.357 magnum revolver recommendations?

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If you are looking for the one weapon to be all things forget it. It not out there i know i looked for a long time it is a tool like my hammers I have several to match the job at hand. But for now those saying the s&w 65 or the ruger service six or speed six all the 2.75-3" barrels is as close as you can get to a weapon that will do all you are asking. And as time goes on you may fine for you that type of weapon is as close as you can get to the one handgun to do all jobs kinda like the finishing hammer not the best for all jobs but can get them all done.

be safe
 
Don't know if your still reading replies, so I'll chime in for what its worth. I am more of a autoloader shooter, so I had a good friend steer me in the right direction for a revolver. He is a big wheelgun shooter.
I ended up getting a S&W 649 in 357 - it is only a 5 shot, but I did notice you mentioned you may CCW. Personally, a six rounder, 4" barrel will not CCW as well. It is not blued. Very accurate for a 2" barrel and has a shrouded hammer with a open top so you can manually cock the hammer as well.
 
Ruger Is TOPS In My Book

I've had to stop shooting my stainless steel Rugers at ranges because people keep asking me if I want to sell them.

Taurus revolvers are okay, but in this day and age and the uncertainties the future holds, decisions like this are far more crucial than they were two years ago. I suspect many of the new folks in Washington these days are just waiting for an event to happen so they can clamp down on guns or ammunition.

I love the S&W 686s, but I have to say that going with a gun that can be serviced by the user, one that has a modular design, etc., would be a better choice than one where a gunsmith is required.

I love the old Security-Six line, but they've really dried up and your best bet is to buy a stainless Ruger magnum that is available. I'm in a rush now, but here are some photos of my Rugers.

RugerSS_6_4.gif

RugerSS_6_2.jpg

RugerSS_6_3.gif

RugerSSs.jpg

RugerSS_6_1.jpg

Best of luck. The Rugers are the strongest magnums out there. They're a great choice.
 
By the time you buy a revolver and enough ammo to get in a lot of practice, you could have bought a decent used 1911.
 
Yeah, but what advantage would a 1911 have over a .357? The .357 is far more capable, more reliable, has far more power, can be loaded way down or loaded to take on bear or white tails. Okay, it may not be the ultimate, but the .45 isn't the manstopper a .357 is, plus it can't be used hunting mid-size game with any reliability. Many 1911s out of the box also need work to achieve the reliability that many modern pistols have designed into them.

The .357 also can be had in stainless steel, which offers all sorts of advantages over a 1911 (and I like 1911s). Even so, the Ruger .357s have the advantage in strength and the S&W's have the advantage of accuracy and trigger pull. A good magnum can shoot out to 100 yards all day long, but a .45 just isn't there.
 
I think the correct name for the Medium (K) frame S&W Model
19 in blued carbon and the 66 in stainless steel is
Combat Magnum - it was based on the Model 15 .38 Special Combat
Masterpiece and the 19 was introduced late 1950s, the 66
in the late 60s. WHen S&W beefed up the K-frame and created the
family of L-frames, the 686 is titled the Distinguished Combat Magnum.

I have shot a GP100 and it's a fine revolver - example I shot was a 6" Bbl.model which helps to get a more complete burn on the slow but higher
pressure magnum powder in a .357 Mag. The GP100 is also considered a
medium frame however, it is physically slightly larger than an L-frame. Ruger uses cast investment process for their steel revolvers and they make them hella strong.

So, with either a GP100 or an L-frame 686 you will have a quallity handgun - a 4" Bbl. is a best all all-around, It's not the extra inch of BBl. len. that makes it harder to conceal it's the cylinder bulge.
Both RUger and S&W have excellent customerservice and warranty I've read
too many stories about issues with Taurus Cust. service.

All that said I have a S&W 686P 4" Bbl. Len. the "P" suffix is
for the 7 shot capacity cylinder model. I have a Milt Sparks #200AW
with FBI cant - muzzle rearward at approx. 10 degrees - I also
have a full size 1911 with the MIlt SParks #Axiom holster. THey BOTH
hang down below the belt about the same, and with my multi-pocket
vest on I can carry either concealed equally well. 3 seasons.

I think there wouldn't be a problem finding a nice used 686 6 shot 4" Bbl.
on the used market for around $425 a like condition Ruger GP100 would be a little less.

FWIW - I also have a MOdel 60 3" Bbl. in .357 Mag. and weight empty is 24 oz. which is probably 12 or more ounces less than my 686P, and with a like load the recoil is noticeably more. so for home defense I use .38 Special +P As a first handgun I'd recommend the medium frame 4" Bbl. for a better experience learning to shoot at the range and you'll have longer sessions with less fatigue.

If I had bought the 60 first with it's 3" Bbl. I'd have shopped for a 686 with a 5" Bbl. - S&W has produced some in that Bbl. Len. and I'd like the longer barrel for the better ballistics and less muzzle blast with mag rounds.

Randall
 
Good advice already given. Smith or Ruger, it's all about what fits you best and the price you're willing to pay.

Taurus and Rossi owners: I love you guys, but I gotta give the nod to the American made guns for no other reason than resale value. I've owned both and could never get what I thought was a good trade-in value for any of them.
 
