357 magnum Pro's & Con's

KAG

KAG

New member
Want to get your take on the 357 magnum round and its good and bad qualities for personal defense. Not too sure if I should load 158gr, 125gr, or 110gr loads for it. Plan to shoot 38's for target stuff.

Just so you know I traded off my 9mm's, kept one Para Ord P1245 (mine) and bought Taurus 4" 357's for the wife and boys.She already says she likes it better.
 
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Pros

good power for self defense
Good ammo availability
You can shoot .38spl

Cons

Unpleasant to shoot for some people
Only 6 rounds compared to 7, 8 10 15 or so for many autos.
 
The blast will be deafening. Most people don`t walk around with earplugs in their ears, over penetration if you live in a residental area or apartment. How old are the kids if using .357 loads I can`t seem to see the family being able to double tap with a whole lot of accuracy. Why not .38 +p
 
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I've shot a 6 inch ColtPython since 1983. Best round I've found for it is a 140 gr. Speer JHP. I liked the good compromise of accuracy and bullet performance.
Load some of those up and test them. I shot a bunch of different bullets into wet phone books, and that was the winner on expansion/penetration tests. Accuracy out of my pistol is excellent, as good as any factory round I tried.

The biggest "con" is that if you shoot it without hearing protection, you'll get your ears rung badly. It's worse than my .44 Mag. in that regard. Your 4" will be even worse.

I'd say it's fine for personal defense. It might be light for bears, but there's not too many people that are going to shrug one off and keep coming.
 
Depending on your selection of ammunition will usually be the deciding factory as to personal likes...

We went to 6" S&W model 28s for a few years on the police department with 158gr SP "Lawman" ammo from Speer... Most street officers that didn't shoot much, had a hard time qualifying with the weapon...

Loading it down the 110gr HPs, made it much more friendly for the average officer, and they finally wound up with the +P versions of the .38 spcl Federal SP...

My S&W Model 19 with the Lawman series is a handful and puts out a 9' ball of flame that can ruin your night vision, but shatter concrete blocks...

If you start shooting .38s in a .357 cylinder, just be sure to really clean the powder ring in the chamber out so your .357 cases don't stick and slow down any needed reloads..
 
For personal defense against human attackers the 125 gr. hollow points seem to be the best. Honestly, I much prefer the slightly reduced velocity load that runs 1,250 fps vs. the normal full house magnum fireball shooting, ear shattering 1,450 fps load. There is very little lost in stopping power and the reduced velocity load is considerably easier to handle and makes for faster recovery for consecutive shots. That or a really good .38 Special +P load works very well also. Here are a couple that I prefer…

Remington .357 reduced velocity:
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=609030

Winchester 145 gr. Silvertip...
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=697164

Buffalo Bore .38 Special +P:
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=171388

BTW, even though I love my revolvers and still pack a few of them on occasion, the modern 9mm is fully capable of pushing 124 gr. hollow points to 1,200 - 1,300 fps in +P loads and isn't giving up anything to the Magnum revolver and packs a whole bunch more problem solvers in the magazine. But to each his own, confidence in your gear and quality practice wins the day more often than not.
 
KAG,
I'm sure if the record still stands, but according to an F.B.I. report the .357 Mag. has the record for one shot stops. One shot stops are not necessarily kills or knock downs, but rather stops of the attack.
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Personal defense weapon choices are very personal choices and vary greatly from one person to the next. Everyone has valid reasons for what they carry and as long as a person shoots the weapon well, it's difficult to say they're wrong.
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I'm still deciding between a compact 45acp and a snubby in .357 Mag.
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I like the snubby for its' reliability.

Good luck with your choices!
Good hunting, Bowhunter57
 
I shoot a 4-inch S&W 686, I handload 140 gr. Hornady XTP at 1410 fps. The gun and load will stop any threat that I expect to run into, I also load .38's at around 880 fps for plinking. My wife loves to shoot this gun but she likes the .38's much more than the 357, she is able to get back on target much faster.
 
Originally Posted By: sumriflePros

good power for self defense
Good ammo availability
You can shoot .38spl

Cons

Unpleasant to shoot for some people
Only 6 rounds compared to 7, 8 10 15 or so for many autos.


I agree with that 100%, and it is very loud as previously stated.
 
