.357 Mag. for concealed carry?

Comparing 9 mm with .357 mag... no comparison (!)

I heartily concur with ndolson............

Having shot full-pressure 9mm loads out of my fairly light Kel-Tec P11 and loads out of my 30 oz Rossi M677 6-shot 2" barrel .357 mag.......whew, no comparison there. While the 9 mm is brisk on recoil, the .357 mag is downright primitive. The violence of the blast noise, muzzle/gap flash, and recoil are practically off-scale compared to the 9 mm. When I'm firing the .357 mag in our local semi-darkened indoor shooting range with a bunch of other shooters, everyone seems to pause when the first couple of .357 shots ring out. It is a real attention grabber for sure.

.357 makes a fine carry weapon.as to power it can have more but always at the expence of muzzle blast and flash.I actually carry a 9mm Hk p7psp and a S&W 340 M&P the 9mm has 124 golddots from doubletap the .357 has 125 golden sabers the 9mm ave just under 1200 fps the 357 about 1140fps.of course the 28 oz hk very controlable the 13.3oz M&P is a handfull.I also have a taurus 605 .357 and 905 9MM both snubs I use 145 silvertips ave vel 1080fps in the 357 and ranger 147 T series ave vel 975fps.in this case the guns weigh about the same and the .357 is just enough more that I can tell a difference.

A colleague of mine has opined that part of the reason that the 125-grain .357 is such a stopper of evil deeds is that NOBODY enjoys such a thing going off in their face; he calls it a hand-held flash-bang. (He is nyeti on various forums.) Makes sense to me. It is not just the effect of the projectile, but being startled by the sound and fury. Of course, the defender also experiences the sound and fury, but even though it is front and center, the worst is heading away from the defender, toward the evildoer, and the defender, if he has trained, is expecting it. I usually carry the .357 when it is my choice, though I must carry a .40 on my hip while on the job, and there are environments where I prefer the .45. I do carry a Ruger SP101 virtually everywhere, whether it is in a back-up or primary role.

My winter carry is a S & W Mod 19 .357 Combat Magnum with a 2 1/2" barrel. I definately don't feel under gunned with it...Ease of carry and speed of getting into action, not to mention power that is needed in the winter to penetrate winter clothing. I load it with Remington 125 grain SJHP's. Recoil may be the only draw back, but with practice you can overcome that too...

Does the .357 mag make a good concealed carry weapon? Is it much stronger than a 9mm?

Yes it does and yes it is. I carried one for a lot of years without feeling under or over-gunned. I also put in a lot of practice shooting it with full power loads and got comfortable with the recoil. With the capability of pushing a heavier bullet faster than a 9mm... well, you figure out the math.

A lot of people simply prefer the higher capacity and lighter recoil of the "nines" for their follow up shots.

.357mag - .357SIG

In my view, for a straight up CC weapon/sidearm I would buy a well made .357sig pistol like a Smith and Wesson M&P model compact or a SIGarms DAK model 239 SAS. The .357magnum has a long history of proven use with the 125gr JHP loads(around 94-96% one shot stops, ). The designs of newer .357SIG rounds have greatly improved the power/speed of the JHP loads. These 115-125gr JHP .357SIG rounds hit like the older .357mag bullets but can be used in a smaller, lighter pistol. Pistols are easy to carry, weight less and hold more rounds than a 6/7 shot snub .357mag. These .357SIG pistols are also faster to reload and can have add-ons like white lights/lasers/etc.

Check the .357SIG models out before you decide, .

Rusty S

Nomad. The .357 is a fantastic carry gun. In fact, I am carrying one concealed as I type this. I see you are in CT. I am as well. Depending on how far away you are, we can meet up. you'd be welcome to try out my Sp101.

I've been carrying a Taurus Mod 66 3" barrel stainless more on than off for the last 10 years.

It's a large hunk of metal to haul around, 2 1/2 pounds or so loaded ISTR, but I always wanted a 357 so that was my first gun and in this country you can't easily change.

Make sure you want to carry such a large lump around. We're coming into summer and I'll probably start carrying less, just because it's difficult to conceal. A 38 special snubbie would be easier.

It's better to have a 22mag derringer than nothing at all (and yes, I can provide witnesses to this fact, local gunshop owner was surprised at a party oh, I guess 7 years ago, he managed to make do, salvaged the situation).

