I do want to get a ruger gp100 and a lever action chambered in it as well. If you are a new shooter or new to concealed carry and a gun store employee or range chump tells you to get a gun like that, hes an idiot. Additionally, the medium bullet diameter also plays a role. Just the versatility and ease of making reloaded ammo ensure this. Both .38 Special and .357 Magnum revolvers continue to offer versatility for autonomous citizens, including the individual owning one handgun. But if you value redundancy in your life-saving tools, it looks like a razor-thin margin of error. Since those calibers are made for (mostly) semiautomatic pistols, they have to have a minimum amount of oomph to ensure enough power to cycle the action reliably. My first experience with any handgun was a S&W 38 special at 7 years old. My point here is the .357 Magnum revolver is tailored to such an environment. Even more frightening is the laughter and tolerance for abjectly dangerous gun handling. (If anything, the revolver is even better, capable of handing newer high-pressure +P ammunition.) The .357 Mag in whats commonly called a snubby or snubnose revolver isnt an experience even seasoned shooters enjoy. Perfect middle ground. There have been several attempts by ballistics engineers to increase the wounding ability of a round. I would add to this list Kimbers K6s with a 3 barrel. [6], The .357 Magnum was collaboratively developed over a period in the early to mid-1930s by a group of individuals in a direct response to Colt's .38 Super Automatic. For example, a shot through the side of the body must penetrate between 10 to 12 inches to hit the heart. Uberti Single Actions. The impetus for the development of these new handgun cartridges is an infamous incident known as the "FBI Miami Shootout" that took place on April 11, 1986 between eight FBI agents and two serial bank robbers in . Elwood Shelton is an online content developer for Gun Digest. Ruger also offers a 4.2-inch model that sports a fiber optic front sight and adjustable rear sight. Gel has similar organic properties to flesh and tissue and provides a similar resistance. Again please forgive me if Im out of bounds. For a new shooter (and this *is* Calibers for Beginners) recoil tolerance is something that is built up /developed. Ive timed myself on more than one occasion now, and I am slower getting follow-up shots with the overmolded grips versus just hard wood. Too many individuals due to lack of a nice word listened to their great grand dads about the war. Yeah .357 mag is a classy old lady whos totally into three ways. revolver is its versatility. Even minor and common factors can significantly impact the wounding ability of a round, including damage to a hollow point through contact with any intervening material, from glass to bone. Any if you had to you could carry it concealed. The 125 grains (8.1g) jacketed hollow point loads are popular for self-defence, whereas the heavier loads are commonly used for hunting. It has benefitted, especially in small carry guns, from recent advanced bullets that offer far better expansion.That said, theres nothing at all wrong with 158gr of classic cast lead. You have entered an incorrect email address! . These short-barreled revolvers are made for maximum concealment and are a good choice when attire is worn that might not allow for easy concealment of a larger handgun. That said, these catastrophic stoppages are rare to the point most shooters will never confront one. The Gun That Won The West, the Winchester 1873 is perhaps the most recognizable of the lever-action rifles that were popular in nineteenth-century America. Track Record. Never shot one but everything I see on .357 out of a 16 barrel looks good. If they had put good wood grips on that gun I would have already bought it. If you didnt steal the bad guys soul you would at least seriously diminish it. Oh ok thanks for pointing that out. Someday, I hope to add a .357 lever gun. Now, its overshadowed by pistol cartridges, given the greater shooting world has flocked in that direction in the past 40 years. The fact is that the snubbys size and weight simply does not make shooting full-power .357 a pleasant experience. Offered in .357 Magnum, the Single Action Army has a 5.5-inch barrel, a six-round cylinder, a spurred trigger (reminiscent of cowboy boot spurs), a blued barrel and a colorful case-hardened frame. But you still want the best caliber possible, because while people are disposed to fall down when shot, not every target does. Save my name and email to use for future comments. I have a S&W model 19 which l also love dearly. I carry a GP 100 Wiley Clapp and its pretty comfortable sh ooting the 158gr. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. There are a number of reasons for a failure to incapacitate, including a lack of awareness of the wound, intense personal fortitude, extreme emotions or physiological effects both natural (adrenaline) or chemically-induced (drugs such as PCP, heroin and cocaine). With a long-barrel handgun and careful load selection, the 357 Magnum is even suitable for deer-sized game. has a well-deserved reputation for accuracy. If, God forbid, you are ever in a situation where you are required to use your handgun, there is, to put it mildly, a great deal at stake. Unlike the original LCRs aluminum frame, the LCR 357 is made with a 400 series stainless steel frame in order to withstand the higher pressures of the magnum round. The article is on 357 Magnum, not the dodo 45. GP100 was the first gun on my NYS Pistol License. In fact we spent that evening in Paisley, Oregon at The Sage Brush Rooms Motel. More than doubling the force and increase of velocitywell above supersonic levelswith essentially the same cartridge was a considerable accomplishment. Shot placement is often cited as a consideration when choosing the right handgun for self defense and for good reason its definitely important. Mr. Wayner: Regarding your inclusion of the Ruger Super Redhawk as one of [a] few great guns that are chambered for .357 Magnum, the current Ruger catalog does not list .357 magnum for the Super Redhawk, including distributor exclusives. The beauty of the .357 Mag. The cartridge headspaces on the rim of the case. Note: Dial 911 and Die: The Shocking Truth About The Police Protection Myth (1999) by Richard Stevens. The wound cavity is far superior to that of the slow tumbling 45. Difficult Double-Action Trigger. The look on his face was priceless. Target shooting he went from center target to hitting the target holder (indoor range) the ports were slowly blacking out the top of his orange ramp site making his aim gradually move up.took a couple minutes to figure out. Every one of the millions of .357 Magnum revolvers ever made is, ipso facto, also a .38 Special. The other thing about .357s in snubbies is that youre really not getting much extra anything for the added recoil. The rifle is loaded through gate on the right side and up to fourteen rounds of .357 Magnum ammunition can be stored in the tubular magazine that runs under the barrel. These characteristics of the Keith bullet make it very suitable for hunting applications as well as for target shooting. cylinder. Like the .38 Spl., the .357 Mag. Taking it to the next level is a familiar phrase that seems particularly appropriate after reviewing the feature content in this months issuethe it being the state-of-the-art in several familiar categories within the realm of firearms and accessories. Probably makes anything other than a black ramp about useless. Conversely, the Winchester 110-gr White Box was quite pleasant in both Rugers as was the Speer 135-gr. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. As one well-known gun reviewer claims, Shooting this .357 Magnum is no worse than pulling the trigger on a Glock 19. Comparing a .357 Magnum to a 9mm handgun is quite a statement. But my autos are my concealed. Outside of the .327 Federal Magnum, this isnt a claim most other magnums can makecertainly not the .41 Magnum or .44 Magnum. [original research?] 1 on the cover of American Rifleman differ from those found in some other articles and websites. Aggressive Civil Rights Organization. On Thursday, May 10th, 2018 I was fishing the Chewaucan River The .357 Magnum is considerably more powerful than its parent round the .38 Special. may best be known for its use in police work. FN Herstal has completed its recent facility expansion project at the Noptel optic factory in Finland and has announced plans of bringing production to the United States. You must apply the same rules for technique and shot placement as you would with any caliber. It simply means that if you can shoot someone in the head, basically anything will do. Among the chores the .357 Magnum may be used for is personal defense, home defense, hunting small game, hunting medium-sized game, and for animal defense. The test I chose is the Hardwired Tactical Snubby Super Test. Some common performance parameters are shown in the table below for several .357 Magnum loads. But it's both a great and a terrible beginner's cartridge, depending on the load and the gun that it's used in. Other classic .357 Magnum revolvers, though now discontinued from production, were the Colt Python (the Cadillac of .357s), Colts Trooper Mark III, and Rugers Security Six and Blackhawk single action revolver. Check your Smith and Wesson history.. Im new here so I assume that was for a previous comment. When using semi autos I find beginners going too quickly and developing bad habits, not to mention being distracted by its relative complexity. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Even the .44 Magnum, introduced in 1956, especially in Alaska. When a handgun is bought for personal protection, whether in the home or on the street, its purpose is the application of deadly force to protect your own life, the lives of others, and to prevent serious physical harm. Indeed, physiological factors play a very small part in rapid incapacitation of a target. Double Taps I keep in it. Bullet weights ranging from 100 to 200 grains (6.5 to 13.0g) are common. It depends upon your recoil tolerance and grips. We'll take a look at the time-tested cartridge's pros outweigh its cons and if it's right for you. Truth is the only thing that has change in . It has also become popular as a "dual-use" cartridge in short, light rifles