357 Magnum has become pointless... for me.

Since I started shooting .44 and .41 Magnum, every time I pick up one of my .357s, I wish it was a big bore instead. The one thing I like about .357 is the smaller (and I mean narrower) platform. Perhaps I should reconsider the GP100 in .44 spl.

As a self defense cartridge a 125gr JHP 357mag is tough to beat ..

I have a Glock 32 , when loaded with Underwood 125gr Golddot , it's basically a high capacity 357 Mag with equal bullet weight ..
and it carries better than my Security Six ... My Ruger LCR357 is fairly lively when loaded with Hornady 125gr FTX 357mag , a bit spirited .. so I useally carry Underwood 125gr XTP 38Spl +P

I used to have a half dozen or more 357mag revolvers , in my safe at anytime in the past .. But they have slowly been replaced by Glocks ..
My woods carry handgun is my
Glock 20 or 29 .... My EDC is a
Glock 27 ..

When I was a kid I used to load 357 mag near factory 41 mag levels, now I down load a 44 mag instead. Won a number of matches shooting a 357 but the loads were just minor, would have been “hot” 38 spl loads I suppose.

I shoot a ton of 357 magnum. Main use being plinking and target shooting, cheap to load and very comfortable to shoot from a 6" gp100 (my favorite 357) . 357s sweet, they shoot flat and hit hard. That being said, i never carry a 357 or use one for hunting or trail gun.
I agree with sequins, i have no use for a revolver in a rimless caliber. Maybe a competition reason to own one? But ANYTHING a 9mm can do in a revolver ballistically ,a 357 will do better - i doubt anyone would argue that.
I use revolvers for a couple things. Backwoods defense and recreation, thats really it. Recreation being 90% of it honestly. When i need a revolver my first pick always is a 5" super redhawk, really nothing that gun cant do (within the handgun realm). But anytime im headed to the range my 357 goes too. I load some in the 38 special range and some atomic stuff (thats why i like the gp100- its tough to hurt her ).
Ive got a couple other 357s but theyre more for collecting and occasional use, not pounding 5,000+ rounds a year through (some years less). Ive even got an ancient single shot 12 gauge that the stocks cracked and repaired (poorly) and is just a bit loose and worn. I got a subcaliber chamber adapter for it in 357 mag, really i use hot glue cast swc over a spp and no powder for can shooting and sometimes vermin that wander near my deck. I personally have no use at all for 9mm(especially if we're considering it a revolver caliber) but really the 44 magnum (this doesnt include 44 special), dont hate the caliber at all just cant figure any use for me. I probably havent shot my 44 magnum in 7 years. Thats why they sell chocolate and vanilla ice cream.

I thought the .357 was the bomb until I started shooting deer with it. I was pretty unimpressed when compared to my 12ga slugs.
.45 colt is currently my go to. It is more mature in recoil, report, and results.

The .357 is what I reach for when I'm going out into the woods and no knowing what I might run into. Out of a 5.5" Blackhawk, it's a good thumper. If you made me pick one gun to head for the hills with, it would be my .357/9mm blackhawk convertible.

That said, man what an ear splitting concussive round. I would only light one off without ear protection in the most dire of situations. 99% of the time the .38 would do the trick.

Having stumbled into .45apc in a snub nose, I find the lower recoil and less harsh report to be a better day to day self defense round.

In short, the .357 is a capable man stopper. It's a cartridge I would stake my life upon. However, I prefer others over the .357 by a good margin.

I can't see the validity of an argument against the .357 provided the versatility of it is taken advantage of through handloading. I don't really see a meaningful difference between .38 Special and .357 Magnum unless a gun or factory ammo limits you to black-powder pressure levels. With a decent modern gun, the short cases can be loaded to 35,000 psi and the long ones can be loaded to low pressure.

The only thing the .357 doesn't do (in the revolver category) is big-bore, and bullet weights well over 200 grains. Shooting 3, 4 hundred grain hard casts in those big bore guns must be fun, but I can't see a need for me to do it unless I was harvesting game larger than deer. Considering how rarely I do that with any gun, much less a revolver, I wouldn't buy a gun just for that. I admire the big-bore magnums, but I think I'd enjoy shooting a buddy's more than tying up my own money in something I have so little use for.

I can see a .45LC or .44 Special or a .44 Magnum with light loads being good for carry, but since there's not even reasonable consensus that .45 is better than 9mm for that purpose, any claim that those revolver cartridges are more effective than .357 seems dubious. Besides, I have a strong preference for lead-free primers that are only available in the small size for the time being. The only practical handgun cartridges beyond .357 that have readily available brass with small primers pockets are .40S&W, .45ACP and .454 Casull. If anyone wonders why some .45ACP has small primer pockets, this is the reason. I can't see any clear advantage to those cartridges and the only one that I find appealing in a revolver would be the Casull, which I covered in my previous paragraph. I see how others would find appeal in something like the .45ACP in a revolver. The short cases in a moon clip drop in and eject fast and positive. The problem is the cylinder diameter needed puts it in an N-frame size category with a high bore-center. That tradeoff isn't worth it when the magnum-capability is deleted.

