indoor range. The guy in the lane next to me came over, tapped me on the shoulder, and said that I was hurting his ears. I recommended that he ask for a lane further down. He packed up his stuff and went out to talk to the rangemaster, then left. When I was done shooting the rangemaster told me that the guy came to him and said my gun was too loud and he would have to leave if I continued shooting it in there. He told the guy that the gun was supposed to be loud, it is a .357 Magnum. Been shooting .357 Magnums since the early 70's and just can't stop.
 
Last time I was at an indoor range I took my model 19 and my model 29. The model 19 didn't draw too much attention, but the model 29 had them all wondering what I was shooting.
 
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