like the American Old West lever-actions. I dont even like .38s in a 17 oz. On the one hand, the souped-up .38 special offers exceptional velocities in most of its loads and plenty of punch when it reaches the target. On the top end of the spectrum is a huge selection of .357 Mag. The concern that a round will pass through an assailant and harm an innocent bystander is largely exaggerated. Shorter Barrels Notably Reduce Velocity. I tend to take these things with a grain of salt, but even with a pound of salt thats some serious beans from a snubby. The .357 is a great cartridge and, as a bonus, guns chambered for it will also fire .38 Special. The case extension was more a matter of safety than of necessity. Also in . FWIW, it looks like the Rossi isnt sold in .357 Mag in the US anymore. I carried three speed loaders and with 24 rounds on my belt I felt that I was ready for man or beast. Lethality by Caliber: Whats the Best Handgun Caliber For You? Leer en espaol. Speer 135gr Gold Dot. That said, determining if its the right option for you takes some consideration, not only of the cartridge itself but your skills as a shooter. Hot loads designed for a modern revolver like the Redhawk can hit as hard as a .44 magnum. Im quite inclined to agree. In the S&W and Taurus I like the 38 +P. What might be possible with the snub-nosed .357 Mag., given the same attention? For further comparison, the .357 Magnum has a higher velocity at 100 yards (91m) than its parent case (.38 Special) has at the muzzle. If you decide to go with the 357, dont even think about shooting it until you get a good set of Walkers Ear Muffs. Ballistic gelatin testing is one of the best methods available to assess a cartridges potential in a self-defense role. revolvers chamber and fire .38 Special ammo, the .38 Special 148 grain lead target wad-cutter, next to a Additionally, bullets that retain most or all of their original weight have more inertia and penetrate deeper than bullets that shed mass as they expand. On the one hand, the souped-up .38 special offers exceptional velocities in most of its loads and plenty of punch when it reaches the target. Reply. My maternal grandfather stood by and thought it was a good was a good lesson. Handgun velocities top out at around 1,500 fps at the muzzle. Can you please clarify this matter? Its powerful, wonderfully effective, and probably one of the best all-around calibers ever made. As most readers know, the .357 Magnum is an outgrowth of the .38 Special, which was itself an outgrowth of several older .38 cartridges that preceded it. Id rather shoot my 66 with .357 mag 2.5 over my 2 model 38 any day of the year, even though the model 38 only shoots .38spl. Quintessentially a target revolver, the 2020 Python has pleasingly proven to be incredibly accurate. Copyright 2023 National Rifle Association, Women On Target Instructional Shooting Clinics, Volunteer At The Great American Outdoor Show, Marion P. Hammer Women Of Distinction Award, Women's Wildlife Management / Conservation Scholarship, National Youth Shooting Sports Cooperative Program, Editors Picks 2018: Ruger GP100 Revolver, Review: Henry Big Boy .357 Mag. The only external dimensional difference between .38 Special and .357 magnum is the difference in case length; this was done to prevent accidentally loading a .357 magnum cartridge in to a .38 Special revolver that is not designed for the .357 magnum's higher chamber pressure. Some of the best handgun calibers for self defense are: To adequately understand the efficiency of incapacitating a target, we must have some basic understanding of the mechanics of wounding how damage to the human body works. As Dan indicates, the snubbies in .357 are beyond merely painful. Still, the research is not widespread and a great deal of it is not terribly relevant for the average person searching for a reliable self-defense weapon. My first 357 was a 4 inch Ruger GP100. It would be awesome if all beginners started with a wheel gun before moving on to semi autos. When I say Buffalo Bore, you think hell yeah. Buffalo Bore makes some of the most powerful and devastating ammo out there. First handgun I ever fired was my Dads Model 28 S&Wit was a BIG hunk of steel for a 10 year old to hang onto. While each of them has no direct bearing on incapacitation, they must all be considered. I did it with a 12 gauge 870 and snuck a 3.5 slug in with 2 3/4 pheasant loads. Its handy, holds six rounds, and is relatively light at about 34 ounces. Heavy Is Accurate. and tucked away in the nightstand or sock drawer in case of emergency. For rattlesnakes the CCIs classic .38 Special shot or snake load No. Comparing a .357 Magnum to a 9mm handgun is quite a statement. It was 8% for those heavier bullets the 230-grain .45 and the 147 HST. It was introduced in 1935, and its use has since become widespread. His findings proved beyond doubt that the 10mm Auto is the single most effective self-defense handgun cartridge yet developed. at its headwaters: Dairy Creek and also nearby was Elder Creek. Just some useless info while talking revolvers.a buddy shooting a 6 taurus .357 that was ported. Anyway, he owned a S&W 357 snubby that, as far as I know, since it has