Originally Posted By: john007The blast will be deafening. Most people don`t walk around with earplugs in their ears, over penetration if you live in a residental area or apartment. How old are the kids if using .357 loads I can`t seem to see the family being able to double tap with a whole lot of accuracy. Why not .38 +p
 
I shoot a Model 19-4 S&W. W/ the small frame 158gr are the go to. I have shot some 125gr HP's that are super accurate, but w/ a 158gr SP I will remove limbs if I'm slightly off. I also use mine for Deer hunting w/ the same bullet. Mine has a 6" barrel. I never bother w/ .38sp loads, POA/POI is all screwed up at 25 feet.
 
Originally Posted By: chefpierreOriginally Posted By: sumriflePros

good power for self defense
Good ammo availability
You can shoot .38spl

Cons

Unpleasant to shoot for some people
Only 6 rounds compared to 7, 8 10 15 or so for many autos.


I agree with that 100%, and it is very loud as previously stated.

The "unpleasant" I mentioned referred to recoil as well as noise level. So I am thinking we agree 100%.
 
We live rural on our land down a private drive a 1/2 mile long that borders Gov preserve on 3 sides so no worries about Urban issues of over penetrating. We have quite a few weapons but most are locked in our big gun safe except a Mossberg 590 12ga @ bedside. We kept the old P94's stashed around upstairs and in the loft.

My boys (4) are older teens except a 5y/o, even at 5 y/o knows guns are not toys. They each have shotguns and rifles kept in the safe. I bought a few Ruger 9mm P94's that we had stashed around the house but the double action always was problematic for the teens and the wife had difficultly racking a round as the slide was so stiff that did not improve much with shooting them.

Because we had a small issue not long ago out here with someone mistakenly thinking its ok to help themselves to a piece of equipment down in my shop and the wife was home alone with the 5 y/o when it happened. She had a problem racking a round in the P94. He/they left when it became clear someone was home in the house by her raising the garage door from inside.

So after that I decided to switch over to revolvers. They each have shot a box each to get use to the Tauruses. We were shooting 158gr, the wife actually liked the power of it and said afterward "Now I can use this", the boys did ok but it is a little much for them.

Maybe the 110gr loads mentioned are a happy medium even though I already picked up some 158gr XTP's and W231 to load up some rounds. I think simplicity is what I looking for.
 
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Even though I am very much a .44 Magnum man (I got mine soon after the original Dirty Harry movie hit the theaters) I will take a .357 for Serious Social Encounters. Loaded with just about anybody's 125 grain HP ammo (but make mine Federal, please) I will be sure that my one shot body hits will put someone down for good 96% of the time. Actual gun battle stats there. The only deer that I shot with mine stumbled a few steps and that was it. I still keep a Series 70 Colt Govt loaded with Black Talons in my bedroom and I speck that wont change soon but if it does, it will my 50 year old 5" inch M27 Smith and Swesson to take care of buisness. I think that they will do just fine too. A mess, but will do the job just fine. Yessir, just fime!
 
I HATE the .357 muzzle blast. Recoil doesn't bother me, volume doesn't bother me, but the pitch goes right to the center of my brain and screams like a 2 year old. Don't know why but it's my least favorite round to shoot just for that reason.

My .44 is just a nice big boom, much more pleasant.
 
KAG,
If you don't mind me asking, why did your wife need to rack a round in the chamber of the P94 when she needed it?

BTW, please don't take offense, but I would never advise a woman home alone in a rural setting to leave the safety of her home or open a door to confront a trespasser. Wouldn't she have been better upon discovering the burglar/thief to have armed herself and then called the Sheriff's Department and possibly the nearest neighbor/family member? That would be my advise to someone in that situation. Opening the home garage door might have proven a big mistake if that had been really bad guys with different intentions.
 
Wall penetration in the city or suburbs is a concern. And stay away from
110 grain loads. There was a noted problem with them burning the forcing
cone and throats out back in the 60's. Just too much powder and pressure
making too much heat I guess. I love the round and for serious range practice
it's my favorite revolver round.
 
Quote:I love the round and for serious range practice
it's my favorite revolver round.

Mine too, as long as I've got my "ears" on.

A friend let me shoot his 44 Mag. Desert Eagle quite a bit, and that's a very effective setup. It's a beast for a carry gun, though, and it would have to be a pretty beefy kid or woman to shoot it.
But I bet you would really like it.
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I like shooting the 125 grainers through mine. Plus with this one you get 8 shots instead of just 6. I don't get as much muzzle jump as I do out of my 44 mag in the S&W 629 classic. The laser&light are on when its at home and comes off when hunting/shooting.
S&W 327 TRR8
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Shooting the 125 grs there wasn't an exit hole with coyote shot at 25 steps.
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