Way back in 1957, while I was a junior at Michigan State University majoring in police administration,
I bought a Colt 357 from a campus police officer who needed some quick cash for his divorce lawyer.
Years later, near Painesville, Ohio, as an agent of the U.S. Secret Service, my agent in charge had authorized me to carry my 4 in bbl Colt 357. Another agent and I ended up in a shootout with a
counterfeiter during a half mile footchase through
the snow on December 23, 1964. A Super X .357 mag semi-wadcutter to his left shoulder ended the chase. I will never let this revolver go!

For the pure pleasure of shooting .357 loads I like a S&W N frame and have a couple to choose from. My favorite is a 4" non-registered magnum from 1939. My 2nd favorite is a 5" Model 27-2.

Jerry

Toss up between my 4" S&W 686 or my 4" S&W Model 19

686, but I really liked my 1990 era model 19.

My Manhurin MR73. It's one of 4" fixed sight versions that I believe were brought in by Century. Very accurate, smooth action and the Trausch grips, while a little odd looking, really fit the hand well. It's also just different enough to be a conversation starter at the range.

If i absolutely had to choose between my SP101 and GP100, I’d take the beefier GP.

Probably my Smith 627-0. It’s a tank but a great shooter.

Mine is my S&W model 19 with a 2 1/2 inch barrel. Only shoot home brew 357 Magnums loaded loaded really light between +P and Magnum starting levels due to the forcing cone issue and because I'm not foolish enough to shoot full power Magnums in such a light pistol but they are fun and the accuracy is stunning. Just for jollies I shot it at 50 yards one day and put 12 out of 12 into a 7 inch target circle and 8 out of 12 into a 4 inch target circle. One key aspect for that accracy is that the short barrel creates a much tighter fill between the front and rear sights. That tighter fill means less sighting error and better accuracy on target.

Note, I was cheating a bit and did this shooting in Single Action and did do a bit of testing to determine exactly where the sights were hitting before shooting those 12 shots. However it does provide evidence that short barreled revolvers can be extremely accurate handguns in the hands of someone who spends enough time practicing with them. A 50 yard head shot, that is actually doable.

If you plan on shooting a lot of magnum ammo, the Python, Ruger GP100, Ruger Redhawk, Ruger Blackhawk ( if you like single action ),S&W 586/686 or one of the Model 27 variants. These suggestions are assuming you are considering current production models.

The current production King Cobra series, while fine guns and safe with magnums, would be unpleasant with a lot of magnum use for most people, as are the various J frame Smiths and small frame Rugers.

The older King Cobras which ended I believe in the early 90’s were built on the Trooper Mk111 frames and were very robust and would be great shooters, but will likely cost as much as a new Python if you find one.

My personal .357 is a Smith M13 33 inch and one of my favorite firearms to shoot , but not with magnums. The K frame Smiths are great handling firearms and in barrels of 4 inches or longer fairly pleasant magnum launchers, but a steady diet will wear them sooner than larger frames.

IMO the GP 100 is the minimum size for steady magnum use.

Well, this thread inspired me to try something. Yesterday I took 4 .357 Mag DA revolvers to the range. I got a new bullet mold (Lee 158gr LRNFP) and had cast up my first batch, and wanted to see how they handled...and I figured what better objective method of determining which gun is the best shooter?

The 640 Pro I bought new a couple of months ago, and have been carrying it as a BUG for work. The GP100 I bought used as an impulse buy about 5 years back when I saw it in the case at the LGS. It's 1995 vintage, and has been an excellent gun, if a bit heavy. The Speed-Six I got used at another LGS a year or so after the GP100. It is pretty beat, and has experienced some bullet stabilization issues with some loads, but it really seemed to like these. Finally, the Model 66 is a recent acquisition. A .357 K-Frame has been on my want list for a long time, and I scored this one at a Sheriff's auction a few weeks back. This was only my second or third range trip with it, and the first with the fancy new knock-off target grips from Thailand.

I shot the postal match course of fire that offgrid came up with this week, all in double-action. The folded piece of blank paper is shot from 3 yards at the low ready, with the goal being .80 seconds or faster. The B8 is shot from 25 yards, un-timed, goal being to keep all hits in the black. Shots are alternated...so one at 3 yards, the next at 25, then back to 3 and so on.

The 640 Pro surprised me. Speed isn't my forte, but I found this gun to be very fast and pointable. It came up on target easily, and the sights were easy to acquire (which is perfect for it's intended purpose). It wasn't too shabby at 25 yards, either, for a 2" DAO snub (I did throw one off the paper, but that was all me, and I knew from the second the shot broke it was a miss). Recoil was more noticeable with this gun than the others, but it honestly wasn't that bad, and I'd happily have put a whole box of magnums through it if I'd had the ammo to spare.

The GP-100 is just a joy to shoot. The plain black sights are a little slower on target than I'd like, but once you got the sights lined up, it put up the best 25 yard group of the lot. The DA trigger is incredibly smooth with absolutely zero stacking, and with the rubber grips and heavy steel frame, recoil is hardly noticeable.

The Speed-Six was a bit faster on target than the GP100. Precision at 25 was hampered by the short sight radius and the beat up front sight blade (and let's be honest, the shooter a bit as well).

And that brings us to the 66. You'll notice there's no target with that one. They say don't meet your heroes...well, that's the case here. I can't shoot this gun for crap. I'm not sure if it's the grips, or if the sights were off (Last time I shot it I zeroed it for a light .38 special load, and these were full-house 158gr Magnums), but I was all over the place with it. I did finally get it to group shooting it in SA with some intense concentration, but I ran out of ammo before I could get it dialed in. I'm not giving up on it...I'm positive the problem is more with the shooter than the gun...but at this point there's just no contest between it at the GP100. I've wanted that K-Frame for years, but I may have had the better gun for me all along.

