I'm old and apparently a wuss too.

[gwpercle]

Age earns you some extra privileges on your man card .
You can shoot 38 special and no points will be deducted .

Most of my shooting now days is Special Loads
Just keep shooting ...that's all that counts !
Gary

 

[pistolpete10]

I have a couple airweight 642 revolvers, after shooting the 642, I've no desire for an airweight .357, it ain't gonna be fun. The 642 is fun butn it ain't a lot of fun.

 

[gen3guy]

That 640 was originally chambered in .38 Special only when it first came out. Give Smith & Wesson time. They'll figure out a way to stuff 3 .44 Magnums in that J frame.

 

[just_jon]

I bought a 640-1 the year they came out. Only took 5 full power 357 rounds to convert me to 38 Specials. Down loading allowed me to go back to the old school wood grips which makes pocket carry easier.

 

[ContinentalOp]

Give Smith & Wesson time. They'll figure out a way to stuff 3 .44 Magnums in that J frame.

 

[ContinentalOp]

I freely admit I'm not a fan of recoil. I can shoot a limited amount of +P through my 642 without too much difficulty. Too much, and I'm icing my hand for a couple of days.

I once fired 5 rounds of Buffalo Bore's +P FBI load, which is like .38 Special +P+ or even low-end .357 Magnum power levels, through my 642. My first thought after was, "Well, I'm never doing THAT again!"

To me, increased blast, flash, and recoil outweigh any advantage the increase in power to full-strength .357 Magnum may have, especially in a lightweight snub.

There are light and mid-range loads available. I've used the Gold Dot SB-GDHP in .357 Magnum in a 3" 65. I might consider trying that in a steel J-frame. I was also fond of Winchester's 110gr SJHP, which was ballistically similar to 9mm 115gr +P, IIRC. That might be worth trying, though I know in some of the scandium snubs there are bullet weight restrictions. Should be fine in a steel J-frame.

Back when I used to read gun magazines, I remember one article by John Taffin. He's known for shooting lots of heavy-hitting, hard-recoiling guns. In this article, IIRC, he said he had started experiencing nerve issues in his hands from all the magnum shooting he'd done. Something to think about.

And, finally, some words of wisdom...

 

[BillyMagg]

357 Designed around the N Frame

.357 ammo is not for the faint of heart. I much prefer to shoot .38 special and enjoy my time at the range.

We should remember that the 357 was designed around the 44 frame, first the hot little 38 Heavy Duty, 38/44, and later as the Reg Mag, on to the 357 Magnum....

So it was intended to be potent, kinda like the 4 inch Model 29...

 

[RGNewell]

I too will be 70 in Sept. I carry a 640 Pro in an ankle holster. I carry .357 loads, but I bought some Federal Premium 130 grain Hyra-Shok. Package says "Low Recoil" (They Lie) they kick pretty tough in a 5" 27. I fired 5 rounds with the S & W rubber boot grips rapid fire. It took 1 second between rounds. It now wears factory wood smooth target grips. Much better. Still a bear, but manageable.

 

[Wood & Steel]

The way I see it is that in a real life, intensely stressful defensive scenario you probably won't be too concerned about the recoil, flash and noise of a .357mag. Many people who've been involved in gun fights have stated that in the heat of the moment they can't even remember feeling any recoil or hearing the sound of their own gun firing.

I understand that you can't fool physics and that follow up shots with .357mag may still be more difficult depending on the gun but severe stress is a great motivator to do super human things and with .357mag you are equipped with a round that has the best track record as a man-stopper out of all the common handgun calibers. I don't have the link on me now but I know there were studies conducted back in the day when LEO's were still carrying full sized revolvers as duty weapons that showed .357mag outperformed everything else, even the .45acp.

And for those who think that a .357mag out of a snubnose loses a great deal of power and velocity and becomes the mere equivalent of a .38spl+P, that is pure hogwash. I have seen a handful of ballistics and velocity tests that prove otherwise. In fact, you would have to move all the way up to a full size 9mm pistol shooting a +P load to equal the velocity of a .357mag out of a snubnose. That's not just a minor difference, that is a big difference.

While I agree that anyone who actually enjoys shooting full power .357mags out of any lightweight, aluminum snubby must be a sado-masochist at heart, I don't think that it's asking too much to occasionally shoot .357mag out of a full steel frame snubby like an SP-101 or S&W 640 if you're an otherwise healthy adult. After all, what's the point of having the option if you're afraid to use it?

