Carry ammo 38/357?

Do you carry and practice with full power .357 Mag ammo in a 12oz Airlite?

  • Yes

    Votes: 11 16.7%

  • No

    Votes: 55 83.3%
  • Total voters
    66
  • Poll closed .
Status
Not open for further replies.
ArchAngelCD

ArchAngelCD

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OK, not to start any arguing and please don't argue! This poll is only for those who either own a 12oz S&W Airlite J frame or have shot one many times.

What I simply want to know is, do you carry AND PRACTICE with full power .357 Magnum ammo in your Airlite? Don't say yes if you are shooting 135gr Speer Short Barrel .357 Magnum ammo because that is hardly a magnum load at all @ only 990 fps.

Remember, not arguing and only vote if you own or have shot a Airlite often. Also, only the 12oz Airlite, not the heavier all steel J frames or SP101. Don't count the LCR in .357 Magnum either because that weighs 17oz.

BE NICE please...
 
Yes I do i believe in shooting what I carry for practice just a cylinder full is enough to stay familiar
 
For a J Frame I use 110 JHP's, for a K or L Frame I use 125 JHP's , and for an N Frame I use 158 JHP's. Yes, I use all 3 frame sizes. I carry a J, keep a L in the truck and car, and use an N for a night stand gun. That may not work for everyone, but it does for me.
 
Schutzen said:
For a J Frame I use 110 JHP's, for a K or L Frame I use 125 JHP's , and for an N Frame I use 158 JHP's. Yes, I use all 3 frame sizes. I carry a J, keep a L in the truck and car, and use an N for a night stand gun. That may not work for everyone, but it does for me.
Click to expand...
Is that J frame a 12oz Airlite? That is the only gun I'm asking about.
 
In a 2" 605 poly, 19+ ounce gun, I carry full power 140 JHPs that clock 1333 fps out of the 2" barrel. If I'd wanted to carry .38s, I'd just stick with my M85UL. :rolleyes:

That said, I shot a 340PD once with a 158 SWC over 14.5 grains 2400, Skeeter Skelton's favorite load.

OUCH........

So, I see no real reason to own a 340PD. I need more weight. One of the sweetest shooting snubby .357s I've owned is an SP101, but it was a bit heavier on the belt and CERTAINLY no pocket revolver for less than Paul Bunyan. My K frame ain't much more to carry with an extra shot. The new 605 Poly is light enough to take an appreciable load off my belt and heavy enough to absorb some extra recoil so that it's manageable. I like it.

Oh, I practice with .38s only, fire a few rounds of magnum at the end of my range session some times. Full power .357 handloads are not kind to J frame sized handguns. So, I'm easy on the gun. Modern factory loads meet the new lower SAAMI pressure levels and probably won't wear a J frame as fast, but I wouldn't feed a bunch of Buffalo Bore in a J frame you liked as a routine practice round. But, hell, who could afford to?
 
For a J Frame I use 110 JHP's, for a K or L Frame I use 125 JHP's , and for an N Frame I use 158 JHP's. Yes, I use all 3 frame sizes. I carry a J, keep a L in the truck and car, and use an N for a night stand gun. That may not work for everyone, but it does for me.
Click to expand...

Shorter the barrel, the heavier the bullet for me. I can't get loads below 140 grain bullets to perform in a 2" barrel, all flash bang, no performance. My 9mm +P works better than my 125 grain magnum out of a 2" barrel. The heavier bullet accelerates slower and catches more of the pressure peak with slow powders. A 125 grain bullet, let alone a 110, gets out of the barrel before the pressure builds good and your ears and eyes can confirm this. I find 140 grains the best compromise in a self defense load for my 2 and 3" guns.
 
ArchAngelCD said:
OK, not to start any arguing and please don't argue!
Click to expand...

You say that like we argue all the time :rolleyes:

I have never fired .357, only 38 so take my advice with a grain of salt. .357 in a 12oz J-frame might be a little stiff to practice all the time with, not to mention more expensive than practicing with a 38 +p load.
 
I bought a 342Ti, took it to the range, fired it with some of my FBI level handloads and sold it. Too much for me and I could not imagine full tilt .357 in a 12 oz. gun, just tooooo painful to even think about it.
Stu
 
herrwalther said:
You say that like we argue all the time :rolleyes:

I have never fired .357, only 38 so take my advice with a grain of salt. .357 in a 12oz J-frame might be a little stiff to practice all the time with, not to mention more expensive than practicing with a 38 +p load.
Click to expand...
Are you serious? You don't think most of these threads deteriorate into bickering? A similar thread just had to be closed a few days ago because of everyone arguing.

Oh and one of the reasons these threads go south is people posting things not asked for. Sorta like the OP asking for comments only from people who have shot a 12oz .357 and the posted saying "I have never fired .357, only .38" yet still giving an opinion on shooting .357 ammo.

You made my point for me and while I tried not to answer you I just can't believe you did everything I asked posters not to do while denying it happens.
 
