3" .357 Lightweight?

@Armored farmer you are true to your name….five zucchini shot, and not pass though to the Jeep!

 

Ditto on the 3" Smith and Wesson 60-15. I live in the boonies on rural acreage and this is one of my favorite woodland carries. I usually have it loaded with four mid-range .357s (Golden Sabers) and one shot cartridge. If I want to plink or target shoot, I shoot light .38s. Best of both worlds and it is a very easy carry. I have even loaded it with .357 Buffalo Bore hardcast when hiking the Rockies on several occassions. It hurts to shoot these, but I don't think I would even notice if I were facing a large animal threat. With the adjustable sights and the Golden Sabers, I have it adjusted to hit point of aim at 50 yards off a bench. It is also handy that I have a few other SW 'kit guns' in various calibers for outdoor use, and moving among them is a breeze.

 

Yeah
...
Its tough to get your loads just right....

 

I have a 3" Colt King Cobra that is quite nice to carry. Larger than a Smith J frame, but a tiny bit more compact than a K frame. Predictably snappy with full .357 loads, but every bit as nice as my 2.5" Smith model 66. The Colt is like a little jewel... very, very nice action straight from the factory. Far smoother out of the box than any Smith I have. They're not inexpensive though. I find it much nicer to shoot than any Model 36 or 60, and enough smaller than a 66 to make it a nice carry revolver.

 

It's essentially the same size as a K frame. The size difference is negotiable. There is a 1mm difference in cylinder size. The 66 does weighs 4oz or so more though.

I just wish they put real sights on the King Cobra though. That's what puts it behind the K6S and S&Ws for me.

 

Personally I understand the importance of "light weight" but you'll pay for it in terms of how easily, or in this case, not so easily, it shoots. The SP101 is a really good shooting small .357, it's only 5rds and it's a little bigger than a J-frame but it's infinitely more shootable than air weight J-frames and even easier than the all steel Model 60 J-frame. I've had both the 2.25" and 3" version, both fine guns although I do like to put a Wolff spring kit in them as the factory trigger is a little hefty. My current smallest .357 is a 3" 686+ Deluxe, holds 7rds and it's not real light, but it's easy to shoot and holds 7 rounds.

I've only ever had one LCR and it was a 38 Special, okay gun, ugly, but had a decent trigger. Personally, I have no use for really light revovlers, by the nature of how revolvers operate there is no method to soak up any recoil, it's going all to you, only the weight of the gun itself will help. If I was mostly concerned with weight, I would consider a small polymer pistol instead, like a G27, just keep in mind most won't cycle "snake shot" but in all fairness, a long stick should suffice just as well.

 

Ruger makes their .357 LCRx. The frame is Stainless steel, unlike the aluminum frame of the LCR.
Five shot, 3” barrel, and adjustable sights…21oz. Wish they made that configuration in 327mag, 6 shot.

 

Not to sway you off a .357 but if price is an issue there are .38 Special options that will fit the bill. .38 Revolvers generally are much cheaper. There is an ongoing post about an Underwood product 158 SWC doing 1035 fps that I would think would take a hog quite well.

 

I had one prelock, 60-10 I think, that was wonderfully accurate but I would not shoot powerful loads in it. If one keeps thinking small and light, he will wind up shooting 38 Special from it.

 

3 inch Barrel 6 shot 357 ..
Black Nitride over Stainless

 

Add me to those recommending the Colt King Cobra. Not as heavy as most .357s but is manageable with 158 gr loads (for me). I settled on 125 gr Golden Sabers as a defensive load.

BTW, nice photo of the SW M-19 K-Comp and the King Cobra. I have one just like it. https://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=602368

 

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Another vote for a Smith M-60 with adj. sights and a 3" bbl. Mine's been a constant fishing companion for 15 years or so....gave it to a son and replaced it with another. Both are/were outstanding carry guns for just the purposes you suggest. That's it above with its understudy, a M63, 22LR, with fiber optic front sight.

As a rule, for CC purposes I carry with .38 Special +P 135 gr hp's. These chronograph at 900 fps + in my gun, with recoil that easily allows for good timely 2nd shot placement. Too, the shorter length 38 Spl. case ejects easier and more uniformly from any .357.... worried about the carbon ring with .38's in a .357... clean the gun with a quick cylinder/chamber brush like you're supposed to do after shooting.

For woods carry, fishing or just tromping the back acres, .38 Spl or .357 full wadcutter loads work well. They're good defensive rounds at 900 fps and will do the job on most game up to whitetail deer close in. I put up my own with home cast types and load them to that velocity. In my experience, you'll not find a more accurate using any other bullet. IN my gun, Bullseye powder, 5.0 to 5.3 grains in magnum brass will give you 900+ fps from a 3" bbl, and ~4.5 gr in Special brass (this special load is +P).

One last thought: in my use, I've never found a "snake load" that would pattern effectively beyond 6-8 feet...and with a moccasin, that's just too close for me. My comments are in regard to Speer's "snake load" offerings as well as my pretty extensive home loads. YMMv of course and some guys really like them....

