Most Accurate .357 Model?

[Suncoast]

Gotta toss a vote in for the original Colt M357. I have a few of these and they are consistently the most accurate of my big bore wheel guns. I had a four inch model at the range a few weeks ago and decided to mess around on the short (100 yard) rifle range. I was pretty consistently hitting a 1 foot pattern two handed without a rest.

And I am not all that good a shot Had to be the gun

 

[Jimmymac46]

If your concern is strictly accuracy, my vote goes to the 8 3/8" Model 27. These are shown as the top two in this grouping of Model 27-2s. The long sighting radius and patridge sights give you pinpoint sight alignment; the long barrel gives you velocity, and the weight gives you recoil control. Both of mine in this barrel length shoot like rifles way out to 200 yards. The 8 3/8" Model 27 is without a doubt the "top gun" in any practical accuracy contest.

The top gun in the picture was used to illustrate an article on the Model 27 I wrote for the March 2008 issue of Dillon's Blue Press catalog/magazine. Here's the link to that article. Scroll down to the March, 2008 issue and click on pages 1 and 2 of that article on Classic Handguns.

Dillon Precision: Reloaders, Reloading Equipment, Bullet Reloading, Bullet Reloaders

I have both a 27-2 8 3/8 (purchased new in mid the mid 1970's) and a 686 8 3/8 (new in early 90's). I am traveling now, but at the earliest oportunity I will shoot them side by side and make a very informal evaluation of which is more accurate. Each has the equal sight radius, very similar weight and the partridge front sight. Wish I had a Ransom Rest to negate my inconsistance due to older, weaker eyes, but each gun will suffer the same disadvantage. My travels will delay this event until spring of next year in all probablility, but I will get to it at some point.

I do believe the 686 will prove to be the better of the two, but not by much of a margin. Will be a fun event regardless of the out come.

 

[TDC]

I'm an old coot and a newbie here who's shot them all. I still own most of them... and all of the ones I'm listing..

If you shoot hot handloads at targets all the time buy an 8 3/8 Mod.27/627.

I you shoot hot loads frequently and want an tough and comfortable hip carry pistol buy a Mod. 586/686 6".

If you want a concealed carry pistol buy a Mod. 19/66 2 1/2".

If you want one all-around compromise buy a Mod.27 5"

Better yet, buy one of each. You wouldn't regret any of them.

 

[N_itis]

I firmly believe that the M28 is the best all around .357 Magnum ever made. However, if accuracy is the goal, I would opt for a M27; the older and the longer the barrel (sight radius), the better (so, an 8.75" barreled Registered Magnum would be ideal). I also prefer the wider "target" trigger, which is usually accompanied by the wider "target" hammer, and a patridge type front sight for "precision" single action shooting.

I have not tried shooting out to 100 yards+, but I shoot my 3.5" barreled M27 with the aformentioned "target" setup noticably better than my M28s at "pistol ranges" and have no reason to expect any different at longer ranges.

 

[BUFF]

At one point in the early 1980's, a buddy and I owned half each of a Ransom Rest and a good chronograph. We set out to find the best gun and ammo combination we could, from primarily an accuracy perspective. We shot the bolted-down revolvers at both 25 and 50 yards.

For ammo, we bought 148 grain hollow base wadcutter ammo from W-W, R-P and Federal and also assembled handloads using Speer, Hornaday and Remington-Peters swaged lead bullets of the same weight and design, only loaded by ourselves.

We also handloaded some 158 grain round nose and lead semiwadcutters into both Special and Magnum cases, and then as long as we were there, loaded some wadcutter bullets into Magnum cases with enough of the same powder to equal the velocities between the bigger and smaller case.

I decided to try some full power jacketed bullet ammo and handloads, too. I had several boxes of Federal 125 grain Magnums and Winchester 145 grain Silvertips. I handloaded some Sierra 158 grain jacketed soft points into both Special and Magnum cases using powder charges that duplicated the ammo factories' products.

For guns, we had 2 K frame revolvers, a Model 10 and a Model 15, that had been converted into PPC guns, with very heavy barrels and top ribs with multi-position, quick-adjust front sights. We had a couple pair of 6" Model 66's, a 6" Model 19, 2 6" M-14's, a 6 inch Ruger Security-Six, a 6 inch Highway Patrolman and 8 or more Model 27's, one a Registered Magnum, with barrels running from 5 inchs through 6 and 6-1/2 inches, one 7-1/2 incher (the Registered Mag) and 2 8-3/8 inchers. My partner had his Colt Python (6) and a Trooper (also a 6 inch).

Several of the guns were near twins. We expected to find some clear-cut trend, perhaps on make or model or even frame size to lead the accuracy testing, but we didn't.

Just about every gun bolted in and shot was top performer with one cartridge loading, or very very close to the top. No frame size dominated. No barrel length dominated.

The smallest 6 shot group was fired my my old 7-1/2 inch Registered Magnum with the handloaded Sierra 158 gr.jsp, very closely followed by the Winchester 145 gr. Silvertip

The absolutely smallest 5 shot group was fired by my 2 inch blued Cheifs Special shooting my cast 158 gr SWC or my Sierra 158 gr. JSP.

If I had to pick a single cartridge that shot the best in most of the guns, it was Federal's 125 gr jhp factory load fired from the Magnums. All of them, S&W K, L and N guns, the single Ruger and both Colts shot this very nicely.

