Can a 60-15 hold up to .357 abuse?

[AlwaysArmed]

I used to have a 686 and that thing was a tank.
I bought a Model 60-15 J-frame with adjustable sights for a CC revolver.
I'm going to the range today and put as many 125 grain .357 magnum rounds through it as I can stand to shoot.
What, if any, reliability issues should I look for?
Thanks.

 

[Inusuit]

You already called it abuse. I have no personal knowledge of the longevity of your revolver. It is obviously chambered and rated for .357. My guess is that you will wear out before the gun does. I don't understand, if you are concerned about "abuse" to your firearm, why you wouldn't shoot enough .357 to know what it like, then shoot .38 for practice and carry .357 for defense.

 

[Bastogne71]

If you are anything like me, you're going to wear out your shooting hand using 357's in a J frame long before you could put any significant wear on the revolver! Seriously, I don't think you need to be concerned about wear & tear on your M60.

Usually you will find me with a M640 Pro in a pocket holster, but sometimes I'll have its cousin, a M60 Pro on my belt. The M640 is better for concealed carry for me and the M60 is my GP light carry.

 

[MetalMan]

My 60-15 shoots great and has become my summertime CC of choice in a Milt Sparks VMII.

I mostly shoot .38's at the range but have put a few cylinders of .357's through it to get a feel for the recoil.

Based on my experiences, I prefer to CC the 60-15 loaded with .38+P and leave the .357 for my K-frames (19 and 66).

YMMV........

 

[petepeterson]

I imagine it will take a good bit, but it's probably not up to a Glock-type torture test with 180-gr BB loads.

I've put a few hundred full-house 158s through mine with no ill-effects.

 

[M29since14]

It's a tough little gun but it's still operating at .357 pressures. I agree you will probably lose interest before the gun misbehaves but I also wonder why you would shoot as many rounds as you can stand to fire... ? Are you conducting an endurance test or just trying to learn you new revolver, and if the latter, you can certainly do a lot of that with .38 Specials - and enjoy it more!

You will like it a lot more with 125 gr. magnums than with 158 gr. loads, but I have no idea how many of them the gun will stand up to before it needs a tune up. I'd guess a couple thousand, but it's just a guess. Keeping the gun clean will reduce wear and tear on the small parts of the action.

 

[AlwaysArmed]

Thanks everyone.
I like to put at least 100 rounds of carry ammo through a new weapon before I start carrying it.
I also want to adjust the sights if needed.
Thanks again.
PS-My main carry gun is a 642-1 with Golden Saber +P. It's a handful too with that ammo.

 

[petepeterson]

Thanks everyone.
I like to put at least 100 rounds of carry ammo through a new weapon before I start carrying it.
I also want to adjust the sights if needed.
Thanks again.
PS-My main carry gun is a 642-1 with Golden Saber +P. It's a handful too with that ammo.

I load mine with 145-gr Silvertips for CCW duty. Shotshells and 158-gr JSPs for outdoor activities.

You'll be fine running 100 through it, but that's usually unnecessary (and expensive) in a revolver. That's one of the perks of a wheelgun. You can be pretty sure most ammo will work fine in it. Just run enough to sight it in and get a feel for it.

I put a set of Pachmayr Compacs on my. For a little extra width, it makes a big difference in recoil absorption.

 

[Old cop]

Just be sure to double check all your frame screws to ensure thay are still snug. Some of my Js loosen up when shooting +P.

 

[BB57]

Thanks everyone.
I like to put at least 100 rounds of carry ammo through a new weapon before I start carrying it.
I also want to adjust the sights if needed.
Thanks again.
PS-My main carry gun is a 642-1 with Golden Saber +P. It's a handful too with that ammo.

I suspect the S&W engineers are relaying on the individual shooters' pain thresholds to limit the round count of .357 Magnum ammo put through a J magnum frame .357 Magnum.

-----

As for putting 100 rounds through a handgun before carrying it for personal protection, that is probably not enough for a semi-auto pistol, and it's probably more than is needed for a revolver.

If you're going to encounter problems with a revolver with a specific self defense, it'll be sooner rather than later.

You can also maximize some aspects of it, such as ensuring rounds do not start backing out of the case, by shooting 4 of the 5 rounds in your J-frame then reloading, and indexing so that the 5th round is again left unfired. Rinse and repeating until that one round has been exposed to the recoil of 15 and then repeating it with a couple more rounds will pretty much guarantee that the load isn't going to back out and jam the revolver.

You'll also want to check to ensure that your self defense load doesn't leave lots of unburned powder grains, one of which can get under an ejector star and prevent a reload if needed.

