.357 Magnum questions

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New motto, "better deaf than dead". :D ANY handgun in a house is going to be loud.

Try 2400 for night shooting, good amount of flash. It scares some people. I don't particularly get off to it, but I have shot a lot heavier magnums and contenders in rifle calibers. The only .357 I pretty much didn't like was a 12 ounce J frame with a full power 158 grain load. I even fired a 180 XTP over 13.8 grains AA#9 in it just to see. Not nice. My SP101 never bothered me, though, with that load. Oh, it kicks, but it's not that bad with a Hogue grip on it.
 
I love the .357 caliber. I like how you can load 38 special for Home defense or public place personal protection but can load up the .357 when you are in the woods when muzzle flash and overpentration are not an issue. Great caliber. You can use it for self defense, hunting up to whitetails, great target range caliber becasue 38 specials are cheaper, easy to reload if you do that, and offers protection in the woods in the east where grizzlies are not an issue. I dont care what anyone says .357 is enough gun for eastern black bears who will generally stop an attach once injured unlike their brown cousins. Just get some Buffalo Bore hardcast 180 grainers and you are good to go.

If I could own only one gun it would be my GP100 in .357.
 
Another good thing about the .357 is that there are med vel loads that bridge the gap between full power .357s and .38 +Ps for those who want them. Have it your way.
 
My test is one-handed, weak-handed, double-action shooting. If I can keep my shots on target and not have to re-grip the gun between shots, then the gun/ammo combination is functional for personal-defense purposes (to me). 357 of any flavor never passed my test, so I used .38 +P.

With 2-handed shooting, .357 is fine, and fun.
 
.357 is my favorite cartridge. I have never had a problem with the noise or the recoil. In fact, I find that it is the recoil and sound of the gun that makes it so much fun for me to shoot. Of course, the right grip for your hand is oh so important in managing recoil and accuracy.
 
Bought my first .357 in March. It's a 66-2. I liked it so much I wanted a carry piece for when I get my CCW so I bought a Ruger SP101 this past week

The Kingwood inserts (w/ Ruger medallion)will be here next week :D
 

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Yeah, it's hard to beat a .357 for fun and versatility. I usually put .38s through mine (6" Python) for target practice, but no trip to the range is complete without at least a couple cylinders of full-house loads.

"Better deaf than dead"? Yeah, suppose so. But I keep a set of electronic muffs next to my nightstand gun. Hey, hearing a little better with them amped up isn't a bad thing in such a situation, either.
 
versatility, versatility, versatility.

.357 Mag/.38+p/.38sp loaded by hand/speadclip/moonclip. The .357 Magnum platform is, in my opinion, the perfect one-gun solution. Target/hunt/home defence/personal defence/you name it, it does it.

And as far as the home defence recoil, noise, and flash with the magnum cartridges, I think a big boom and a big flash would help keep you from needing to shoot the second, third, so-on people breaking in. A cannon with a fireball going off will probably scare anybody off that didn't get hit with the first shot.

As much as I hate the idea of having to shoot a human being, I hate even more the idea of having to shoot him twice.
 
I shot my two GP100s yesterday ... hot factory loads and SAAMI max reloads. The recoil and muzzle blast are laughable compared to hot .45 Colt and .454 Casull loads. Oddly enough, the "worst" handgun I have in terms of recoil is my S&W 629 with a 4" barrel. With hot factory loads that thing definitely veers towards the brutal side ... more pain than pleasure.

:)
 
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