[

To pack in the woods, or shoot, it's got to be my GP 100 4". Great revolver, pretty much indestructible, easy to clean and maintain with the brushed stainless finish.



To carry, to go to a barbecue, or to shoot with .38 special, the Smith 19 is awfully hard to beat.



The Smith has a slightly better double action pull, but the single action on both guns is excellent.

I love shooting my 1961 Colt Python. I got her in 1980 for $200. Not a bad deal.

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:
[

Nice write up as usual. I remember when that 640 Pro was released several years ago, I really wanted one at the time and still do. It was a fun I’d actually forgotten about until you bought it recently. I’m not surprised you like it, even without shooting it I thought it would be a great little pistol.

And I love the west on that Speed Six. I am a sucker for old Rugers and I love a nice, honestly worn revolver.

An older 586 with an 8 3/8” barrel. So much fun, it had tons of rounds through it and was very slick and smooth.

quote:

Nice write up as usual. I remember when that 640 Pro was released several years ago, I really wanted one at the time and still do. It was a fun I’d actually forgotten about until you bought it recently. I’m not surprised you like it, even without shooting it I thought it would be a great little pistol.

And I love the west on that Speed Six. I am a sucker for old Rugers and I love a nice, honestly worn revolver.

Thanks. Yeah, I definitely like it. I'm impressed with how well it absorbed the recoil...I'd put it right on par with my SP101. I've shot 360PDs in the past, and this was night and day different from that. I really do love a nice J-frame...they are easy to establish a grip on, naturally point for me, and small and light enough (especially my scandium 360J) that you can actually forget they're there.

That Speed-Six is a sweetheart. I saw it looking forlorn and lonely in the case surrounded by a bunch of S&Ws, and I traded a 98% Ruger PC Carbine (the ugly new one) to get it. Sticker price-wise I lost out on the deal, but I haven't regretted it one minute. It's had a rough life, but it still locks up tight and shoots very well if you feed it bullets that it likes. The Pachmayr grips feel great in the hand and fit perfectly, unlike the new-production ones that I got for my L-Frame. For carry it usually loses out to my 3" SP101, though, as that one is a bit thinner and lighter.

ETA: Oh, I also got out and spent some more time with that Model 66 this afternoon. I shot the same .38 special load that I'd initially zeroed it for. I did some partial-load and spin the cylinder drills, tried some different grip techniques, found I have to adjust some for the target grips (I think they were designed with one-handed shooting in mind), and really tried to mentally force myself to adhere to the fundamentals.

The target was shot standing unsupported at 25 yards. As you can see from that one little guy at the top (and the other one not quite so bad down in the 9-ring), I wasn't 100% successful in that last bit...but the problem certainly isn't the gun!

You say you will likely want a lever gun in .357 as well, but don't really indicate what you want it for- other than just normal shooting fun.


My recommendation would be a bit different: a Ruger Blackhawk Convertible, in 5.5" barrel [or the shorter 4.62" barrel].

You will have a handgun that fits the theme of the lever action, and the convertible allows you to swap cylinders to use 9mm.

Full disclosure: these are not noted for being quite as accurate in 9mm as in .357mag.



You can fire about any power level of .357 ammo in safety.

Now- this is not as good for self-defense, as it is single-action.



If you really want a DA/SA revolver instead, there have been a LOT of good comments.

I will rank my preferences as such:

For an occasional range trip in .357mag- Colt 357 or Python [C&R age groups].

For regular range trip, but with a diet of .38special and low to mid-level .357mag: S&W Model 586 or 686.

For regular range trip, but with diet of mid-to-high level .357mag: Ruger GP100 [or Ruger Redhawk in .357- they made some, but they are rare].

For woods carry- I'd probably suck up the weight and go with the GP100.

For conceal carry [carry often- shoot seldom], I love the out of box trigger on the Ruger LCR.

For ultimate accuracy in shooting contests- probably a performance center S&W.

But, for hunting [at ranges under 30yards- MY standard, due to my concerns and abilities] or overall fun at the range: Ruger Blackhawk. Slower to load and unload, but makes me focus on trigger skills due to slowness of the process.

Ruger Blackhawk 4 5/8" barrel

quote:

Originally posted by Michael J. Shannon:

A Super X .357 mag semi-wadcutter to his left shoulder ended the chase. I will never let this revolver go!

That narrative was very interesting! I still have most of a box of the Super X in 110 gr. +P 38 special that I was told was issued to Secret Service agents. I fired off five rounds from my J-Frame. It was like I had a flame thrower in my hand.

My favorite .357 was my Model 19. It is long gone unfortunately. Currently it's a toss up between my newer Model 66 and my 327PC. The 66 is a better shooter in my hands. The 327 is lighter to carry. With the Model 66 I can put three rounds at 7 yards(single action) into one not too large hole.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Ogie,

My 5" GP100, though I'm hunting for a Blackhawk convertible in the same caliber... maybe next year when/if I get a bonus




Built some loads for it however since I couldn't find data for the powder that I have a plethora of I blurred that out since it's not on the books; group shot at 15 yards.

Hey, Ogie

Glad you found my post interesting. The USSS had originally issued me (and a few other new agents) Colt Commandos in .38spl. These revolvers, as the story goes, were rejected by the Marine Corps, so the USSS gladly scooped them up. Mine was so bad that it shaved lead so any shooter to the right of
me ended up with a lead shower. That's when my boss authorized me to carry my Colt 357 (forerunner
of the Python). Later, following JFK assassination, the USSS issued S&W Model 19's.
Since we were part of the Treasury Department, we were issued "Treasury" +P 38spl loads for the Model
19's.