Lightweight .38 or .357 Revolver

I owned a Ruger LCRx in 38. It was great to carry....hell to shoot!
Never was accurate enough for me.

S&W 360

aarondhgraham said:

When you fire a .357 Magnum round out of a lightweight revolver,,,
You might wish the bear had bitten your hand instead.

Just sayin',,,

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Um, no.

The .357 would be much appreciated.

Just curious, being in OK, what backpacking experience in bear territory do you have?

.455_Hunter said:

I have multi-day backpacked in great back bear territory with my concealed pre-lock 638 loaded with the Buffalo Bore 158 gr hard cast LSWC "Outdoorsman" and a speed strip of the same. Sometimes discrete carry is mandatory, even in the boonies. People who say they won't carry anything less than a .500 S&W in bear country probably are not multi-day backpackers- weight does matter.

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True enough. When my Sp101 finally comes in it'll be my weekend backpacking gun. For now my 1911 has been my backpacker of choice. My old Taurus M66 is a tad lighter, but being a 6" model it gets in the way sometimes... When I get a rig made for my Blackhawk it will probably surpass all as a backpacker. I might as well tote the weight while i'm still young (as if 27 is approaching old age).

I'm a big fan of the S&W Airweight if looking for a very light revolver. (15oz)
The M637, M638 and 642 are a few but my favorite is the Anodized M442. The are +P rated and for me shoot well.

The Ruger SP 101 that some have suggested is very far from a lightweight gun. Frankly, it's a tank. I love mine in .327 Federal Magnum, but the LCR in the same chambering would be a better backpacking gun, IMO. If you want DA/SA, you want the LCRx.

Using your parameters I would not be concerned about black bears in regards to a gun. I would carry a small canister of pepper spray.
I would also consider a S&W 317 8-shot .22 LR. It weighs 11.7 ounces empty. I would load it with CCI Stingers or CCI Velocitor ammo. Weight of a 50 round box of Stingers...3 or 4 ounces.

https://www.smith-wesson.com/firearms/model-317-kit-gun

You need to shoot some light weight revolvers to see where your weight/felt recoil limit is. An LCR in .357 is really something, but not what I consider abusive, and if this is for a last resort when facing a bear, I sincerely doubt that anyone in that situation thinks "I wish I was shooting a lighter caliber". If you handload, the .357 LCR has more stainless than the .38/.22 LCR's, and a grip better designed to soak up recoil, load it up as hot as you can handle with some heavy bullets.

But that 329 is awful sweet!

.455_Hunter said:

Just curious, being in OK, what backpacking experience in bear territory do you have?

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Living in Oklahoma I've never seen a bear in the wild.

Living in Northern California, UP Michigan, Minnesota, and Wyoming,,,
I've actually seen quite a few.

But back to the original topic,,,
I've fired many lightweight .357 revolvers,,,
Every dang one has been like getting slapped in the palm by a baseball bat.

Personally, I would rather carry a little more weight and have a .44 Magnum.

Aarond

.

I enjoy my 3" Performance Center M60. Even shooting .357s it's pleasant. Then again I enjoy speed shooting my .44mag too.

I own a SW629 and a SW686, but the handgun most likely to be with me in the woods is my SW638. When in the woods, I stoke it with Underwood or Buffbore hard cast full wadcutters. Not sure I want to fire the 158gr "outdoorsman" .38spl+P loads at 1200fps.

fxvr5 said:

If weight and capacity matter and 357 is the choice, here's 22.6 oz and 8 shots

https://www.smith-wesson.com/firearms/performance-center-model-327

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I just really like this revolver!!!!

This is a pic of my LCR357... with the compact boot grip weighs 16.2 oz ...Compact and light ...


Pic of my Charter Professional 6 shot 357mag
3 inch barrel 23oz

Charter Arms Undercover...........weighs 20 ounces.