 

[RGNewell]

Heard that

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[JayFramer]

Recovery techniques and active recoil compensation will help a great deal.

Why even own a 640 if all you're going to fire are .38s? That's like buying a giant V8 supercharged and putting a governor on it.

 

[RGNewell]

Agreed. I only shoot 357s

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[Oaktree45]

So shooting .357's through the 640 was even more punishing than I thought. My Fitbit no longer has the correct time and won't sync with my phone. I did all the troubleshooting for the Fitbit I could find online and I've come to the conclusion the Bluetooth is toast. Oh well, Father's Day is coming up so I guess I'll be getting a new one.

 

[ContinentalOp]

So shooting .357's through the 640 was even more punishing than I thought. My Fitbit no longer has the correct time and won't sync with my phone. I did all the troubleshooting for the Fitbit I could find online and I've come to the conclusion the Bluetooth is toast. Oh well, Father's Day is coming up so I guess I'll be getting a new one.

Sorry for your loss, but it makes me glad I only use a G-Shock wristwatch.

 

[DonD]

The most miserable shooting experience I have ever had was running 5 357 rounds through a 360PD. It was like someone hitting me in the palm with a baseball bat. The only gun that I have ever run one cylinder full through and then sold.

I feel your pain.

S&W will admit that the scandium revolvers using .357 ammo are harder on shooters than the 500 Mags.

Shooting full snort .357s out of my Ruger SP101 is harder on my hand than heavy 500 Mags but not by any means equal in energy shoved into you. Don

 

[Buick]

Grip type/design has a great deal to with it. Its flat out amazing how different the perceived recoil is between the J frame and a Ruger SP101.

 

[BAM-BAM]

[FONT=&quot]One of the guns I inherited from my brother was a S&W model 640-1with 2 inch barrel 357 Magnum and aftermarket laser grips. I've had this gun for quite a long time and today I finally made time to shoot the gun. I shot .38 Specials first and was impressed with the accuracy. I then loaded it with .357 Magnums. Holy ****, the kick was brutal. Shooting .357's was not fun at all, it was more like a punishment. After 5 rounds I went back to shooting .38 specials.
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[FONT=&quot]View attachment 453389[/FONT]

General reaction...... just cus you can...... doesn't mean you should!

 

[steelslaver]

I have a 640-1357 mag and so far I have not felt excess pain from firing 357s in it. Simply because I don't.

I have K, and N frame 357s, they are OK

I have steel N frame 41, 44 and 45s, they are all fine

My 696 isn't bad, my 396 and 296 you can feel, but with the Goodyear type grips that cover the back strap they are OK.

But, the gun that really hurt was my 325 with round butt wood stock. Hey, it was just 2 much. A set of recoil tamers with rubber over the back strap and I can handle them. Huge difference. Wood on a scandium big bore NOPE

I got big hands and have used them hard, sledge hammers, big impact guns, jack hammers, hot and heavy stuff. Commercial fishing I got so I could pick up a red jelly fish bare handed and throw it over the side. Point, I got some tuff hand. But, some guns are just p,lain painful to fire. I enjoy shooting. Why should I make it painful. I practice with my steel guns, I shoot a couple cylinders through my scandium carry guns every month.If the time comes I really need it, the recoil isn't going to a problem, but I am not going to abuse myself with them either.

Carry a lot, shoot a little.

 

[ContinentalOp]

I got big hands and have used them hard, sledge hammers, big impact guns, jack hammers, hot and heavy stuff. Commercial fishing I got so I could pick up a red jelly fish bare handed and throw it over the side. Point, I got some tuff hand. But, some guns are just p,lain painful to fire. I enjoy shooting. Why should I make it painful. I practice with my steel guns, I shoot a couple cylinders through my scandium carry guns every month.If the time comes I really need it, the recoil isn't going to a problem, but I am not going to abuse myself with them either.

Carry a lot, shoot a little.

Good points. People don't have the same hands, or used their hands the same way, so they're going to handle recoil differently. Like I said, I'm not a fan of hard recoil. Probably the heaviest things I've had to lift on a regular basis were the plates I loaded with food at the all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet (just kidding...sort of...).

 

[pawncop]

Well sir, you are not a wuss. I carried a 640-1 as a second/backup gun starting in late 2015. The first time I qualified I shot .357 magnum rounds and after the course, my hand hurt for a good while. After that I had the stipulation when qualifying later I would use 38 special +P and that was the round I carried on duty.

.357 magnum is a beast in a 2 inch J frame revolver.