New truck/BUG .357 Mag revolver yields shock and awe!

[A-R]

If you think that .357 was something, you should give my Model 29 in 8 3/8th inch barrel a whirl...LOL. It'll make you look in the mirror to make sure your face ain't bleeding...LOL.

A .357, while still a very potent round, is a .44 magnum's little brother. Plus, you want shock and awe, try shooting a 125 grain .357 load in a 13 oz scandium pocket revolver.


I love my Model 29, and it's the only gun in my safe with a nickname -- Big Poppa.

Only .44 Mag I've ever fired was a Ruger Redhawk (someone I worked with more than a decade ago let me shoot through one six-round cylinder). I don't remember that gun producing nearly the "shockwave" effect of the S&W 686 .357 Mag I fired years later.

[Keith B]

If you think that .357 was something, you should give my Model 29 in 8 3/8th inch barrel a whirl...LOL. It'll make you look in the mirror to make sure your face ain't bleeding...LOL.

A .357, while still a very potent round, is a .44 magnum's little brother. Plus, you want shock and awe, try shooting a 125 grain .357 load in a 13 oz scandium pocket revolver.


I love my Model 29, and it's the only gun in my safe with a nickname -- Big Poppa.

Only .44 Mag I've ever fired was a Ruger Redhawk (someone I worked with more than a decade ago let me shoot through one six-round cylinder). I don't remember that gun producing nearly the "shockwave" effect of the S&W 686 .357 Mag I fired years later.

The .44 mag Redhawk may not have had as much perceived recoil as the .357 mag. Both the .357 and .44 run about 35,000 PSI max pressure, and the larger caliber of the .44 means there is more room in the barrel to release that pressure. Additionally, the Redhawk is a much larger and heavier framed gun (46 - 54oz) than the 686 (34 - 44oz) (depending on barrel length), so there would be more weight, and in turn weight distribution to help absorb the recoil and not as much would be transfered to your hand.

[surprise_i'm_armed]

As a comparison, Rossi states that my 971 weighs 31 ounces, which
I assume is unloaded weight.

Shooting my .357 makes me understood why so many state troopers
liked it since it would penetrate car bodies.

Sure, other rounds may pierce car bodies, but the .357 seems to do
it with a lot of pizzazz. :-)

Currently I see my .357 as a range gun that makes a loud statement.
The .357 ammo is kind of pricey but it sure is fun.

Once I find a good holster for it, I may just carry it as primary or BUG.
If it's onbody I'll load it with .357, but if it stays in the seatbelt holster it
will have .38 Special +P's in it.

SIA

[rdcrags]

My .357 is in the bedside table, presumably to point down the 15 yd hallway in the dark if necessary. I am concerned about the sound, without earmuffs. But how the recoil would affect the timing of a second shot doesn't concern me as much as the inability to see the BG after the first flash. Been thinking about training with one eye open for the first shot, and the other eye open for the second shot. I suspect that will work if I could have the presence of mind to do it under the level of excitement being experienced. Forget the third shot, as far as being able to aim. Even the night lite wouldn't aleviate the effect of the flash, I'm sure.

[Mike1951]

Of course, today's loads are downright wimpy!

1935
Major Douglas Wesson

Antelope - 200 yards (2 shots)

Elk - 130 yards (1 shot)

Moose - 100 yards (1 shot)

Grizzly Bear - 135 yards (1 shot)

The Antelope was hit the first time at 125 yards. It ran, stopped and was shot the second time at 200 yards. The second shot killed it.

The Bull Elk was killed with one shot through the lungs.

The Moose was shot in the chest near the base of the neck. It cut the 2nd rib, passed through both lungs, sheared the 8th rib on the off side and stopped just under the hide. No follow-up shot was required.

These animals were taken on a Fall hunt in Wyoming, near the West entrance of Yellowstone Park. The Grizzly was taken later in Canada.

The above game was taken using factory loads which were a 158 gr. bullet at 1515 fps from an 8 3/4" barreled S&W producing 812 ft. lbs of muzzle energy. (S&W later shortened the barrels to 8 3/8" as we have today)

To those who criticized, the Major replied that they "..had not the slightest conception of what we have accomplished in ballistics.." - a statement that still applies today.

