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I recently had a second range session with my new Taurus Model 66 .357 Magnum revolver. For those that don't know, its a 7-shot, 4 -inch barrel stainless double-action revolver. Anyway, I wasn't real happy with the way the elevation adjustments had gone during the first range session. Windage-wise, its fine, though. Since I plan on mostly shooting .38 Specials (just due to cost), I decided to re-adjust for elevation with 158-grain FMJ .38 Special rounds. I reset the sight elevation to its lowest point, and made adjustments back up from there. And, as I thought, it took several clicks to raise it up high enough to put them where it was aimed. And just to make sure it wasn't my not-so-quality shooting skills doing this, I had my buddy who is a pretty good shot try it. And he confirmed that it indeed was adjusted right, with the rear sight raised rather high (just over 1/8"). SO, now that the long-winded explanation is over, here is the question: What sort of a "real-world" trajectory difference is there between the typical .38 Special round and the typical .357 round, elevation-wise? I tried a ballistic calculator, but they seem like they are geared to rifles and the results with pistol ammo parameters put in don't seem "right", if that makes any sense. Can the extra velocity for .357 rounds vs. .38 Special rounds make a 2-to-3 inch difference at close (7 and 15 yard) ranges? I am hoping to learn something here.

At that short of a distance I don't think there would be any difference. The bullet has not had time to drop any so they should be the same. There might be a difference at 50yds, but not 7-15yds. I would try shooting the pistol from a supported bench on single action and see what happens. The goal is to try and eliminate all the human errors/factors and see what the gun itself is doing.

I know this will sound goofy but bear with me. From handguns faster loads shoot lower. This is because of the time in the barrel and how much the gun rises before the bullet exits. A 158 grain .38 Special bullet is going about 800 feet per second, a 158 gr .357 Magnum is about 1200 feet per second. The gun starts to recoil the instant the bullet starts to move so the slower bullet gets a longer ride in the barrel and is higher in the recoil arc. This also applies to bullet weight, lighter bullets shoot lower than heavier ones. A 158 .38 bullet will shoot higher than a 125 .38 at the same velocity.

Now, what does all this have to do with practical applications? Absolutely nothing. At normal handgun ranges, the difference will be negligible, at 100 yards you might notice a difference. I adjust my sights to shoot to point of aim at 25 yards and go with that I haven't noticed a great difference between .38 and .357 you are within the margin of error for both.

Yeah, at close range it shouldn't really matter much. Some people say the lighter faster rounds are more accurate but I have only found that the case at close range (which most of us shoot at 90% of the time). Ex. 135 grain Nosler DT in 10mm with my 6inch barrel is crazy accurate within 15 yards but if I take it out farther the 135s spread out and grouping spreads. They start to lose momentum quicker then the 180 grain + loads. Same with a 230 grain bullet, within 15 yards I can not tell a difference.

Yes, I do take my Glock 20 out to 50 yards and with the 6inch barrel it is very accurate with 180+ grain loads. I even take it out to 100 yards at the rifle range when my friends or non believers call bull. It is not what the gun was intended to do but fun to watch the expression on people’s faces when you can keep most of the rounds on a 12inch target from a bench rest. In fact my friends even do it after I shoot it and some shoot better then me.

EDIT: In all honesty I bet you could do it with something like a Glock 17L or 34 but what would be the point of that? You would be surprised how accurate some handguns can get with a good sight radius, a steady hand and above all practice! But like I said there is no real practical purpose for 100 yards with a handgun. I couldn't imagine hitting a moving target for hunting at those distances.

RECIT wrote:At that short of a distance I don't think there would be any difference. The bullet has not had time to drop any so they should be the same. There might be a difference at 50yds, but not 7-15yds. I would try shooting the pistol from a supported bench on single action and see what happens. The goal is to try and eliminate all the human errors/factors and see what the gun itself is doing.

I was able to zero the revolver in okay. I did use a sand-bag rest and fire single-action to adjust. My friend, as I stated, is a MUCH better shot than I am, and he got it to group quite well, AFTER the adjustment was made. I was just concerned that it took SO MANY clicks to raised the point of impact to the point of aim at those (7 to 15 yard) distances. I have a couple of pistols with adjustable sights, and they both shot "in the center zone" with either no adjustment or very little adjustment right out of the box. I am just trying to figure out why the revolver shot so low out of the box. It just seems weird and I am trying to eliminate variables. Thanks for the replies so far.