So if you're more likely to have the 9mm with you, it's a harder hitting round than the 357 you left at home...

Having said that : I love my 357!

My main CCW is a Speed Six and has been for over a year now. Before that I carried an SP-101 primarily. The Speed is a little better, but the SP is also good. .357 is an excellent defensive round but I would load moderate weight bullets not the zippy light weight ones that were in fashion a decade or two ago. I like the SXT's or the black talons if you can find them.

The vaunted .357 SIG basically relies exclusively on the light weight high vel loads that perform better on paper than in real life. I've seen a case where one zipped around a man's belly without hitting anything mildly important. I'd stick with 140 grain or heavier, esp. considering how big people are getting to be around the country. The 158's are tried and true, and the 180's are real tanks.

S&W 649 Bodyguard .357 mag - all day, every day.

605 Taurus, Sp101 Ruger, 617 Taurus, "these are a few of my favorite things" (as the song goes.)

The .357 revolver is a great CCW choice. You also are able to fire .38 and .38+P with it too. A speedloader and a couple of speed strips and your good to go.

A good .357Mag Revolver makes an OK Carry Piece. Not as good as a .45 Auto but way better than a 9mm. Biggest problems are concealing the bulky cylinder and a tendency for over penetration with certain bullets. Biggest mistake that people make is to carry the piece with full power loads but practice with .38 Spl... the muzzle blast and recoil of the .357 is much greater than the .38. Also the frequent use of the shorter .38 case can cause roughness in the longer .357 chamber causing ejection problems.

I have been quite happy with a S&W 340 w/ Crimson Trace grips for CC and feel confident of its capabilities. While I frequently shoot 38's at the range, I also shoot enough 357's to feel comfortable with the added recoil and blast. The bottom line is practice, practice, practice.

a 357 is my primary carry gun in a 4" barrel 7 shot I love it and real nice to shoot too

Indeed...the .357 mag is the perfect carry gun. Now, I do pocket carry a 642 because it is so light and presents quickly. When I travel to environments that bring me close to more dangerous situations, e.g., the Tacoma Mall, downtown Seattle, walk-abouts in the woods, etc., I always carry the .357 which I feel is superior to my .45 ACP. Since mine is ported and I use the Corbon DPX (flash dampened gunpowder), I can honestly say that the recoil is less than the 642 and the above stated "flash" problem is non-existent.

Yes

in the form of a 2.5" Smith & Wesson model 19/66, 2.5" Colt Python, or the
2.75" Ruger Security-Six or SP101 .357 magnums~!

Well,
I do carry a 357. The more I think on it though, the more I wish I had gone with a 45. I think a 357 might overpenetrate and POSSIBLY hurt someone else? Fast moving bullet for a handgun.

Nomad101BC...
"Ejection probelms? its a revolver there are no shell casings to eject."

Without trying to sound cheeky - those little brass tubes left in your cylinder after you shoot are SHELL CASINGS and you have to EJECT them before you can reload. You push the EJECTOR ROD to have the EXTRACTOR pull them out of the chambers. If the front part of the chamber has been etched by firing a lot of shorter cases it can cause hard EXTRACTION and less than positive EJECTION.

"Revolvers are totaly reliable and it will be a hornless one so i can pull it right out."
Quality Revolvers have an eviable record of reliability. But no device is, of course, "totaly reliable" and to believe that is just foolish. A malfunction in a revolver can be caused by as little as some grit under the extractor star... or an empty case slipping under the extractor. A bent ejector rod will put a revolver out of commission instantly. A bullet that pulls out of the case under recoil can protude from the front of the cylinder and tie it up. Many malfunctions in an automatic pistol can be resolved rapidly to put the weapon back into action. By "hornless" I assume you mean "hammerless" and that you will be able to draw it from concealed carry without snagging.


" Most likely i will mount a laser grip on it too for faster target acuisition."

Hmmmmm...... Oooookay.... let me see... where is that little dot??? Somebody turn the lights off!!!

"...there are too many 1911 fans on this site."

Geeeee.... wonder why that is? Could it be that a lot of people have come to the 1911 conclusion?

The .357 is a fine cartridge and there are many fine revolvers built for it. It can be a good gun for SD but there are always downsides to everything - yes, including the 1911.

+1 for the Ruger Sp101 I love mine, sometimes it's a primary carry sometimes it's the BUG.