Sometimes I Wish I was a 357 Mag Kind of Guy

[NE450No2]

When I was a kid I used to read my Dads hunting magazines.

One of my favorite adds was the Smith & Wesson add for the Model 19.
It showed one with a 6" barrel.

It told of the Target accuracy with 38 Wadcutters, personal protection with 38 or 357 Mag loads, and its Hunting capability with 357 Mags.

I knew when I "grew up" I would have to have one...

Well "things" happened. The first centirefire rifle I bought was the Ruger 44 Mag Deerstalker. Bill Ruger's adds on him using it in Uganda were in those same magazines.
My first handgun was a S&W Mod 41, my second was an accurized 1911 in 45 ACP, and my third was a 44 Mag, bought when I graduated High School, because I still had the 44 Mag rifle...

So I sorta skipped the 357 Mag, early on.

Oh, I have owned a bunch of them. A Colt Trooper, 3 Pythons, 2.5", 4", and 6" Mod 19's, 4" and 6" Mod 66's, 4" Mod 28, 6" Mod 27, 8 3/8's Mod 27...

Back in those days the 357 Mag was very popular.

However, I do not know why I bought them, while I shot them some, I always prefered the 44 Mags, or the 45 ACP Smith Revolvers.

Now the 357's I had were all great guns.

One of my favorites is the 2 1/2" Mod 19. It is one of the "coolest" looking S&W revolvers ever. [I think the "Coolest" is the 3 1/2" Mod 27, also a 357 Mag!!!] I bought the one I have, to shoot in Snub Nosed matches. I got lucky as it shoots as good at 25 yards as my custom PPC guns did, it is scary accurate...

I even carried it, along with two other handguns, one being a 1911, when I was working a robbery decoy problem.

I really like this gun, but I just cannot carry any gun as a primary, with a bore, less than 44...

Which is a pity, because the 357, with the right loads has a great reputation as a stopper, and a lot of big game has been killed with it as well.

And S&W makes more different kinds, more different frame sizes in 357 Mag than any other calibre... You can get one in a 5 shot "J" frame...

And NOW they make 8 shot 357 Mags...

While as much as I like the 44's and the 45's I would never tell any one that the 357 Mag is a wrong choice, and an 8 shot 357 Mag has a LOT to recommend it.

I just cannot personally go there... I have been a big bore kind of guy just too long.

 

[M29since14]

As much as I like the Combat Magnum, it is not a real fun gun to shoot with full-charge .357s, and if I am going to carry around more iron, I prefer to have a 44. So I guess my experiences have been similar to yours.

There was one time when I defaulted to the .357. I remember taking my 19 on a canoe trip when I wanted to take a couple hundred rounds of ammunition with me. I didn't want to carry the weight of that much 44 ammunition, but other than that, I have always preferred to have my Model 29 along.

 

[stantheman86]

I guess we are the sum of our experiences

The first revolver I ever fired was my Dad's 6" 586 that he bought brand new in 1989 (we still have it!). When I was a 10 year old kid firing a .357 was probably the neatest thing in the world, especially at the indoor range, when everyone had their wondernines and we were touching off hot .357's That gorgeous blue and the wood target grips, it was just plain cool, and it still is!

The vast majority of my revolver collection is .38 and .357 revolvers, although I do have a 6.5" 29 and a .44 Ruger Redhawk. The big bores are awesome too, but I keep coming back to those .357's.

Even as a kid I always loved "those old .38 revolvers" like the Colt Police Positive and the S&W M&P, I didn't know what they were then but even to this day I love the classic look of a Model 10 4" taper barrel....... I guess I will always be a .38 and a .357 guy

 

[6GUNSONLY]

I can identify - my first handgun was an old model Ruger 7 1/2" in .45 Colt which I handloaded with 255 gr. SWCs at 1200 fps. My longest-owned gun now is my 6 1/2" M-29-2. On the other hand, I've always been drawn to the more compact size of the K-frame .357s and the powder/lead efficiency of the .357 cartridge. So now I have both, and enjoy them all. Tempts one to go down the path of the old "if you could only have one handgun" discussion...

 

[semperfi71]

For me there's a certain "thing" about the .357 Magnum.

Maybe its the history of it. Or the writings of Skeeter Skelton. Or its versatility.

Perhaps the "niche" of it, as I consider it the ".30-30" of handgun cartridges. It will kill some large game with well placed shots, and it is definitely a proven self-defense round.

I look at my N-Frame .41s, .44s, and .45 (I only own one) and think of not needing an N-Frame .357 Magnum but then I cannot see getting rid of my M27s and M28s.

If I lived in a place like Alaska with the possibility of meeting really big, mean bears in the woods there's no question, the .357s would never go anywhere except the range.

If I were an LEO and could carry what I wanted it would be a .41 or .44.

But I just cannot see life without K, L, and N-Frame S&W .357 Magnums.

 

[Bat Guano]

Much as I like big bores (I grew up reading Elmer) I really like the .357. I had a lot of faith in a medium frame .357 when working. I had that old gun out yesterday and it was like the Finger of God, hitting everything I aimed at.