been passed down, has never been fired. Im assuming by snubbies, you mean less than 3 barrels, because my 3 SP-101 is a sweet shooter. Thus, the .38 Special has a relatively large case capacity, and for lower pressures (121MPa (17,500psi) Pmax piezo pressure). Limited Capacity. No lab test can tell you how likely a round is to drop an assailant, but they can tell you how destructive a round is upon impact, which is the best metric youre going to get. Remington Ammunition has given sportsmen in states with straight-wall hunting regulations, particularly those who favor lever-action rifles, a potent, yet soft-shooting, new chambering for the short-range harvesting of deer-size game, hogs and even black bears. Indeed, you and bystanders in the immediate area are much more endangered by rounds that do not penetrate sufficiently than by rounds that overpenetrate.. The .357 Magnum round in a good, solid, stainless steel revolver can put meat on the table or save your bacon if need be. On the other, with practice and the right handgun, nearly any shooter can become proficient with the granddaddy magnumsomething that cant be said for most other cartridges of this class, which at best are cranky. The model 66 is NOT a recently released revolver. That muscle had a lot of appeal when it was released in 1935 in Smith & Wesson's Registered Magnums. Every day I have to talk myself out of just carrying a nice 357 magnum revolver as an EDC. Me neither. Youre able to get some real heavy-duty stuff from them in .357 Mag, including 180gr Hardcast Lead Outdoorsman thats rated for 1,400fps from a four-inch barrel. I think the barrel is around 3 inches. Have a pair of 3 round butt #65s that shoot like a house of fire. Given those survey results are shaky at best and useless at worst, well leave that to the gun forums to hash out. I was 18 and it was all I could afford. Is it for everyone? Smith & Wesson's solution, of extending the case slightly, made it impossible to chamber the magnum-power round in a gun not designed for the additional pressure. When it does occur, it is not a significant factor in wounding. On the flip side, a bullet that fails to expand, either due to a plugged hollow point cavity or a velocity thats below the bullets design threshold, may pass through the target. Ive fired a coonan in .357 using hot loads. This inside the Gearhart Mountain Wilderness Area of the Fremont/Winema National Forest in Lake County, Oregon (Lakeview). The only .357 I own is a 4 Ruger Security Six (love it). The former is by far the leading reason for handgun ownership. On the plus side, a novice has the . For fun, you cant beat Buffalo Bore Heavy 357 Magnum, running around 1600fps out of my 4 GP100. I scared off a pair of car jackers with the 640 many years back. Most loads tested surprised me and I fired several groups of five rounds that came close to an inch at 25 yards. But pertaining to self-defense in general, we believe these considerations are among the most important when weighing if the cartridge and the guns chambered for it are a proper fit for you. I had been shooting a 20 gauge since age 4. Im the happy owner of three 357s, a 4 GP100 Ruger, a 3 SP101 Ruger and a S&W Model 60, plus a Taurus 85 rated a 38 +P. Probably drop the $32 on a Hi-Viz front. I still take the 686 to the range and occasionally on a walk through the woods. And maybe they got confused with a Taurus 66. However, no article on this subject would be compete without mentioning a few things. Good overview. Recently there have been many arguments that the .223 (or 5.56) is a powerful round that civilians cannot handle or is for military/law enforcement use only. Though, it was Sharpe and Major Douglas B. Wesson who were responsible for bringing the magnum to market; Keith fell away from the cartridge with his interest shifting to developing what would become the .44 Magnum. Shooting another person is only done with the intention to, at the very least, incapacitate the subject to protect the physical safety of others. so if the 357 mag holds the one shot stop record why would need to send more rounds that might miss and hit the wrong target. For those looking for a taste of the historical, the Uberti SAA clones are fantastic and rewarding. Handgun wounds include the first three of these factors, but generally do not include the fourth. Of handgun owners alone, 63 percent owned these for the purpose of protecting themselves against other people, with another 20 percent owning them for protection against animals. Theres nothing like shooting a good wheel gun, especially a magnum. Given that, yes a .357 revolver should prove more than enough. this is remote isolated out of the way semi-wilderness and high desert sagebrush country, making it a In fact, aside from the grace of God, intercessory prayer, and provision from The 27 has a six-round cylinder, an overall length of 9.3 inches and weighs 42 ounces. There are four major handgun founding factors. Correct, but I believe the author is referring to S&Ws recent re-release of the 66. A small improvement with immense results. predator. Comparatively, the .357 Magnum has less energy than the larger magnum revolver loadings but is smaller in