The 10mm and .41 Magnum are generally only available with large-primer brass. I don't see a decisive ballistic advantage to 10mm, but .41 shoots with all the authority of .357 and it does it with heavier bullets. The problem is there are few guns in either chambering. Considering there's even an L-frame offered in .44 Magnum, I don't see how .44 isn't better and more versatile in every way.

As for smaller calibers, we've got the .32's, but most people have realized there's little point to them considering how light .38's can be loaded. Ok, you can get 6 shots in a SP101, but you can do the same with .357 in a K6. Smaller than .32? I have a rimfire revolver I think would be good for trapping. I can see a .38 is a bit much for that job. But for plinking, I'd rather shoot a .38 all day than a filthy rimfire. And when plinking, I'd rather shoot a bigger, heavier gun with midrange .357's than a lightweight gun with .38 wimp loads.

I've shot alot of full power 357 Magnum loads in a revolver and a T/C Contender at IHMSH handgun silhouette targets. They worked well and I did OK in the matches. I have a an appreciation of the capabilities of the 357 Magnum cartridge.

Over time, I have less interest in shooting full power 357 Magnum ammunition on a regular basis and I shoot mid range loads in 357 Magnum cases. I like my 357 Magnum guns. I also like my 38 Special guns and ammunition as well.

I never owned a 44 Magnum gun until fairly recently and even so, it has never seen a full power 44 Magnum load in it. I do have an S&W 460 XVR. It satisfies any desires I have to shoot high power magnum ammunition but I will admit, I shoot mostly 45 Colt level ammunition in my X frame gun. I guess I do not have much desire to shoot out the block of a 427 Chevy engine these days.

While I like slow moving, heavy weight bullets (45 Colt, 45 ACP, 44 Special, etc) , I still feel there is a place for the 357 Magnum in my gun room.

I do keep full power 357 Magnum ammunition on hand.

According to the title, I thought your barrel had fallen off!

I shot 10's of thousands of rounds .38Spl and .357 Mag in my younger years. Now I have settled on a .44Spl.

Absolutely no problem with the .357 mag and would still own a couple, but am now liquidating do to bad health.

With the .357 I typically loved the gun itself (Ruger Security Six, Colt Trooper Mk.V, S&W Model 686), than I had any great need for the cartridge itself. As George P so succinctly put it: I tend to shoot more .38 Specials through my guns rather than .357s.

Hard to beat a .357 for shooting at the range, both for overall enjoyment and relative low cost of ammo, whether you reload or buy factory. This is in a handgun or carbine platform. I own and reload for many different handgun calibers. I do not own, nor do I desire to own any 9 or 10 mm. Probably because I have revolver calibers that equate to them. Still, I don't consider them pointless and don't mind shooting my friends. We all have our "druthers". Kinda nice here in America we have such a wide assortment of calibers and platforms to choose from, that we can actually make a valid choice.

buck460XVR said:

I own and reload for many different handgun calibers. I do not own, nor do I desire to own any 9 or 10 mm.

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Im with you on that, no need or want for 9mm. I on the other hand love the 10mm for its intended use, good capacity and decent power. For the 10mm if there isnt at least 15 in the magazine it becomes pointless to me, i cant think of any other handgun that carries as many rounds and has that kind of zap. I use my glock 20 as my main carry gun for 2 legged vermin.

I have never shot 38 spl in either of my S&W 357. I have a model 10 if I want to shoot 38. I never worry about not having enough gun and could care less if another cartridge has "better" ballistics. My needs are target shooting or self defense so I have all I need. Don't put too much value in my opinion because I also feel comfortable with my old Colt 1911 and ball ammo.

Add me to the list of those who likes 357 guns, but almost never shoots 357 ammo. I probably haven't fired more than 300 rounds of full house 357 in my life, and that included a box of factory I fired through my new Model 19-9 recently. I don't hunt with a handgun, I don't carry a revolver for self-defense, we're fresh out of big bears and T-Rex's around here, and paper targets just don't take a lot of killing. 38 Special seems to stop them in their tracks, so I shoot 38's almost exclusively.

mcb said:

