S&W .357 Magnum N-Frame was kept alive as a Hunting gun?

[Doug.38PR]

I was watching the History channel, Modern Marvels, a while back and it was discussing the history of the .357 Magnum. Originally designed with the intention of being a police weapon, it didn't sell well due to it's price and heavy frame. While some police liked it and some departments adopted it (with the first one given to J. Edgar Hoover himself), most police stuck with the Colt or S&W .38 Special service revolver.

According to HC, where the .357 Magnum DID find favor was with big game hunters both in the states and in Africa. Pictures were shown of big game owners posing over their dead catch with a 6 inch .357 Magnum N-Frame in hand. A letter was read by a Catholic missionary in Alaska who related that some of his Eskimo parish members used a .357 Magnum, in three shots, to kill a 800 pound walrus.

While the .357 Magnum is, to me anyway, a hand cannon with it's power, to a lot of people these days, the thought of it being used as a defense weapon against big game, much less hunting big game sounds ridiculous since most people opt for the more powerful .44 Magnum, .454 Casull, S&W 500 loads. Still, from the time of it's creation in 1935 to 1955 the .357 Magnum enjoyed being the most powerful cartridge loading handgun in the world.

It has been suggested by some, that the .357 Magnum of today, is nothing compared to what it was 40 years ago.

Anybody else have anything to add to this. Any other stories or information?
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[mtime7]

don't have alot to add, but I live in Alaska and when I go in the woods I am carrying a 357

 

[Frank46]

Somewhere I read that when the 357 mag was first loaded the pressure rating was about 45,000psi. Then over years it was subsequently downloaded to its present level of about 35,000 psi. Wish I could provide sources for the above info but the old memory banks are not what they used to be. So if the above is correct than the 357 mag was a real power house in its day. Frank

 

[usm1rifle]

Frank, I believe you are correct.

Most of the current crop of 357s run 1250-1300fps for 158 grainers.

You can still find "real" .357 Magnums - Buffalo Bore sells a 158g running at 1475. The recoil difference is impressive.

 

[gkitch]

I would fundamentally disagree with the HC based on what it THINK I know:
-The first 357 that went to Hoover had an 8 3/4" bbl. I once read that S&W thought that the vast majority of the RMs would sell with the longest bbl, indicating they predicted it would sell primarily to afficianadoes who were hunters and target shooters, with the LE crowd forming as a secondary market. Major Wesson went on many hunting trips with the 357.
-S&W certainly intended the 357 to be a LE Cartridge, but I do not think they expected the actual demand. Lots of serious professionals just had to have one, but the limited availability of the guns and the ammo was the biggest problem. OF COURSE most stuck with their 38s....they had no choice due to both funding constraints and availabilty of the ammo and the product itself. Many cops of the day wanted a 357 baddly, yet had never as much as seen one up close.
-The 357 was an improvement of sorts to their already popular Heavy Duty. I THINK the HD sales was primary to sportsmen rather than LE?

 

[David LaPell]

I think the reason that .357 Magnum's are not what they are used to be, well, look at those little J frame revolvers. Imagine trying to hold on to one of those with the old loads? I know alot of the reloading is different too, I have some of the old loading manuals from the 1950's, when at the time the only couple of guns were the N frames and the Rugers. I don't think the Model 19 had been out for more a year or two. Those loads were very hot.

 

[Art Doc]

Well, they made something like 6,000 RMs right? I know a lot of them went to cops and there is advertising from the period touting the gun for LE use, but any idea what percentage went into LE?

But Doug Wesson took his afield and published stories of hunting success with the new caliber.

Of course S&W is in the business of selling guns so they are happy with any legal use the buyers dream up.

As a cop gun I'm sure there were those who didn't care for the big N frame and the heavier recoil compared to the 38s most cops carried. I bet the RM was not popular in big eastern city PDs where most cops had never touched a gun until they were in the police academy. In other areas where most young men had shot and hunted while growing up the big gun probably found more acceptance.

 

[gkitch]

The Kansas City PD bought a bunch of 3.5" RMs (or post RMs, can't remember) and issued same.
Several FBI agents bought and used them...continueing to do so for years. Walter Walsh has a 3.5" he carried in the day and FBI Chief Firearms Instructor George Zinn had a beloved 4" with which his skill was legendary.
Skeeter Skelton longed for a 3.5" (post-war) but located and bought a 5" when he was a young Border Partol Agent. He became quite fond of the 5" and later rated it the perfect length for LE use. Hand-loaded his 357s in 38 Special casings because of the rarity and expense of 357 brass.

I'd say the N-frame 357 was extremely popular with LE professionals until lighter options became readily available by the late 50s. As the K-frame 357, Colts, and Rugers made their way into LE holsters, the popularity of the N-frame declined accordingly. It was at this point that the obvious M-27 market would logically shift to the sportsman.

 

[DGNY]

.357 Mag as Hunting Gun?

Disclaimer - I lost my desire to hunt years ago. But a powerful .357 load in a largish frame [e.g.: S&W N or L or Ruger BH/RH/GP/Sec] is OK, or so goes the story, for game [that doesn't fight back] up to maybe 150 pounds. Not including anything adrenalized.

The early users were sometimes grandiose, through belief of the marketing hype or a different standard of hunting morality or both.

The later introduction of .44 Mag and legions of others .40 and up, firing 200-700 grain bullets from 900 - 1900 fps, cinched its Big Game eclipse, along with the gradual industry drift to less fire breathing loads.

I still love the cartridge and prefer it for shooting to .40 and up rounds. Old hands and ears will do that to a guy.

Regards,

Dyson

 

[Doug.38PR]

as someone with a 6 inch N frame Highway Patrolman (made in the 70s) i'd be interested in making some latter day hot (safe) handloads for it