.357 Revolver Appreciation Thread

Here's the blackhawk on my hip today. To be fair, it's stoked with .38 semi wadcutters, but I have a few rounds of .357 just in case

Love the .357. Probably the most versatile center fire common chambering.

That's beautiful Fiv3r.

Michigan Mike said:

That's beautiful Fiv3r.

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Thank you! I just picked her up used last week. Barely shot if at all with a 9mm conversion cylinder. 5.5" barrel puts some pep on the 147gr 9mm jhp but to my ear seems to keep them subsonic. .38 and .357 hit like a brick. I've got a hiking trip in black bear country over fall break, seems like a worthy arm to bring along.

I only have the one, a S&W681 the Ultimate Combat Magnum

19-3, 19 No Dash and 1967

Here's mine, although the SP101 and the M19 both were traded away this summer. I bought both at what I consider steals and ended up trading up for something different. I never could shoot the SP101 as well as my lighter and smaller S&W 442 anyway. I'm already on the hunt for another steel .357 snubbie, probably a K6.

Ok, so there are a couple 44's in there, but the rest are 357's.

My oldest, and most favorite shooter (19-3):

Bought new by me in 1986. I still have box, papers and the receipt. $310 including S&W holster and a box of hollow points

View media item 1860686-6 over a small pile of my 628 ft. lb load.

I've owned more 357 Magnums than I can remember, starting with a Ruger Blackhawk, then a M 28-2, then a M-27, etc, etc.

I finally gave up on the 357 when I discovered big bore handguns (44s & 45s) would do everything a 357 would do, without the muzzle blast and recoil. As an example a 44 Special will do anything a 357 will do at much lower pressure, hence less blast and a softer shove in the hand.

I have become quite fond of the 357 Mag's grandfather, the S&W 38-44. This 38 Special loaded beyond any +P you can find today is a delightful round and it scratches my nostalgic itch as well. I shoot them in S&W Heavy Duties, one from 1938 and one from 1954.

You may now return to your regularly scheduled program.

Dave

Uh, Dave? This was s'posed to be the .357 appreciation thread, remember?
Henceforth, another 19-3 (yeah, I favor the 4" barrels):

DDDWho said:

Bought new by me in 1986. I still have box, papers and the receipt. $310 including S&W holster and a box of hollow points

View attachment 801661

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Great deal!

Only ever owned 1 .357mag.
I bought the model 66 (pre dash) used from a sheriffs deputy when I was in college in the 1970's. He had sent it back to S&W for some custom shop trigger/sear work and fine tuning. He shot some PPC competition with it before he sold it to me. It is still the best revolver trigger I've ever shot both single and double action. Slicker than snot. I still have it.
For a long time it was my only handgun and I got pretty good with it. Had it with me almost all the time.
I once used it to drop a running coyote at 45 yards with a lead SWC thru the front shoulder.

There are two, a GP-100 and a Marlin 1894.

Dave T said:

I finally gave up on the 357 when I discovered big bore handguns (44s & 45s) would do everything a 357 would do, without the muzzle blast and recoil. As an example a 44 Special will do anything a 357 will do at much lower pressure, hence less blast and a softer shove in the hand.

Dave

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You don't handgun hunt do you?

I can drive a 180grn XTP AT 1400FPS from my 6.5in Blackhawk. (1700+fps from my Marlin 1894css)
A 44 special would be woefully inadequate comparatively.

Just a couple of Rugers. That's all I need!

My favorite caliber. I have a 6 inch Highway Patrolman, 4 inch 686, 2.5 inch 686-6, 3 inch M60-14 Pro and a 2.25 inch SP101

I will add, two to the mix. Dan Wesson 15-2 8" and Ruger Blackhawk 6.5"

Michigan Mike said "These are great pictures" [/QUOTE]

No doubt! Thanks guys! Eye candy!

My Service Six wearing a set of full sized Herrett stocks.

Comfort extraordinaire on the range but they look huge on the 2 3/4" barreled gun.

There are a WHOLE LOT of BEAUTIFUL revolvers in this thread.

I am totally outgunned by comparison.

I prefer 38 special for snubs, and the 357's I do have, humble though they are, are nice shooters that I'm not in a hurry to replace.


I don't think I saw a Taurus 689 yet. This one is my preferred HD handgun.


This Taurus Old Model 66 has such a nice trigger that it's just wrong. "Only a Smith should have a trigger that nice."


My Blackhawk has seen a lot of rounds, but is still a sweet shooter. You can't really see it in the picture, but the loading gate has aged to a nice plum color.