In a short barrel J frame (3" or less) .357 Magnum, the maximum loads of those slow burning powders that create this risk also tend to generate velocities about 100-150 fps less than a maximum load of a medium burn rate flake powder, so they offer no real world benefit. The faster burning flake powders won't get under the ejector star and create enough of a clearance problem to prevent a reload so it's a win-win in a J-frame .357.

----

The focus instead should be on a program of recurrent practice with your carry ammo - cycling it out of your carry rotation every time you go to the range (every week or month at the most) by expending it down range, along with a healthy amount of general practice with .38 Special.

 

[AlwaysArmed]

I put 50 125 grain .357 rounds through it today to get it sighted in at various distances. I ran out of time or I could have easily put another 50 through it.
That was after putting 50 .38 Special rounds through it.
This J frame is one of three I carry.
Thanks for the comments.

 

[Pete "J"]

60-15 Durability

ALwaysArmed,

I bought a 60-15 in Mar 2004 and kept careful records because I was concerned about wear. In Sept 2005, I made the mistake of having a local gunsmith work on the revolver and he screwed it up royally. Sent the gun back to S&W for a proper fix and they were very gracious about the situation. At the time I had 2615 rounds fired, mostly full power .357 factory loads with 125 grain projectiles.

In addition to reversing the gunsmith induced problems, the S&W gunsmith noticed erosion on the barrel which he fixed and turned it 1/20" to reset it to proper specifications. Charge was minimal, turnaround rapid.

In March 2011 at an additional 1548 .38 Special and 805 fullpower .357 rounds, the hammer block broke while I was on the range. Another trip to S&W, and they replaced it for free. Customer Service would have sent me the part to replace, but I opted for them to take it because I was wanted to make sure the side plate was OK. It was.

I now have a total of 1712 rounds .38 Special and 3886 rounds .357 Mag on this revolver and she is nice and tight with no further problems. I currently carry and shoot my 60-7 almost exclusively. Don't know how many thousands of rounds this one has put down range but have never had any issues.

After this experience (and other bad ones - I'm apparently a slow learner) I never use local gunsmiths for my handguns. I always go back to the parent company or in one case Cylinder and Slide and have had excellent results.

Good Shooting,

PJC

 

[H Richard]

Shooting any handgun with high intensity magnum loads "as many as I can stand" is a sure prescription for nerve damage in your wrist & hand and the development of a good flinch. Practice with 38's in that J Frame, and just enough 357's establish POA & POI.

 

[Stargater]

The Model 60 should have been given a different designation to distinguish it from the earlier .38 Spc model. It's an entirely different gun and was designed specifically to take the powerful .357 round.

The K-frame models were vulnerable primarily in the forcing cone, but in many cases also the frame. In the 80s I knew a fellow who wore out a blued Model 19 by shooting hot .357 loads. At just over 2,000 rounds, the gun seemed to be doing okay but it was significantly out of time. He put in a few new parts and again put a couple of thousand hot rounds through the gun. The forcing cone had significant wear and the gun was out of time, but he couldn't repair it because of frame stretch. These heavy rounds had actually stretched the frame out of alignment. He retired the gun for strictly .38 Spc use and then tried to wear out his new Ruger Security-Six. As far as I know, he's still trying!

There's something to be said for the Ruger's solid frame construction, but frankly I'd prefer to have a S&W 60 over a Ruger SP-101 because, for me, it's a classier pistol. Even so, because of cost and availability, I ended up with an SP-101. I think because of improvements in metallurgy and design, modern pistols are specifically designed to handle the heavier loads. So the Model 60 should do fine. I certainly haven't heard of any problems.



Ruger Speed-Six pictured with Ruger
SP-101. Neither is liable to fail with full
throttle loads.

.

 

[vmumford]

Thanks everyone.
I like to put at least 100 rounds of carry ammo through a new weapon before I start carrying it.
I also want to adjust the sights if needed.
Thanks again.
PS-My main carry gun is a 642-1 with Golden Saber +P. It's a handful too with that ammo.

I'm from the same scool of though. practice what you plan on shooting. Makes for better follow up shoots. Good man.

 

[mikesal34744]

My 60-15 shoots great and has become my summertime CC of choice in a Milt Sparks VMII.

I mostly shoot .38's at the range but have put a few cylinders of .357's through it to get a feel for the recoil.

Based on my experiences, I prefer to CC the 60-15 loaded with .38+P and leave the .357 for my K-frames (19 and 66).

YMMV........

What holster is that ?

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