.357 magnum or .44 special?

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Another vote for the SP101. For a 2 1/4" .357, the recoil isn't bad at all. I've only had mine for a month or so, but I like it a lot.
 
I like a Smith snub .38 for CCW. There are several and they all have their advantages and disadvantages as you see above. To me the weight is not much of and issue.........the ammunition adds so much weight that a few oz, or so in the revolver are irrelevant.

I carry a S&W 649. Usually in an Uncle Mike's pocket holster. Fully loaded with 158 gr. lead seniwadcutters. Lets look at a few facts:

1. Yeah, there are larger diameter bullets but you have to tote 'um. If you don't you have nothing.

2. In brief, terminal ballistics are good but when did you ever see anyone stand and argue while being fired at. I know but you are pretty unlikely to have to fight a war with Manilla. Seriously, it is just too remote a posibility, that an civilian assailant is going to stand and be aggressive against any firearm! If you hit him in a vital spot, he won't stand anywhere. Learn to shoot whatever you have.

I could go on.

PigPen
 
Shot placement trumps caliber.

IE: A hit with .38 beats the heck out of a .44 Mag miss....

That said I really dug shooting .44 Specials when I had a Ruger Super Blackhawk.
 
One of the admins I know on another forum is a firearms instructor, both in the private sector and for police departments. I like his argument on caliber ... (paraphrased) -

"Ok. You stand 5 yards in front of me and I'll shoot you three times in the face with a 9mm. Then you let me know if you think it's inadequate."
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Personally, I'd like the .44 Special. But that's only because I don't have one. .357 would be / is easier to carry.
 
I love the .44 Special, but I just have a hard time trusting Charter Arms. Over the years they have changed hands and quality has gone up and down. I don't know where they are now. Taurus isn't even a consideration these days. Their quality control stinks and their customer service is non-existant. S&W .44 Specials are all huge N-frame monsters. And then there's the dreaded S&W lock. So that leaves . . . nothing in .44 that I'd trust my life to.

Unless you roll your own, .44 Special ammo is out the wazoos, too.

I'd go with the SP101. At least you can afford to practice with .38s. It has a great grip, too.
 
And then there's the dreaded S&W lock.
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Please help me out here.

I've been reading about the dreaded lock for years now. And while I feel they've marred the cosmetics of one of the better looking lines of wheel guns with that damn hole, does someone have any statistics showing why everyone's afraid of the lock?

I've been searching, and it's entirely possible my google-foo isn't strong enough. But so far I've been unable to come up with even one real world article that was anything more than "A friend of a friend said that his friend had a cousin that knew someone ...".

And yea - N frames are largish.
 
For me, a .38 Spcl +P, like the Remington R38S12 158gr LHPSWC, is more than adequate. I didn't start with that as a self defense round - I did start with the .44 Special as my first revolver CCW. Below is the 296 which started my revolver CCW craze 5.5yr back, along with the one that I can carry anytime now - a 642. The latter's IL doesn't bother me one bit.

IMG_0207.jpg

In Robert Mika's pocket holster, the 296 can ride in my front pocket about 75% of the time - the 642 can ride 100%.

IMG_0206.jpg

Stainz
 
Please help me out here.

I've been reading about the dreaded lock for years now. And while I feel they've marred the cosmetics of one of the better looking lines of wheel guns with that damn hole, does someone have any statistics showing why everyone's afraid of the lock?

I've been searching, and it's entirely possible my google-foo isn't strong enough. But so far I've been unable to come up with even one real world article that was anything more than "A friend of a friend said that his friend had a cousin that knew someone ...".

And yea - N frames are largish.
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Janitor, My wife's 627 locked while firing at the range. We fixed the IL and it has operated problem-free since. How's that for a first-hand account?

As far as N-frames and .44 Spl are concerned, There's always the L-frame 396 Night Guard. This is a seriously cool gun! :eek:
 
Janitor, My wife's 627 locked while firing at the range. We fixed the IL and it has operated problem-free since. How's that for a first-hand account?
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Exactly the kind of thing I've never read before. Thanks.

As far as N-frames and .44 Spl are concerned, There's always the L-frame 396 Night Guard. This is a seriously cool gun!
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Couldn't agree more. I seriously want one of these things.

Well ... I did till I read the story of your wifes malf with the lock. :)
 
Thanks for that link Old Griz.

Wow. After reading all that, I'm glad the only gun I have with a lock is a range queen (4" 686). Guess if I want a Smith for a carry piece, I'll be looking for one without the hole in it.

I'm not so sure what they'd say in Civil court about having removed the lock if it ever came to anything that horrible. Probably nothing, but why risk it?

Sorry - I seem to be 'jacking this thread. I'll shut up now.
 
To my mind, a .44spl is a superior round for SD and hunting.

Factory ammo makes this thought suspect, but if you reload, you can push a 240g cast round @ 900 ~ 1000 fps without much trouble for what EK called a "useful special" and I have to agree, they are quite useful.

Grab up an older S&W in 4", 3" if you can find one, and have at a wonderful, low recoil devastating round.

I like the .357, but I don't like supercharging a bullet to get the desired results as recoil reduces follow-up shots. In this vein, I wouldn't consider .44mag either for the purpose of SD. Too much blast and recoil.

I shoot .357 and .44mag almost exclusively, but I also load specials in these two calibers.

As was found in days of old, a large, heavy bullet doesn't need to go uber fast to get the job done, and done well.
 
One thing to remember re the L-frame .44 Specials, like my 296 and 696, not to mention the 396NG. That is the dimunitive forcing cone. If you get the opportunity, look at a 686, another L-frame in .357 Magnum. Now look at the 396NG's paper thin forcing cone edge. It will not stand up well to low mass/high velocity rounds - expect fc erosion or cracking with much such use. Stay with heavier/slow, like the 200gr Speer Gold Dot, SD rounds. Better yet, get a .38/.357 magnum - and stock it with either 135gr Speer Gold Dots or 158gr LHPSWCs, both +P. Leave the .44 and up bullets to revolvers large enough to have a proper forcing cone - or expect/accept a short firearm life.

Stainz
 
For most shooters the 357 has a ring to it (the name) the 44 spl has been around for a very long time and can be reloaded to some pretty good stats for self defense.

The 44 spl is better IMHO :uhoh: The 357 has many advantages, but that is in a longer barreled pistol.

:)
 
If it comes down to two guns of similar size, I'd get the 44. I have a 3" Smith 65-3 I love dearly, a police trade-in that I slicked up, but I retired it when I got my Rossi 720, also a 3-incher. I don't miss the sixth shot, nor the godawful blast and recoil, and I can hit clays with it out to 50 yards if I do my part and hold my jaw just right.

I'd rather not get hit by either, but I doubt I could tell the difference. Bigger holes are still better.

PJ
 
I know some people dog on Charter, but I have a .44 Special Bulldog and love it. It is really expensive to shoot. I think it is about $27 for a box of 50, but it is fun.

If I could do it over again, I would have got the stainless version. I had been wanting one for while, and my shop had one in black. For sure an impulse buy.

100_2557.gif

100_2556-1.gif
 
They Will Both Get The Job Done, You Will Have To Do Your Part, I Like The 44 Spec Loaded At 1000 Fps But Would Carry A 357 And Do, You Cant Go Wrong With These
 
Dan-O, I agree about the stainless. This may be the prettiest gun I own............... 44Spl1.gif

If I didn't handload I probably wouldn't have bought this, but I can load a hundred rounds for about ten bucks, even with all the price increases. I shoot this gun a lot, it begs to go to the range every time I start packing!

PJ
 
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