CraigC
Sixgun Nut
It's a small club you belong to but you are definitely not alone. I've never had any affection for the .357Mag. I have affection for some of the guns that chamber it but this is in spite of the cartridge. I love the .38Spl and think there is little better in this world than a nice K-38 but the .357 is far too little bite for so much bark. It absolutely requires velocity to be effective. I prefer the diameter, mass and laid-back nature of a moderately loaded big bore cartridge over anything possible in the .357. It gets the job done without making my ears bleed. I love the N-frame 27/28 and the Old Model Blackhawk in this chambering but for me, the best thing they offer, is the ability to be rechambered to something more useful. I realize this is contrary to 99% of shooters but that is just fine.
I like the 10mm GP. I like it for the same reasons one might choose a GP over a Redhawk for any purpose. The 10mm over the .357 just increases that gap because it's even lighter. The 10mm is an incremental increase over the .357 but it's more of what I value and less of what I don't. That being diameter and mass over velocity. A .357 will never fire a 220gr .401" cast bullet. Yes, I do wish there was a rimmed alternative but there is not. With proper tools, moon clips are little more trouble than loading magazines and easier than chasing brass.
Okaaaay. So if you want a 10mm you should just buy a Glock? If the chambering relative to the platform matters, just buy a Glock??? This logic is impossible to follow. I bought my first Glock in 1991 and shot them for 15yrs. There are myriad reasons why I no longer own any and I will not go into them here but suffice to say that your comment makes absolutely no sense to me. If I wanted a Glock, I wouldn't have sold or traded the ones I have. I did buy the new Springfield XDM 10mm but I hope I don't have to explain to this group why one would choose a blued steel revolver over a polymer framed auto.I love 357, it does a great job at being a hoot to shoot. I don't like shooting auto cartridges in revolvers. I'd rather a 357 or a 41 over the 40 or 10mm. I feel moon clips are a mistake and would not use a firearm which relied on such an accoutrement.
The beauty of revolvers, to me, is the simplicity and reliability of the operation. Autoloader cartridges diminish that strength. A 10mm might be ballistically superior to a 357, but if I'm going 10mm I'm going Glock and would never consider a gp100 or other revolver in that chambering.
It is strange to me to see esteemed posters espouse the inseparability of cartridge and platform to justify a 10mm gp100 over a 41 redhawk by saying platform matters and gp100 is best power/weight ratio, while at the same time not cutting to the chase and getting a Glock 10mm instead of either revolver.
If you don't like the unique strengths and sentimentality of revolvers enough to use a revolver cartridge, why use revolvers? In the OPs case it seems the only justification is the contrivances which arise in structured competion, which is to say that 45acp in a revolver is a valid choice if you're trying to hit a certain power factor rather than "real shooting" considerations.
In the end I prefer a 38spl, 357 mag, 44 mag, or 45 colt over any autoloader cartridge chambering.
I like the 10mm GP. I like it for the same reasons one might choose a GP over a Redhawk for any purpose. The 10mm over the .357 just increases that gap because it's even lighter. The 10mm is an incremental increase over the .357 but it's more of what I value and less of what I don't. That being diameter and mass over velocity. A .357 will never fire a 220gr .401" cast bullet. Yes, I do wish there was a rimmed alternative but there is not. With proper tools, moon clips are little more trouble than loading magazines and easier than chasing brass.