bushmaster1313
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What year can it be said that the .357 Magnum became a relatively common chambering?
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When did .357 Magnum become “common”
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I'll play--------------------1955, counting only S&W; 1959-60 with Ruger in the game.
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Ralph Tremaine
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Ralph Tremaine
heeter3
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I carried a Python when I came on the job in 1974 and all the guys that came on before me from about 1964 on had them.Mostly Pythons but a nice mix of S and W K frames too,mainly 66s and19s.
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I'm going to say late 60's. By that time there was a decent installed base making them fairly common. Colt came out with a modernized design (Trooper MK III) and S&W was adding more variations. Ruger was cranking them out at a pretty good clip by then. The 70's is what I term "The Golden Age of Revolvers". You could make the case it lasted into the 80's.
Considering the fact that it came to light in 1935 I would think that it would have been pretty common by the late 40s or early 50s.
I'm going to say that the 357 Magnum craze started in the late 1960's. The late 60's and early 70's was a time of social unrest and increasing drug trafficking. I think it was about this time that many law enforcement agencies were looking for something more powerful than the old standard in law enforcement, the 38 Special. The 357 Magnum was an obvious choice as a 4 or 6 inch K-frame 357 would fit in duty holsters that were carrying 4 or 6 inch K-frame 38's and armorers would not need to be retrained as the lockwork was the same.
THE PILGRIM
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I’m going with after WWII.
The caliber was available in more Smith Models and more Brands- Colts, Rugers, etc.
The caliber was available in more Smith Models and more Brands- Colts, Rugers, etc.
Skeeter Skelton wrote about wanting one post WW2 and finding them very scarce. They were popular in the sense that many wanted one or more, just not to be found until the introduction of the Model 19.
THE PILGRIM
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Yes, I think the introduction of the Models 19 and 28 turned the Tide.
And you throw in some Colts and Rugers, 357s for everybody!
Have posted about my Elation in finding the Model 19 in Guam.
Special ordered, the buyer turned it down.
Why? Price increase from $95 to $105.
At that time I was stationed in Indiana and the only new Smiths I could find were 10s.
And you throw in some Colts and Rugers, 357s for everybody!
Have posted about my Elation in finding the Model 19 in Guam.
Special ordered, the buyer turned it down.
Why? Price increase from $95 to $105.
At that time I was stationed in Indiana and the only new Smiths I could find were 10s.
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Depends on what you think “common” means. The 357 came about in the 1930’s and was very strong until the trend switched to auto’s in the LE community but still remains an excellent cartridge.
I would say it was when Phil Sharpe took one to Africa and killed everything
that walked with an 8 3/8" mdl. 27.
that walked with an 8 3/8" mdl. 27.
I remember that the .357 was the Magnum in the early 60's. I bought a Ruger blackhawk and was leery about shooting it. Recoil was said to be ferocious. I had it in deer hunting came and the Guys were teasing Me about not wanting to get knocked on My butt in front of Them. So out it comes and a beer can was put on a log about 60 feet away and I shot at it. All I could do was think what a pipsqueak. Shot the remaining five and immediately sold it to one of the guys in camp. Never hit the can either. Bought a Blackhawk 44mag on return to town. Never looked back. Guy I sold it too still has it. I have owned maybe 4 .357's since then. I just remember that it was the 'it' cartridge back then.
fiasconva
Member
Wasn't it touted as the "car killer" at some time? I seem to remember reading that it was the powerful way to disable a car because it could destroy an engine block.
goldwinghg
Member
357 mag.
I would think it was in the early 50's.
I would think it was in the early 50's.
These were expensive prestige guns during the Depression, when many people were earning between five and ten cents an hour, if they were lucky enough to be working at all.
When the country started on the Eisenhower expansion years, and people had some money in their pockets, they could afford toys like these.
When the country started on the Eisenhower expansion years, and people had some money in their pockets, they could afford toys like these.
Ivan the Butcher
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I have about 1 1/2 boxes of Winchester "Metal Piercing" 38 Special with +P head stamps and about 8 357's of same. The 38 box specifies that they are only to be used in guns like the "Outdoorsman" The listed velocity is only 20 or 25 fps faster for 357's.
Nobody has volunteered to let me shoot their engine while driving towards me, so I don't know how well they kill cars!
My F-I-L's tests of 38's in the 1960's (for Columbus,Ohio PD) showed the FBI 158 LRN +P would go through Windshields consistently, ONLY AT 90 degrees to the glass; but from the ground they are at 45 degrees +/-! The Metal Piercing went through almost every time from any angle! I think today's windshields are less armor like than those boats from the 50's and 60's he was shooting.
Ivan
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I've never shot at an engine in a car driving toward me, but I have shot at a Jeep engine (4 cylinder inline) sitting on the ground. (I say an engine, it was a "short block" (the bottom half of the engine).) I shot at it with a .357 Magnum----don't remember what sort of ammunition, but very likely the regular, everyday .357 fare you get if you don't ask for something special. The bullet passed through the exterior of the block casting, through a cylinder wall, striking a piston, and splitting it. The bullet did not pass through the cylinder wall on the other side.
Ralph Tremaine
Ralph Tremaine
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I once took a .36 cal cap & ball and shot through both front doors of a 56 Ford.(junk yard) With the 357's much more horsepower I think it would crack an engine block. Blocks are thin with a water jacket between the outside and the inside where the oil is.
Jason Demond
Member
It would have been considered common when other manufactures started making guns chambered in .357. There would have been enough interest at that time in the round, that prompted the likes of Colt to make one, or Ruger.
How many gun makers make a gun chambered in .460 R, or 400 Corbon? Not enough to label them as common rounds to be sure.
How many gun makers make a gun chambered in .460 R, or 400 Corbon? Not enough to label them as common rounds to be sure.
BLACKHAWKNJ
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Recall hearing back in the 1950s that the 44 Magnum could crack a car's engine block at 15 yards, also recall reading that the 38 Super was meant to be effective against automobiles.
Colt introduced the .357 in 1953, the Python in 1955, that ended S&W's monopoly of that round. S&W the Highway Patrolman in 1954, presented Bill Jordan with the first Combat Magnum in November 1955, Ruger introduced the Blackhawk in 1955.
Colt introduced the .357 in 1953, the Python in 1955, that ended S&W's monopoly of that round. S&W the Highway Patrolman in 1954, presented Bill Jordan with the first Combat Magnum in November 1955, Ruger introduced the Blackhawk in 1955.
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