The way the Security-Six was put together really was what made me go that direction:

Ruger_SS_Assembly_1a.gif

Anyone can strip this gun in the field.


AAASpeed-Six.gif

This is a beautiful Speed-Six. Wonderful balance.


Speed-Six_5.gif

The cylinder of the Rugers always were a bit beefier
than the K-frame Smiths.
 
If I didn't have a pre-lock 686+ in 4' bbl, then a GP 100 would be my first choice. But I also have an SP 101 in 3" bbl so I'm biased.

I carry either IWB with no problems, even in the mainly shorts and t-shirt weather we have here in Texas. Great guns, and you wouldn't evert regret picking up a GP 100 or SP 101 or a 686+ if you could find one pre-lock.
 
The 'massive looking' 4" Ruger GP-100 weighs 41 oz, while the six-shot 686 weighs 1.3 oz less. Put a seventh hole in the 686 to make it a plus (7-shooter) and you pare away an additional 0.8 oz. The extra 'mass' in the GP-100 is easily found - look at that shroud vs S&W's full lug. I'll take the S&W's hammer forged and heat-treated frame, etc, over the Ruger's cast steel, too. One time the GP-100 QC was horrible - it seems far better now. Still, buy as 'much' revolver as you can afford.

In S&W's current standard production offerings in the 4" barrel, they start at the 620 and end with the 627 Pro at about $120 more at a fair dealer. That buys you a lot more revolver, too, as I found out when I went to my dealer's last spring to buy a 4" .357M 7-shooter 620 and came home with the 627 Pro 8-shooter N-frame. I now rate that as one of my two best-ever S&W 'buys'.

Get the 4" .357M first - it will help you develop your shooting skills as a great plinker, while doing double duty as a home defender. Add a 642 Airweight in .38 Special +P and you'll have a great CCW - a totally different 'animal'. The right tool for the right job. Don't let anyone fool you - .38 Specials - especially +P rated like the venerable 'FBI load', the 158gr LSWC(HP), or the short-barrel-designed Speer 135gr Gold Dots - are perfect protection, in the home or car or on your person.

Stainz

PS A new S&W connects you, via an 800# call, to a lifetime warranty, too, should you ever need it.
 
Welcome to the U.S.

I've owned a 1911 for 10 years. I love it. But, I recently purchased my first revolver (a Smith 686 with 4" bbl).

Why it's better? When the gun is at rest, there are no springs under and losing tension. The girlfriend can use it. And the chances of running into a protracted gunfight have gone down significantly, since I quit frequenting bars and running with the wrong crowd. This gun can sit for 50 years and still do its job. But it won't, because it's so damned fun to shoot!

I assume that, since this is an old thread, you've arrived here. I hope that you enjoy the U.S. and will get to experience what WE call freedom. Maybe you can translate to your friends, back home.

Welcome to the U.S. You'll find out what our ancestors found out. This is the best place to live on Earth.

;)
 
Ruger SP 101 and buy the Hogue Monogrip with it. Load her up with Remington Golden Sabers and you are fine! Spend another $200 and get yourself a Mossberg 500 with a short Bbl from Wal Mart. 2 people in the house and 2 guns, do the math! Welcome to the Free World BTW!
 
To the 1911 crowd, not saying there is anything wrong with it but it sounds like he wants his wife to try the gun.

The revolver has two significant advantages over a 1911 .45 for that purpose. For the revolver, you can easily change grips and make them significantly smaller for her if she has small hands. The other is you can shoot really light .38 specials and the gun will work. Really light .45 loads and a soft grip is a no-no for the 1911.

Not that I am saying you should get the gun I am bring up, but a totally different recommendation than a 686/gp100 is this:

http://www.ruger.com/products/newModelBlackhawkConvertible/models.html

You can actually take your time learning .357s by graduating from .38sp to 9mm to .357...In addition, the wife may like it because it is SA, so the odds of someone pulling the trigger and causing an accident would go down. Having said that, probably wouldn't want to carry it though.

Like I said, I wouldn't recommend this as I don't even own it, but you have gotten enough of the same recommendations, and here in America, we like to have freedom to choose, and freedom to have a billion options so that the choice is as hard as possible. Freedom is hard earned, I tell ya.
 
I carry an older Taurus blued M66 a lot. It comes in handy in the field now and then, too. :D I have a pair of Taurus 66s. I've owned a Smith 19, a Ruger Security Six, both sold or traded. I now own these two Tauri and a Ruger 6.5" Blackhawk in the caliber. All three have found a home here.
 

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I'd get a Ruger Security Six if you can find one (they are just as good as the newer GP100 series, and they tend to be plenty cheaper), or a S&W 686 if not.

adjustable sights are good if you can find them.

4" barrel or 6" barrel is the best way to go on length
 
what are those yellow disks in the back side of the cylinder on that photo conferate posted above?
 
I recently got a re-finished (non-collectable) 4" S&W Highway Patrolman for $375. I know, it's a blue gun with adjustable sights, but it's like one I sold many years ago and I honestly never thought I'd see another one that I could afford. I had it to the range in the snow last week and it really shoots!


Oh, yeah - I do carry it - in an old pancake holster.

mark
 
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