The best wadcutter load was the factory Remington-Peters stuff, beating out the W-W and our Speer bullet handloads by an average of under 1/2 inch for 6 shots at 25 yards Oddly, the Ruger, the Colt Trooper and one 6-1/2 inch Model 27 routinely shot them into 3-4 inch groups, double the size of the better groups from other guns.

We repeated the test a month later with just .357 Mag revolvers and just Magnum ammo. We added 2-1/2 and 4 inch guns, a 7-1/2 inch Blackhawk and a 10 inch T/C Contender, mostly concerned with barrel length's affect on velocity. That is a whole nother story.

We concluded that it was impossible to predict which revolver was going to be consistently the most accurate. Couldn't do it by manufacturer, frame size or barrel length when bolted into the mechanical rest. They all had moments of excitement.

None of them were absolute dogs, though,

I wish that we would have had more L framers to shoot but they were new then and scarce.

Overall, the most generally accurate .357's (meaning they shot several loads very well) were all N frame S&W's with the exception of a 4 inch Model 19. I expected the Python to do better but it had had the original barrel broken and replaced and I believe the original barrel would have done better, from the little shooting I did before the Python's forcing cone let go.

In answer, I don't think you can predict which gun will shoot the most accurate for you. Find one that you can install grips that fit your hand and that has sights your eyes like. Spend some time leaning the trigger pull properties. Try several varieties of good ammo.

Off-hand, I would have chosen a Model 27 or 686 from the group we tested.

So you go buy the one you "take a shine to" that fits your hands and you will find that it will take tons of practice and possibly some professional training before you make that gun shoot up to it's full potential.

 

[Jimmymac46]

Buff- Very comprehensive testing. Makes my future informal 27/686 testing somewhat moot. Granted, you did not shoot any 'L' frames, but your firearm and ammo choices were well thought out. As you are clearly aware, no two guns of the same make, model or vintage will necessarily shoot the same. I believe this is even more evident in autos, but revolvers also vary from one another. Any opinion on which is the more accurate is entirely dependent on the owners prejudices, talents, and the guns compared.

I will confirm on my part, I enjoy shooting my 686 8 3/8 more than my previous favorite, my purchased new 27-2. Immediately after purchase, I removed the original ill fitting (IMO) target Goncolo Alves from the 686, replacing them with finger groove Hogues and never looked back. Additionally, to me, the 686 is heavier out front. These are the reasons why I shoot the 686 more often, enjoy it more and do better with it. Perhaps a set of Hogues on my 27 will change my view point to a degree.

Bottom line is that I highly favor muzzle heavy revolvers (and all hanguns for that matter) and the long barreled 686 is clearly that. My favorite 38 shooter is an old PPC revolver I had built back in the late 70's. It has a one inch diameter, slab sided, six inch Douglas barrel with a full length Bomar rib and it built on a 'K' framed, round butt model 19. It is extremely muzzle heavy and as a consequence, a pleasure to shoot.

In summary, I have about a dozen 'N' frames and only one "L', so my heart lies with the large frames and I will undoubtedly always favor the 'N's as the 'class' of Smith revolvers. But, this long barreled 'L' is certainly a shooter.

 

[roaddog28]

I own three Smith .357s, a 27, a 66, and a 686. Which is more accurate? It depends. On days when I shoot the 27 I'm certain it's the most accurate gun I own. Same thing when I shoot the 66. And, exactly the same when I shoot my 686. Bottom line: they're all far more accurate than I am and on those increasingly rare occasions when I'm having a really good day at the range each of them is capable of truly phenomenal accuracy.

Stevieboy is right. I have a 28 N frame, 686 L frame and a 66 K frame. All accurate. Usually the time there not accurate is usually because of me.
I would recommend any of the above. I don't recomend the new interlock 686,66 and 627.
roaddog28

 

[Joe in SC]

I've owned a bunch of 357 magnums over the past 34 years. The vast majority were S&W and most of them were n-frame. I have owned Ruger single and double action and one Colt Python other than the one I recently aquired.

Over the years I have owned 2 handguns that were inaccurate or totally unsuited to my off-hand style. One was a S&W pistol,a model 39 and the other was a new Python, circa 1975. I literally could not hit a 55 gallon drum at 50 yards with it. The Python went back to Colt, the dealer refunded my money and I promptly bought a new model 27.

All the numerous others were more accurate than my abilities to test them were. There have been a couple of standouts over the years. A friends 6'' Python with 148 grain target wadcutters was one. A 6'' S&W 686 was scarey accurate at 100 yards with 158 grain JHP's and a heavy dose of 110. A 6' model 19 was another and I used it to shoot in the high 290's several times with WW 38 wadcutters. All of my n-frames have been most excellant.

I have a Ransom rest now and intend to do some more meaningfull testing of 38/357 ammo in the near future. I will be comparing three different barrel lengths of model 27, my 6'' Python, a 6" model 28 and three different lengths of model 19. I suspect that I will find something very accurate in all revolvers to be tested.

I shoot almost 100% handloads. I cast all of my lead bullets and purchase a few jacketed bullets from various sources. I have found Sierra bullets to be well suited to my accuracy purposes and haven't felt the need to try other brands in several years. I do have one exception and that is the Hornady XTP. I load it for defensive purposes. I have never heard of an actual court case where reloaded ammo changed the outcome of a justified shooting. Just my 2pennies worth.