38 S&W
-Iver Johnson Safety Automatic. Bought as a fun gun since I really like top break revolvers
38/300
-Webley Mark IV, bought primarily as a fun gun, top break but I have carried it as my woods/tractor revolver
38 Special +P
-S&W 442 Moonclip, this is my primary CCW.
-S&W Model 10 4-inch heavy barrel, my IDPA competition revolver and my primary woods/tractor revolver
357 Magnum
-Ruger Blackhawk Convertible (so 9mm also), bough as a hunting revolver and hunted with it one or two season (unsuccessfully) but have probably put less that 200rds through it in the past 10+ years.
-S&W 627 PC 5-inch My current USPSA revolver, Less than a box of 357 Magnum through it. Several thousand 38 Short Colt fired in competition.
10mm Auto
-S&W 610 6.5 inch, this was my first revolver bought for USPSA, Fired alot of 40S&W though it in competition. Used 10mm Auto for hungting, found it much easier on my ears than 357 Mag
44 Magnum
-M29 6.5-inch, My newest revolver. Bought as a hunting revolver to go with my Rossi M92 in 44 Magnum. I have more 44 Mag fired through this revolver this summer working up loads than I have ever fired through both of my 357 Magnums combined.
45 ACP
S&W 625 5-inch. Bought as my USPSA revolver to replace my 610. Only used for two years when the rule change happened pushing me to the 627. I still shoot the 625 at club matches simply because its so much fun to shoot. I occasionally carry it as a woods/tractor gun but the Model 10 is much lighter.

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After looking at your list of revolvers and what you do with them I think it's a fantastic idea that you don't bother with the 357 cartridge anymore. You don't really do anything demanding with any of those firearms accuracy wise. Chose lesser caliber/firearms (38spl vs 357) for your personal protection, if you're lucky enough to survive you'll find out 1st hand the difference between the 2.

More likely than not you'll have another epiphany and 2 of those 3 revolvers you bought to play a game with will no longer be needed because that m29 can do anything the 610 and 625 can & do it better.

I can see how it would be beneficial for you to reload 5 different cartridges to do the same thing a 357 can. But yet the cartridges you choose use/reload can't do everything a 357 can. Myself I'd of never bought a 10mm revolver & it would be the 1st thing to go. But then again I don't choose a 38spl over a 357 when what really matters is on the line either.

It occurs to me that if Kimber or Colt would offer a K6s or Cobra in 9 mm I would consider one. There just aren’t any current 9 mm revolvers that do what I personally want them to do.

Many years ago in the NE. I walked the woods and fields carrying a rifle and a Colt Trooper MK III .357 pistol for many years. Back when you could do that sort of thing. Now my wife has taken over the Trooper. It's the nicest revolver we own. .357 magnums have been part of our lives since we were 20 years old always will be. I own several and can't imagine ever parting with one.

I own revolvers in 22 and mag, 32 H&R, 32 colt, 32-20, 38sp, 357m, 38-40, 44sp, 44m, 45acp, 45 colt, and 500m.

The one I shoot the most is the 45acp 1917 colt. I carry it to the mountains when I go. I also have some 45 autorim, for those who despise moonclips. I also love shooting the single six rugers alot.

To me, the 357m is more of a bad-man stopper than a hunting or target round. It's too small to incapacitate a bear in some situations. It's too potent to target shoot all day. I want something light to shoot for fun, or something way ridiculous like the 500.

Plus my .357 is a nickel python with ultra sharp checkering on the grips. They dig in something fierce.

On a side note, I was watching hickock45 last night start a revolver video talking about sam colt, then goes on to show 20 revolvers, only one a colt. Come on man, you're better than that!

I like 357 mag (and alas, way too many others)
I like 4.5 gr Universal under 158 gr lswc boolit at 1.610 for a mild range load. Doesn’t hurt my 68 yo hands in a SP101 snub.
I very seldom shoot 38 spc anymore.
Jmho

For many years one of my most desired revolvers was a Colt New Frontier in .357 Magnum and 7 1/2" barrel. My daughter lives in eastern Ohio in ground hog country, and I always thought of such a sixgun as an ideal varmint gun. The .357 Magnum is a high-steppin' flat shootin' proposition with minimal recoil. I had a 140 gr. JHP load that clocked around 1500 f.p.s. as I recall that would have been a dandy for this.

I now have a Three Screw Ruger in .357 Magnum and still toy with the idea of fitting a Colt New Frontier barrel to the gun and maybe having Doug Turnbull do his work on the gun. I do feel the current Blackhawks (except the Flat Tops) are way overbuilt for this cartridge.

But I think these days are behind me now.


Bob Wright

buck460XVR said:

and don't mind shooting my friends

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They probably don't enjoy it very much.

Meh, I'm completely out of the .38/.357 business... I sold my last .38 last year. I'm not a big revolver guy, I own some nice ones... all .41 Magnum... that I use for paper poking and shooting steel. I've had some nice .38/.357 revolvers... but, honestly, they were just gathering dust the past few years, and once I replaced my carry J-frame with a Kahr 9mm, I didn't even need one for carry purposes.