diameter with high velocity allowing for excellent penetration properties. In a sense that sums up the .357 Magnum. In a revolver, your finger is the power source and thus there are generally no restrictions on high or low power ends of the ammo (within reason). During the development at Smith & Wesson, the original Keith bullet was modified slightly, to the form of the Sharpe bullet, which itself was based upon the Keith bullet, but which had 5/6 of the bearing surface of the Keith bullet, Keith bullets typically being made oversized and sized down. There isnt much added velocity over, say, a .38+p. The .357 Magnum cartridge is based upon Smith & Wesson's earlier .38 Special cartridge. Do you want that to happen multiple times in a row? The .357 revolver is a great start pistol. And it's fairly safe to say, had not a wave of semi-auto pistols washed over the shooting world in the 1980s, the .357 Magnum would likely be the most popular handgun cartridge today. This is where the rubber meets the road, or the lead . The two combined probably account for half the .357s sold in this country. It is built to last. However, the cartridge has acquitted itself well in the hands of law enforcement over the years and has one of the widest selections of ammunition capable of passing the FBI penetration tests. But for the most part, a great swath of guns chambered in .357 Magnum are accessible to the better part of the shooting world. The short barrel itself no doubt does present a challenge to ammo manufacturers, but this is something that can likely be overcome with a bit of Research and Development. June 20, 2023. I have a personal story to share to the contrary. And with a thousand or so out of the snubby and a few hundred out of the Tracker, I can safely say they are both solid guns, even with loads rated at 900 to almost 1000 ft/lbs of energy from a 6 barrel. Many firearms have been chambered in .357 Mag. And handing them a Smith Airweight magnum is a real quick way to turn them off real fast. For the beginner, owning a revolver chambered for .357 Magnum opens the door to a slew of ammunition types that allows easy and relatively inexpensive practice. The common rifling twist rate for this cartridge is 476mm (1 in 18.74in), six grooves, lands = 8.79mm, grooves = 9.02mm, land width = 2.69mm and the primer type is small pistol magnum. The Remington HTP .357 Magnum 110 Grain SJHP is an excellent self-defense round. Exactly. Also of note is the performance of the LCR in .327 Fed. My buddy snuck one of those BB 180s into a cylinder of .38 special while I was trying out his LCR. Ive taken two rattlers with shot-shells that were in/close to camp, and must say was a better experience than using a stick. Those spring kits (Wilson Combat also makes them) are the best $10 you could spend on a GP 100. Whether metro/urban vs. rural/wilderness a 4 or 6 barrel .357 Magnum is perhaps the best sidearm to carry, own, and The .357 Magnum addresses the safety issues which earlier cartridges had by lengthening the cartridge by approximately .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);clip-path:polygon(0px 0px,0px 0px,0px 0px);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}18 inch (3.2mm), preventing the high-pressure .357 cartridge from chambering (fitting) in a firearm designed for the shorter, lower-pressure .38 Special. There are four major handgun founding factors. PS as far as I know mr. Squach its away on holiday. Developed primarily as a law enforcement pistol cartridge, the .357 Magnum was introduced by Smith and Wesson in 1934. Lower powered ammunition used in a .357 revolver makes for a very versatile gun, and light or cowboy-type handloads can make it feel almost like shooting a .22LR. Of the nearly 250 million guns owned by Americans at that time, somewhere between 40 and 50 million of them were handguns. Gel gives the researcher a good idea of how a bullet is likely to perform in an animate target. The cases are dimensionally identical, except that the Magnum case is 0.135" longer than the Special case. I had it magnaported and got a set of Wolfe springs for it. Still, I think .38 usually makes more sense in the snubby. Case volume was not a factor in the increase in case length as the .38 Special cartridge was originally a black powder cartridge, and the .357 magnum was developed using only much denser smokeless powder. The question isnt how many people die from being hit with a certain a round, but rather what do they do immediately after being hit?. ammunition. I wont bore people with the history of the early revolvers; Ill just point out that lawmen everywhere took to the .357 very quickly. The Model 27 is a double-action revolver, meaning a single pull of the trigger will cock the hammer, advance the cylinder and drop the hammer to fire the gun. The ammunition chosen for that job is as important--possibly more important--than the handgun itself.AccuracyPenetration. I can vouch for my Taurus 66 with Pachmayr grips and the Ruger SP101 as solid performers with the .357 Mag. FBI data puts the typical officer-involved shootings at around 5-feet and involving two to three rounds fired.
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