I was being sarcastic. Yes, the occasional thread turns to bickering and needs to be closed. My aim is not to do that here.

Your original post asked to vote only for the Airlite. I did not vote, so I did not spoil your poll. I was merely trying to help, but feel free to do what you wish with your firearm, that is all any of us do.
 
herrwalther said:
I was being sarcastic. Yes, the occasional thread turns to bickering and needs to be closed. My aim is not to do that here.

Your original post asked to vote only for the Airlite. I did not vote, so I did not spoil your poll. I was merely trying to help, but feel free to do what you wish with your firearm, that is all any of us do.
Click to expand...
I appreciate you not voting, thank you.

Of course all opinions are welcome as long as they aren't confrontational...
 
I shot one cylinder of 158gr .357 through a friend's scandium S&W, and that was enough for me. I'm not going to vote based on that.

.38 out of the scandium felt like .357 out of my SP101.

I would say that shooting a carry load once or twice a range trip would be fine to keep practiced up with it. Those 12 oz revolvers are sweet to carry, but they beat my hands up too much to practice enough with them to become a competent shot.
 
340 PD + any 158gr SJHP

I shoot 5 rounds about every other month in about a 10 second string. At the end of a day of shooting.

Since my EDC is either a Kimber Solo or Kahr P380, the 340 PD is relegated to Rifle backup, i.e. it gets carried, when I'm also carrying a rifle.

Oh, the 340 also comes out when my shooting buddies start braggin' on their latest recoil fix. It's funny how a single round of 357 can shut them up.
 
I have shot my 12oz Airlite with .38+P on a number of occasions. I have shot it quite a bit with standard pressure .38. I can not imagine shooting it with magnums. I will qualify this by saying mine is an early .38 only version, however I wouldn't even try magnums if the gun was chambered for it.
 
I keep 158 grain Hydra-Shoks in my M&P 360. My practice ammo is 158 grain lead with 17 grains of H110. My only complaint about the recoil is the trigger guard hitting my trigger finger.

ArchAngelCD said:
Don't say yes if you are shooting 135gr Speer Short Barrel .357 Magnum ammo because that is hardly a magnum load at all @ only 990 fps.
Click to expand...

Is that out of a 1 7/8" barrel? Because I'm only getting around 950 fps with full power ammo out of mine.
 
I used to own one. The hottest I was willing to _try_ was Buffalo Bore .38 Special +P. That was enough pain and I sold it before long. I currently have a chopped and channeled Model 10 instead.
 
I prefer 158gr +P ammo in an airweight J-frame, athough I will use full power .357 ammo in my alloy L-frame (386NG), but that gun weighs in at 24.5 oz.
 
ArchAngelCD said:
Don't say yes if you are shooting 135gr Speer Short Barrel .357 Magnum ammo because that is hardly a magnum load at all @ only 990 fps.
Click to expand...

56hawk said:
Is that out of a 1 7/8" barrel? Because I'm only getting around 950 fps with full power ammo out of mine.
Click to expand...
There are a lot of variables in real world shooting that don't match the company's numbers. According to Speer their short barrel .357 Magnum load generates 990 fps from a 2" vented test barrel. Since the cylinder gap on all revolvers will be different you will lose velocity at different rates. In reality 950 fps from a load reported to generate 990 fps isn't all that bad these days.

Oh darn, I just reread what you said and you are talking about full power .357 Magnum ammo, not Speer short barrel ammo. Are those full power loads by chance Remington Golden Saber ammo?
 
I don't use a 12 oz Airlite. Used to on the TI S&W .357 Centennial but I just felt there was no benefit to having a gun that one cannot shoot fast and accurate ONE HANDED for defense.

I even use just the FBI .38 load (158gr SWCHP at 900 or so fps) in my 2 1/.2 Combat Magnum.

One must always balance clout .vs. control .vs concealability and portability.

And for me that means any handgun, fully loaded, between 25 and 30 oz in no more than .357 Sig as for power. And even then I don't use such as Double Tap .357 Sigs unless I have my Glock 31 on.

An all steel 640 SW&W .38, all steel Kahr K9, Glock 26, and S&W 19-5 2 1/2 .357 (with .38s) is all I need unless there is potential riot or such.

Yes I like all steel due to recoil control ONE HANDED. That matters as for hits.

And folks, I do have 1911s, Sigs, big .44s, and even more of 'em, but those four above do fine for virtually any situation I'm likely to get into.

Deaf
 
ArchAngelCD said:
Oh darn, I just reread what you said and you are talking about full power .357 Magnum ammo, not Speer short barrel ammo. Are those full power loads by chance Remington Golden Saber ammo?
Click to expand...

Sorry, I should have specified. I chronographed my reloads at 950 fps. At 17 grains of H110 I'm 0.3 above what Hodgdon lists as max.
 
I would only shoot 158 grain standard pressure semi wadcutter 38s. Or, better yet, full wadcutters. Twelve onces is way too light for much of anything else, in my opinion.
 
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