357 Mag Revolvers for Self Defense

I have a love/hate relationship with. 357.
Right now its love.....

I love 357 for hunting and started off carrying it for CCW.
Had LCR but accuracy was terrible. I tried to find the 4" version but it's practically a unicorn.
Have Colt 3 inch new King Cobra, Love it!
Here are some others, but 2 at top are 44 mag

I have a .357 mag and I carry it everyday.

Armored farmer said:

I have a love/hate relationship with. 357.
Right now its love.....
View attachment 905705 View attachment 905706

Click to expand...

I do too and right now I’m on a “hate” phase with them. I’m liking the bigger bores nowadays because they are rarer and I’m just really into 44 right now.

I have an SP101 in 357 that I like a lot but I don't carry it due to the weight. I wish I could but my Taurus 85 Ultra lite is my EDC.

I've got a few

I almost started a thread a couple days ago about "cartridges you can't quit". The .357 is that cartridge for me. Obnoxiously loud if very effective. A hard barking, fast shooting, hard hitting bullet of lighter weight compared to catapulting heavy, slow bullets out of a .44.

It has become my SD round of choice. While the 9mm is king right now, and I certainly see the merits of the automatic rounds, a wheel gun stoked with 125gr rip-snort. 357 will do the job.

For the last few months, a 686+ with 2.5" barrel has become my go to for everything. I keep it by the bed, I take it on walks in the woods, it rides in my truck's console. I have even started pocket carrying it in my left front jeans.

A slim .45 or even a pocket .38 makes more sense, but I'm really feeling the warm and fuzzies of a quality .357.

Carried a Python for nearly 18 years.
We shot Federal 125 grain SJHP and had lots on confidence it would build up enough steam in a 4"or 6" barrel to stop anything we'd likely encounter.
Nothin' wrong with a .357 but it is rough on the ears indoors.
I almost wish I still had mine.

It's a fine caliber, I like the range of power you can get in a .357 and love those older Charter's for their light weight and small size. Make for great outdoors revolvers open carried.

But for self defense... I still prefer .32 revolvers. Less recoil, more rounds in a smaller package.

I do like tho how much free .38 brass I can get at the range tho and load it up to a .38 +P+ or low end .357 power with a Hornady XTP. Super cheap, but very effective for self defense and I can make it for 25 cents a round. Is that enough to make it my #1 choice for carrying? Nope, but .357 does make a great choice for reloaders or people wanting a powerful, but controllable revolver in a cheaper caliber than the big bores like .44 or .45 Colt.

You think the 357 is hard on the ears indoors, try a snubnosed comp-d 357.


3" bbl shroud 7-shot with a 2 1/2" bbl. Used to switch back and forth with these bullet styles (winter/summer)


Anymore I just keep the 170gr bullets in it with a load pushing that 170gr bullet 1200fsp+.

I'm a huge fan of the 44spl for carry & keep the 357's for around the house.

Only two in the carry rotation (CCW)
S&W 640 Pro (145grn LSWCHP 950FPS)
3in GP100 bobbed hammer, compact grips. (125grn Barnes XPB 1300FPS)

I have a few more 357 choices.
Great versatile cartrige!

I am carrying my S&W 19-4 at the moment but intend to change the load to something subsonic, expecting that I might need to fire it without hearing protection, especially in an enclosed area (yikes!). I don't favor shooting the shorter 38 Special in it (just me), so look for a reloading of a bullet and powder common in data for both 38+p and .357 Magnum minimum. I expect to be using 158-180 grain jacketed hollow points without necessarily expecting optimal expansion. I have some Speer Short Barrel, so started there in terms of purchased ammo.

My Model 19 is 4" and in a deSantis high ride carries better than my SP101 3" that doesn't ride as high. The problem though is having to raise the 4" gun from that point high enough to clear the holster. Okay for a younger person, I guess. In general, I think a 3" gun is a better carry gun for concealment using an OWB holster.

I love my 357 mags, but pocket carry a s&w 442 38 special most of the time.

I have sold or traded all my 357s and probably wont get another. In 36 caliber, the 38 Special does all I need.

Kevin

It too is my favorite caliber. It all started when I was about 12. A friend of my mom took me to the range and let me shoot his Python. At the end of the session I realized I had been shooting 38spl the whole time. I asked to shoot a magnum and he obliged. That day I contracted magnumitus.

My current selection of the 357’s are a 686+ 3in, Colt King Cobra 3in and a 19-4 6in.

PS. I don’t know why the 686 pic uploaded twice.

Its a very effective round, and I own several: 4" S&W 19 (my first handgun), 4" Colt python, 4 5/8" blackhawk, and 2.5" 101. The fact is, with the exception of the 101 (which lives in the tool chest in my garage) the rest are safe queens, and no matter what, I am much faster and accurate with autos like my various Glocks, 1911's, and S&W shield 9.

Own 3 .38 and/or .357 revolvers--none of them get carried-----autoloaders just make more sense to me in that role.

I am a self avowed 357 Mag hater (maybe more than Colt if possible). And with respect to carrying a revolver in 357 Mag by the time it's big enough and heavier enough to tame the recoil of 357 Mag to something shootable I might as well carry a similar weight semi-auto and have 2-3 times more capacity. By the time it's small and light enough to be a pocket gun 38 Special +P is all the more I need or want to shoot.

I carry a 442 moonclip more than any other handgun I own.

All my center-fire revolvers are .357. My EDC is the LCR. Though I shoot mostly .38Spcl..thru my snubs, it's nice to have the ability to expand to .357 should I so desire. My 6" Security Six gets mostly a .357 diet. I use it primarily as a hunting sidearm.

I have had a 357 or two or three or 40, since 1962 when I bought my first Ruger Blackhawk OM SA 6.5” Right now my carry gun while hunting is a M-66 in 4” I carry in an Andrews Leather cross draw rig. Keeps the hammer spur off the wood on my rifle.

Last 19 I bought was from a fellow dealer at Tulsa, he needed to convert table stock to cash to buy something. He Did not want too much, so she came home with me. It is an old 19 recessed chambers, pinned barrel, 5 T gun that someone parkerized when fairly new. It now resides in a Mountain Rose Leather Co flap holster for tractor riding.
These two 19 versions stay loaded with 168 gr RCBS SWC over a stout load of H-110.

It's a love-hate thing for me.

Most my handguns are 357's, it's not a bad cartridge, it's quite effective.

I just prefer to run bigger cartridges tuned down a bit. All that blast wears you down during a range session especially indoors. The bigger cartridges can still provide fulfilling recoil with much less thunder and lighting. I.e. a 250gr SWC 44/45 going 950fps vs a 158gr SWC 357 screaming around 1400fps.

I have one revolver in .357 magnum, a 27-3 FBI Commemorative (pictured), loaded with 158 grain Gold Dots on nightstand duty, but am thinking about relieving the revolver with a Glock 21.