YMMv, best regards, Rod

 

I recently purchased a Kimber K6s 3” DASA and have found it to be extremely accurate. I did put the combat style grips on it to get a better grip than the stock ones. I liked the 6th round and the machining, fit, and finish are top notch. I have a DeSantis OWB holster and it carried very well. It is small like a J frame, but narrower, I think.

 

Taurus now lists their small frame 605 in a 3 inch "Defender" version. Recently announced, I have no idea how many are actually out in the world.

Usual caveats about Taurus apply (examine carefully the actual unit you are buying.) Fixed sight, weight per the site is 24oz. unloaded. Shooting .357 is not likely to be an everyday thing.

 

Along those same lines I was going to mention the Taurus 856 Defender. It's "only" a .38 special, but you get 6 shots instead of 5 and it can be found in an aluminum frame stated to be 17.4oz. Loaded with Buffalo Bore Outdoorsman this would be no-joke.

https://www.taurususa.com/revolvers...e-stainless-ultra-lite-3-00-in-hogue-r-rubber

 

In the S&W 386 Night Guard camp for these purposes. 7 shot 357 Mag. Nearly impossible to find these days. So that makes the S&W 60 or 340 more likely candidates.

 

I'm another one who will recommend either a Colt King Cobra 3" (if it's in-budget) or an SP-101 in 3" 357.

I've had my SP-101 for at least 10 years now; maybe 15. I've shot dozens of rounds of 357 through it; the gun can take more than I can. Dozens of +P 38 loads in 357 cases and hundreds of 38 loads in 357 cases. The DA trigger is heavier than I like, from the factory, but I found an article on how to home tune it by polishing parts that slide against one another. I polished the sides of the hammer, radiused the edges of the trigger and installed a lighter Wolff spring kit while I was in there. It's a sweet little shooter now, but probably not as sweet as a King Cobra from the factory, though.



I used to rave about Ruger's value, but their revolvers are getting expensive enough now that the simpler Colts aren't too far off. If I were buying these days, I'd probably look for a Colt.

I do feel like the 3" would be nice for carry, but for hogs, having at least a 4" barrel & adjustable sights would be quite nice. Holding off for short shots is one, thing, but if you're going to try for hogs at 25 yards, it's kind of dicey, unless you really practice a lot at that range.

The LCRx in 357 might be a good option, if you really will carry it a lot more than shoot it or if you will shoot more snakes than hogs. I have an LCR in 38+P, and it's not a big deal to shoot +P here and there, and I could shoot regular 38s all day long. The bigger & heavier LCRx would be probably similar, but 357 here and there and +P 38 all day. Factory trigger on an LCR is better than that of an SP-101, though.

 

Another vote for the Kimber. Very thin for a 6-shot revolver, and great trigger right out of the box.

Upgraded my grips and sights.

 

I'd rather be chased by a werewolf than a snake. There aren't enough chambers in any revolver for me to be comfortable with in stopping a charging snake. Move over Freddy and Michael, there's a new horror movie in the making: I Was a Teenage Cobra.

 

6 shot Model 65 with a 4" standard/pencil barrel from a model 64. Now it has Hogue rubber grips for a more weatherproof woods walking gun. I have also installed a target trigger and hammer. When the 4" barrel was installed, I had it cut for moonclips.

I also recommend a S&W 60-4

 

Lots of good choices here. I recently picked up this S&W Model 13-4 at a decent price. It is a great shooter.

 

I like those Herret "Shooting Ace" grips-I have them on all of my J-frames.

 

I think your seeing the market not filling a need of yours.

There was the 8 shot Smith 327 PC. Alloy frame and cylinder but still about as heavy as a K6S. Plus they only have a 2” barrel and are expensive as sin now.

Another lightweight but very expensive compromise would be the K frame size Smith 396 Airlite in 44 special. If you can live with 44 special and 5 shots then this may be your oyster.

Personally, I am not a fan of 44 special but I would much rather shoot it from a lightweight than 357 Mag

 

I've a 340 SC at a claimed 11oz, and I've shot it with full house magnums, including Fiocchi's wrath-of-God 140 FMJs (1100'sec in a snub...my handloads have never topped that). It's a hiking gun; first two chambers with snakeshot, the rest those FMJs, as a last ditch GTFOM for a disagreeable black bear.
They are not, ahem, fun to shoot, especially with my increasingly arthritic hands...should the bear situation arise, have to make a quick decision about which would hurt more; the bear mauling, or shooting the little gun.
The little stinker is actually fun to shoot with full charge wadcutters, and the Centennial sits lower in the hand/lower bore axis than it's exposed hammer kin.
BTW, OP, speaking of low bore axis; have you considered one of the shorter barreled Chiappa Rhinos? They actually handle magnums remarkably well, and have a wonderful double action.
Moon

 

A S&W Model 13-3 3” for me, too, mine wears a Hogue compact grip. Here it is surrounded by a bunch of “range lipstick”, an Eggleston 148 gr coated RNL over 6.5 gr Unique.



Stay safe.