357 Magnum as you're ccw

[iLikeOldgunsIlikeNewGuns]

BigFatDave said what I would say. I'd love to carry a Coonan. I carry a 5" steel 1911 full time. Been wanting one for a while, just gotta come up with the $$$$

 

[Zaydok Allen]

I alternate between an SP101 and a XDs. .357 is a good carry round.

 

[barriersdrugged]

There are hundreds of millions of gun owners in this country, and not one of them will have an accident today. The only misuse of guns comes in environments where there are drugs, alcohol, bad parents, and undisciplined children. Period.

 

[19-3Ben]

One of my favorite carry guns is, like the OP, my Ruger Speed Six.
I carry with 125gr. Hornady Critical Defense.

 

[Woodsman!]

2 1/2 686

 

[cpt-t]

Arizonan: I got my CCW`s several years ago and I chose a S&W 640-1 SS 357. And I put a Crimson Trace set of grips on it. I truley enjoy this gun and I shoot it alot, I try to shoot it 20 or 30 times every time I go to my Gun Clubs range, mostly with my plinking handloads, but not always, I shoot alot of SD loads also. This gun must not be very poular, for I never see any one else shooting one, see one for sale, or even hear any one talking about one. IMHO I think that is a mistake, and over the years I have susprised my self on how well this gun shoots for me. And I don`t consider my self any thing speical with a Hand Gun. But this is my CCW not one of the House Guns. I also use a KAHR CW 9 with Crimson Trace Grips for a CCW as well & I am extremly impressed with it.
ken

 

[Arizonan]

CPT-T
You have an excellent weapon in the 640. Shoot well and live long

 

[CAR]

+1 on .38 Special +P for self defence in short barrel .357 Magnums. Barrels 3" or less will many times show better performance with .38 Special +P over full house .357 Mag loads.

 

[Fiv3r]

Yep

SP101 stoked with 158gr semi softpoints.

 

[ljnowell]

+1 on .38 Special +P for self defence in short barrel .357 Magnums. Barrels 3" or less will many times show better performance with .38 Special +P over full house .357 Mag loads.

No they won't. There is no 38+p load in the world that will outperform a real 357 magnum no matter what the barrel length. The load that makes the most fps in a 6" barrel will do the same in a 2" barrel.

 

[19-3Ben]

+1 on .38 Special +P for self defence in short barrel .357 Magnums. Barrels 3" or less will many times show better performance with .38 Special +P over full house .357 Mag loads.

Nonsense.

With barrels under the 3-4" range you won't see .357magnum loads really coming into their own. They really warm up and start pulling waaaaayyy ahead of the .38spl once you hit that 3-4 inch mark.
But they are always faster and perform better when shot side by side with .38spl at any barrel length.
Of course there are tradeoffs of recoil, blast, flash, etc... with a lot of unburnt powder when shooting in the shorter barrels. But you will never ever see .38spl outperforming the .357mag in the same barrel lengths.*



*there are some very very load-specific exceptions to this rule if you compare the strongest .38 to the weakest .357mag. i.e. if you compare Speer's 135gr short barrel .357mag to Federal's old 147gr .38 +P+ then you might see the .38 exceed the .357, but that's a rare and notable exception (and outside the realm of what you brought up since you specifically mentioned "full house" .357).

 

[Rasp]

I own a S&W 640 pro, which I love. I've since started carrying a 9mm shield for the above reason and additional capacity/faster reloads. I still adore my 640, though.

 

[CLP]

There are hundreds of millions of gun owners in this country, and not one of them will have an accident today. The only misuse of guns comes in environments where there are drugs, alcohol, bad parents, and undisciplined children. Period.

I think absentmindedness/carelessness accounts for a significant number of negligent discharges.

 

[Jaymo]

.38s and .357s.
Plus some other calibers, depending on the situation.

I don't feel naked with a .38 or .357 for SD.
Good loads and better shot placement will do more good than a hail of "spray & pray" bullets.

 

[MCgunner]

My new carry is here....

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=757606

I will carry my Speer 140 grain load in it.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

+1 on .38 Special +P for self defence in short barrel .357 Magnums. Barrels 3" or less will many times show better performance with .38 Special +P over full house .357 Mag loads.

Incorrect

 

[MCgunner]

I just chronographed my 140 Speer load in the above revolver...1333 fps/552 ft lbs. Best I can manage out of a +P .38 2" barrel is around 275 ft lbs which is HALF the .357 load.

Depends on the load, though. Lots of so called magnum loads ain't much more than .38 loads in .357 brass. Want performance in a factory load?

https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=100




https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_list&c=20

 

[tomrkba]

I dislike snubby revolvers, so I tend to use guns with 4" barrels. I like my Ruger GP100.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Bought a SP101 in 1995 or so. I carry it nearly daily.

 

[horsemen61]

My LCR does just fine for me when stoked with anything I put in it

 

[357 Terms]

DAO SP 101

or a 3in gp100 with compact grips.

EDC (not at the same time

Loaded with Barnes XPB 125 grainers with 14.8grns of V.V. n110 and a SR primer.

My wife carries a Smith md.60 with CTgrips

 

[Zaydok Allen]

Lots of so called magnum loads ain't much more than .38 loads in .357 brass.

Exactly.

 

[Onward Allusion]

I now have 2 primary carry 357's. A Taurus 617 (7-shot) and a Taurus 608 (8-shot) that I had modified slightly to 3" and compact presentation grips.

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=200610&d=1405465677

It's crazy to think that I carried mouse guns for the longest time (P32, NAA Mini's, P3AT...etc) and now carry 357's with capacity equal to a 1911. The funny thing is that both the 617 ad 608 is still pretty easily concealable with the right holster and belt.

BTW, the main reason I chopped the 608's barrel to 3" and not 2" is that there is a significant increase in power with that one little inch.

 

[stompah]

I used to pocket carry a LCR until I traded it for a SP101. Now when I feel like it I carry that in a leather OWB holster that isn't always concealed. I need to buy another LCR when I pocket carried that in my slacks (5+ days a week) it was pretty much undetectable.

 

[sgt127]

I've put a lot of miles on a 3" 65 and a Ruger SP101.

I carry a Sig P239 in 357 Sig more often now. Full house magnums in a revolver just hurt my hand. (Likely from shooting as many as I did for as long as I did).

With the DAK trigger, the P239 is like a flat, easy recoiling revolver with a really good trigger. And pretty close to the ballistics of a 4" revolver with 125 gr rounds. And, it has two more rounds.

But, I wouldn't hesitate to carry a revolver for a second and, sometimes still do.