Today's 158gr loadings are about 300fps slower.

[eddieconcarne]

My .357 is in the bedside table, presumably to point down the 15 yd hallway in the dark if necessary. I am concerned about the sound, without earmuffs. But how the recoil would affect the timing of a second shot doesn't concern me as much as the inability to see the BG after the first flash. Been thinking about training with one eye open for the first shot, and the other eye open for the second shot. I suspect that will work if I could have the presence of mind to do it under the level of excitement being experienced. Forget the third shot, as far as being able to aim. Even the night lite wouldn't aleviate the effect of the flash, I'm sure.

This is why I have never liked .357 in a bedside gun. The muzzle blast will temporarily blind you, the report will permanently deafen you, and god help your neighbors if they are closeby and you miss the BG, because that sucker will cut right through a non-brick wall. What's the old saying: "Shot placement is king. Adequate penetration is queen. Everything else is angels dancing on the heads of pins."

[eddieconcarne]

I'm a revolver nut, and just about every time I unload some .357 down the lane, there is inevitably a Glock-guy or a 1911-nut on the lanes to whom .357 is a new thing. Maybe it's because revolvers aren't considered as "cool" as semis, or maybe their popularity has taken a serious hit since S&W put the external lock on their wheelguns - but whatever it is, shooting a cylinder of "fire breathers" almost always prompts someone to come down and ask what in god's name I'm shooting. .44 magnum is the big stuff in the minds of many semi-auto-only shooters, but the .357 magnum has a report uniquely it's own. It's a much sharper sound than the boom of a .44. That and the muzzle blast from certain ammo is a real attention-getter.

[wheelgun1958]

[eddieconcarne]

[WildBill]

I guess you showed them.

[rdcrags]

This is why I have never liked .357 in a bedside gun. The muzzle blast will temporarily blind you, the report will permanently deafen you, and god help your neighbors if they are closeby and you miss the BG, because that sucker will cut right through a non-brick wall.

I have the brick, but only 42% of normal hearing in one ear already; would hate to lose any of the other ear. Maybe hold a pillow against it?

[Excaliber]

When I lived in CT, I had a retired CT State Police major working for me. We'd go out to a local range about once a month and follow it up with dinner at the barbecue joint on the other side of the road.

He started in police work when the issue gun for his agency was a 4" S&W .357 revolver, and had been in gunfights with his. He carried an autoloader in later years, but never lost his fondness for the old wheelgun. When he retired, he bought the one that had been issued to him, and brought it to the range for each visit.

We'd start off our range sessions with one of my .40's or .45's and his daily carry, which was a snubby .38. Then he'd haul out that old hand cannon and touch off a round with the flash and report characteristics noted here by others. That would usually be followed by the cessation of shooting in all the other lanes and a couple of guys walking up to ask "What the heck was THAT?"

It was always good for a laugh, and it was fun to watch the observers' faces when they realize that, despite the snappy recoil, that old cop could run circles around most of them with his groups.

He was a great friend, but if you were a bad guy, he was definitely the kind of feller you'd take pains to steer clear of. A guy who can handle a .357 like that is not to be trifled with.

[A-R]

Great "action" photos, eddie. But I especially love seeing those two beautiful shiny Smiths.

When do you get to Austin? I need to invite myself to the range when you go

[NcongruNt]

This is why I have never liked .357 in a bedside gun. The muzzle blast will temporarily blind you, the report will permanently deafen you, and god help your neighbors if they are closeby and you miss the BG, because that sucker will cut right through a non-brick wall.

I have the brick, but only 42% of normal hearing in one ear already; would hate to lose any of the other ear. Maybe hold a pillow against it?

Electronic earmuffs. They'll improve the acuity of your hearing AND protect you from the report. The first time I got a set, I lived at a big cooperative house. I put them on and turned them up, and could hear quietly-spoken conversations in the house several rooms away from mine, with the doors closed.