question about .357 vs .38 revolvers

[sixgunner455]

And do you want to know why the .38 is cheaper than the .357? Well, making a .357 capable gun is more expensive -- to compare two very similar guns, S&W repeatedly stated that the steel in the cylinder of a model 19 is different from the steel in the cylinder of a model 15, and the heat treating is different, too.

My take on that is that they use a more expensive alloy for the model 19, the heat treat is more complicated, and machining after the heat treat on the model 19 could be harder on the machining tools, wearing out tool heads and such faster. So the 19 costs more to produce than the 15, by costs of materials, time to produce, and wear on tools.

If you're not going to shoot the .357 in a particular gun, then it makes a lot of sense not to go to the expense of paying for all of that.

 

[Confederate]

I dunno, I'd never buy a .38 when I could get a .357 at the same size. Yes, the chamber sizing is different on both guns, but you can shoot light loads in .357 cases. But the biggest pain is that the industry went to HEAVY .357 mag revolvers. The Ruger .357 was the SIZE of a .38, but it had the POWER of a .357. They also were easier to carry.

For serious defense, there's not a better stopping round than a 125 gr. JHP in any handgun, even a larger caliber magnum. A .44 mag will send any bullet right on through a human because humans weren't what it was designed for. The .357 was made for primarily two reasons: 1) penetration of cars and tires by the Highway Patrol; and 2) greater stopping power in humans. It's also a respectable hunting round, but that came later.

True, the early .357s penetrated human frames too easily, but with the lighter bullets it did just fine; almost perfect, in fact. It also kept its ability to penetrate cars. At 110 gr. JHPs, the bullets begin to fragment in heavy clothing and underpenetrate. At 158 gr. JHPs you begin seeing excessive penetration again and you get into hunting territory. So 125-140 gr. JHPs are ideal. The magnum, with .38 ammo, can still be fine for plinking and non-competition target shooting. And if you clean your gun, you shouldn't have any problems at all. An old trick someone at the NRA once told me is, once you shoot your lead .38s through your magnum, shoot about 12 .38 JHPs through to kind of clear out some of the lead build up.

Buying a .38 for just a tad bit more accuracy is sacrificing an awful lot of versatility, in my book. I'm just glad I have a Security-Six in every barrel length.