Thank God I don't have to carry one of those soul-less polymer wonder guns they issue out en masse nowadays.

 

[Revolver-time]

I can really relate to the OP. I still own many 357s. If I add them up I think about eight or so. They don't get shot much at all anymore. But the 44s and 45s get to the range every week . And I notice my reloading supplies for the 38/357s are getting a bit aged. I think I still have a full box of Super Vel 357s somewhere. I am always torn, if I should hold on to them for the wife to sell when I am gone or sell/trade the mid-bore stuff off for big bores that I will shoot now. In the safe is a 27-2, nickel, 8 3/8 that will stay with it's model 57 and model 29 bigger brothers but the 19-3, 6" might be the first to go.

 

[steamloco76]

I have a pretty decent collection of S&W, Ruger and Dan Wesson .357 Mags along with .38 Special models from the first two. I've always liked the 36 caliber magnums and still do. Within the past year I picked up two .45 ACP Smith revolvers and guess what? Those two have become range favorites making some of my .357's become safe queens. Big bores are fun to shoot.

 

[stantheman86]

I'll have to admit it's fun to put huge holes in the paper with a .44 or .45

 

[M29since14]

...but the 19-3, 6" might be the first to go.

Say it ain't so!

I have always thought that, of all the variations of the K-frame magnums, the 6-inch gun was far and away the most useful. Short-barreled .357s have never made any sense, and even the 4-inch gun is a bit uncomfortable if shot very much. A 6-incher gives you the best of everything (sight radius, recoil reduction, increased ballistic performance, slightly less racket) and it is still a very trim and handy sixgun compared to hauling around a Model 29.

 

[stantheman86]

I still say S&W should make the "Classic" Model 15 into a "Classic" Model 19!

 

[petitelady]

.357 is just right for me

There is a lot of good stuff on this thread. IMHO, the .357 is just right for me. I'm a petite female and love to shoot my S&W 2 1/8" barrel 640-1 Centenniel J-frame 5 shot and also my Colt Python 6" .357 but the latter is too large to conceal on my frame. My only other option is a Bersa 380 (semi-auto) I picked up but have not yet fired. I don't think I could handle anything larger than a .357 at my size and strength level. I like the stainless frames on my .357's and I'm a little shy on semi-autos due to lack of experience with them. I bought my Colt in 1988 and my Smith&Wesson in 1996 so I have shot them a lot and I know they are not going to jam on me. A .357 might be a good choice for some other ladies. Thanks for an interesting topic.

 

[NE450No2]

Many years ago the iddue gun for my job was a S&W Mod 15, and then later a Mod 64. Issue ammo was the Winchester 158 gr Lead HP SWC.
Over the years it actually worked pretty good in actual shootings.

I carried my blue 4" Mod 29 day one out of the academy.

After I had been on the street a while I learned that some of the "Old Heads", had had their Mod 15's reamed out for 357 Magnum.

They sorta kept it, "Don't Ask Don't Tell"...

I they never had any problems as far as I knew, but they did not shoot many magnums in their guns either.

 

[NE450No2]

Say it ain't so!

I have always thought that, of all the variations of the K-frame magnums, the 6-inch gun was far and away the most useful. Short-barreled .357s have never made any sense, and even the 4-inch gun is a bit uncomfortable if shot very much. A 6-incher gives you the best of everything (sight radius, recoil reduction, increased ballistic performance, slightly less racket) and it is still a very trim and handy sixgun compared to hauling around a Model 29.

If I was going to start to shoot a bunch of 38 Specials, or 357 Magnums I think I would get another Mod 27, as it would fit all my other N frame holsters, an d the speed loaders would fir my same speed loaders too.

However like you I thing the 6" 19 or 66 would make a great field carry gun for a 357 Mag.
Also I still really like a 2 1/2" Mod 19.

 

[ScottJ]

I started out a .38 guy with an old M&P, moved to .357 when I deemed myself ready and .44 after that because I liked the power.

But I've always owned at least one .357 after I bought that 686 I later traded for the 629.

I currenly own 3 and I've sort of re-discovered the caliber lately.

 

[roaddog28]

This is a interesting thread. I am very fond of revolvers. Never been a hard core semi-auto person. I started with a H&R 9 shot 22LR revolver. I then graduated to a Ruger Mark I and then started with a 38 special 4 inch revolver. I never could afford a S&W or a Colt. I went for years with cheap revolvers until I ran across a Ruger Police Service Six 357 magnum which I still own. I now have loads of S&W revolvers. While I love looking at the larger caliber revolvers I don't reload so its costly to shoot them. I do shoot a fair amount of 357 magnums but frankly I am not as good at shooting them versus the 38 special. And because I am small and have small hands my best revolvers for me are all my K frames and my old Ruger Police Service Six. I have L frames, GP100 and even a Blackhawk but they stay in the safe more than my K frames and my Service Six. I am a average shooter at best and my model 10, 13, 19 66 and Ruger Service Six are the ones I shoot the best.
I have no recommends for the OP but I guess what I am saying is buy the revolver that you feel you shoot the best.
Regards,
Howard