Bears!
A bit ago....20 years! Hand loader Magazine ran a series on Hand Guns for Bear SELF DEFENSE. Not bear hunting!
An Alaskan guide highly recommended the 3” (or 4”) revolver in a light loaded .357, heavy 200gr WFN cast lead bullet @ 800+\- fps. (.38 could be loaded to same velocity)
His logic went like this:
- You will be surprised, 3 > 8 seconds.
- Deep penetration, skull, shoulder.
- Rapid accurate follow up shots.
- Double action only, no safeties, etc
S&W J frame concealed hammer, SS @ 20+\- ounces will meet the above. (Maybe found in a 3” version) A S&W K frame would be an additional 10 ounces. The super light J Frames are hard to shoot, really

I really like the 317. Action job and reduced hammer & rebound springs create a good trigger pull. But I also really like .22’s

Recommend Simply Rugged holster.
(S&W 43c shown)

Model S&W 60 in 3”
Link: https://www.smith-wesson.com/firearms/model-60-3

Savage, Since you want to buy used, the S&W 642 might be a good bet. Light weight, widely available at very reasonable prices even new, and if you feel the need, some .38 Spcl. ammunition with very impressive ballistics is available from outfits like Buffalo Bore,etc.

Savage .250-3000 said:

Double action is not a problem, but something like the S&W 649 - with the ability to cock and fire single action would be preferred.

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I think you answered your own question. A Taurus 85 in stainless would also work and be less expensive.

I like stainless for a variety of reasons

The gun that springs to mind for me is the Ruger LCRx .38 special in the 3" barrel version with the big Hogue grip. Just under 1 lb weight so easy to carry, the extra inch gets you a little more velocity and the grips tame the recoil. With a good deep-penetrating load like +P SWC I think you'd be adequately prepared.



Given the low availability these days, a good second-hand option would be any +P-rated (meaning pretty much anything recent) lightweight .38 or .357 S&W J-frame with a set of $30 Hogue Tamer grips added if needed. You might also consider a new or used Taurus 856 ultralight which holds a sixth round and comes standard with the recoil-absorbing rubber grips.

for back packing I wouldn't mind an all steel K frame sized gun at the least. but when weight is the concern and a pocket wheely is the choice I went for this one. I have a few 642s but this is even lighter, ridiculously light but not too abusive in .38spl. Here she is on the scale with a full load. 10.9 oz by herself.

A Ruger LCR is the perfect lightweight carry gun but I would not rely on 38 special for Bear protection you definitely need the 357 version.
I have upgraded to the Colt King Cobra 3"
Which is far superior to a Ruger SP101 and much lighter but heavier than the LCR
I would take the Colt King Cobra everyday of the week but you may not want to spend that much thus the Ruger LCR but if you're serious about bear protection think 44 Magnum Ruger Redhawk 5 inch barrel

I did a lot of backpacking in bear country, black bear. My advice is to get the lightest weight reliable used handgun at the cheapest price you can. Remember that two legged threats are the most likely. Remember that whatever you bring will likely spend a lot of time wet and exposed to the elements and surface wear.
I’ve carried a Charter Arms Off Duty snub that performed the task well.
My last back pack gun was a Glock 23 .40. I carried one mag of hot solids, and one of JHP. On that trip it rained every day...when it wasn’t raining, the sun was baking out the humidity. So that Glock was wet pretty much all week. It came home looking like new. Police surplus .40’s are available pretty cheap, I paid $300 for a G22. I think .40 makes a great field load.

Looks for a used Stratford made Charter and don't look back. A snub will be about 20oz, a 4" will be probably 22oz.

I'd go with a 4", more power.

Sounds like a 3 inch model 60 would work. Here is my m60 Pro, 23 ounces

My Smith and Wesson 640 Pro is quite nice.

Add some orange sharpie to the white ring on the front sight and black sharpie to the white rings on the rear sight and it is as easy to shoot during daytime as it is at night.

- Stan