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.
The ear splitting part is why I don't hunt with it also. My first two revolver where the Ruger Blackhawk in 357/38/9mm bought when Ohio started to allowing deer hunting with a revolver and wanted to give it a go. I did hunting a few times with it back then but never seriously. A couple years later I bought the S&W 610 to use in USPSA. This worked well since I could use the same 40S&W ammo I was already loading from my Limited/Limited-10 guns in my new revolver. When I finally came back to the idea of deer hunting with a revolver my collection has expanded a fair bit and in playing around with it I found that the 10mm from the 610 was ballstically on par with 357 Magnum from the Blackhawk or 627 but when fired with unprotected ears the 10mm was painful but did not leave my ears ringing. The 357 Magnum was more painful and left my ears ringing for hours the one time I fired it without ear-pro. Coupled that with the fact that I had shot the 610 in competition by this point for many years it was the natural choices. Three years ago I took two does with my 610 about 45 seconds apart. I could have done similar with the 627 though my ears hurt to imagine it and I don't think I could have taken both in that situation with the Blackhawk.
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.
I have never had an accuracy issue with any of my revolvers once I have worked up loads for them. I have never found 357 Magnum more or less accurate than the other cartridges I have owned in revolvers.
I have read all the arguments of 357 Mag vs 38 Special in a snub nose revolver as a defensive firearm. I have shot both and I am very comfortable with the fact that my S&W 442 will perform better for me than 357 Magnum would from a similar size/weight revolver. I am confident I can hit what needs hit with my 442 and I am confident my hands will be functional enough to reload it if I need to in a conflict. I am certain I could not do the same with a similar weight revolver firing 357 Magnum, I have tried. Others may not have the same limitations.
I love my M29 even though I have only owned it for about 6-months now but it will never be able to do some of the things I can do with my 625 and 610 or 627. The 625 is by far the fastest and most fumble free reloading revolver I have ever run. Even if I have my M29 cut for moonclips and run short brass it will not be as robust or fast as the 625. They are very different animals. My 625/627 and to a lesser degree the 610 are gamer guns for me. They play the games I play far better than the M29 ever could and do it far more economically. I have a 5-gallon bucket of 45 ACP brass I have collected for free over the years. That much 44 Mag/Special/Russian brass would be a real investment. Similarly moonclips for 45 ACP are dirt cheap moonclips for 44 Mag are noticeable more expensive, harder to find and more finicky about what brass works well with them. Just about any 45 ACP brass works well in my 45 ACP moonclips. The 625 is simply the most fun revolver I own and despite it no longer being the optimal USPSA revolver I still shoot it at club level matches simply for the joy of running it.
It really is that 357 Magnum can't do it. It the fact that for a particular task I have cartridges that do it better.
I would argue that a 357 revolver might just be the most versatile revolver around. I have a SAA in 357, and I can load really light 38 specials that my daughter can shoot all day and have fun with, I can load 38 +P for plinking at longer distances and I can load full throttle 357’s and have the ability to take down anything I may come across in the woods on our land. I’d argue that’s a pretty good deal for 1 revolver.
I wholeheartedly agree. The 357 Magnum is a very versatile cartridge and if I was going to own just one revolver it would be near the top of the list. (although presently a medium frame revolver (GP100 or L-frame) in 10mm would rank number one for me.)
That said I am not stuck with just one revolver. I have a modest collection and thus for any particular activity I have found other cartridges that do it better than 357 Magnum.
For CCW I choose 38 Special +P. Certainly I could have bought a 357 Magnum and just shoot 38's in it but why waste the money when I know I am never going to run 357 Magnum in an airweight revolver. I have tried and found it unsuitable for me. I bought a 38 Special +P revolver and used the savings to buy other things I needed.
For woods carry and for hunting I simple find 357 Magnum to abusive to my ears for unprotected shooting that happens in these activities. In middle TN where I roam in the woods 38 Special (not even +P) kills everything I need to kill in a non-hunting situation. The biggest thing I have killed so far has been an Armadillo. For hunting my 10mm revolver has proven itself quite satisfactory. The new 44 Mag is ballistically superior and in my particular case my 610 and M29 are nearly identical configurations and I have only to experiment with shooting my current load with unprotected ears to see if that is going to be an issue next year.
And for my games. 357 Magnum is simply not competitive in any of the games I like to play. USPSA/IDPA/Steel-Challenge and similar. I am sure there are some games where it excels but none come to mind and obviously I am not competing in them.
-rambling
PS Thanks for all the excellent replies. I have enjoyed them all even if I did not directly reply to them.
