357 Snubbie, here comes the BOOM! (and fire rings)

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As much as I hate to admit it, I still get a KICK out of the fireball and fire rings a short barrel .357 Magnum puts out.

I often shoot my 2 1/2" M-66 with 38 special +p ammo at the indoor range, yet I always bring 50 rounds of .357 Magnum ammo with me. If the mag dump guys in the lane next to me get to crazy, I fire off 6 Magnum rounds using rapid fire. This will normally get their attention and slow them down a little.
 
oldbear said:
As much as I hate to admit it, I still get a KICK out of the fireball and fire rings a short barrel .357 Magnum puts out.

I often shoot my 2 1/2" M-66 with 38 special +p ammo at the indoor range, yet I always bring 50 rounds of .357 Magnum ammo with me. If the mag dump guys in the lane next to me get to crazy, I fire off 6 Magnum rounds using rapid fire. This will normally get their attention and slow them down a little.
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I do the same thing with my Ruger Alaskan Redhawk .44 magnum.

A few cylinders of 400 grain Garett cartridges rapid fire makes quite the impression in the indoor range. The concussion is enough to give me a splitting headache and make my ears ring through double hearing protection, and the flash would probably put a flashbang to shame. I also have to keep a steady supply of empsom salt on hand to soak my wrist after I get home, but...

It sure impresses everyone else at the range! And that for me, is WORTH IT!!!! :D
 
Reloads or factory loads of H110/W296 or 2400 make great flames as well..... :D

The only thing that would be cooler than those stills are slo-mo videos of the rings forming and wandering downrange.... :D
 
It sure impresses everyone else at the range! And that for me, is WORTH IT!!!!
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Personally, I couldn't care less what others are impressed or unimpressed with at the range. I care about how well I shoot..........
 
460Kodiak said:
Personally, I couldn't care less what others are impressed or unimpressed with at the range. I care about how well I shoot..........
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Well my groups might... open up... with the Garrets rapid fire like that, but who needs accuracy with that much stopping power?? LOL!

Seriously though, at 7 yards off hand I can control it and get about a 10" group. That's good enough for me considering the extreme power per shot. Even if some shots do miss, I doubt any perp would stick around with the gun kicking fireballs at them! I can understand some people can't handle power like that in a handgun, but I've trained myself up to that level and I carry the gun for CCW daily and trust my life with it.
 
Even if some shots do miss, I doubt any perp would stick around with the gun kicking fireballs at them!
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What happens if a miss turns into a hit of an innocent bystander? Just recently a local resident lost their life because they got hit by a stray bullet that missed its intended target, just sayin.
 
but who needs accuracy with that much stopping power?? LOL!
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:uhoh:

Seriously though, at 7 yards off hand I can control it and get about a 10" group. That's good enough for me considering the extreme power per shot.
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Do what makes you happy man, but if it were me, I'd probably slow down A LOT and work on tightening up my groups. Then I'd work on speed when my groups got down to 4 or 5 inches. If you are getting 10" groups at 7 yards with a stationary target, a moving target that means you harm may be harder to hit than you think.

What happens if a miss turns into a hit of an innocent bystander?
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I agree. A 400 gr load is meant for hunting, or for dangerous game back up. A miss will send that slug through walls easily, and possibly a bystander.

Sorry for the thread hijack. Back to topic. The OP's picks are cool, but only because they simply are. Unburned powder and blinding flash is nothing to try and achieve, but often are a result of shooting a short barrel gun..
 
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The Debbie downers need to go find a different thread to hijack. All this talk if WORK on this , then WORK on this........

Sometimes it's just about having fun and making noise. If people don't like that too bad. All the talk of "wasting" powder is ridiculous. I don't like motorcycles but I don't complain in threads about motorcycles that people are "wasting gas" riding them.
 
460 handload.

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I've never caught a pic of it but my Magnum Carry has thrown some impressive fireworks.

I suspect the rule of the BP era was 'if you can't hit him make sure you set him on fire'. ;)

As long as you aren't loading into overpressure territory I don't see the harm in the fireworks.
 
Sorry to cross Fora, but a Colt Navy doesn't just blow cute rings of fire... it barfs out flames!
 
That picture of the 460 is pretty spectacular. I remember the first time I shot the factory 200 gr Hornady load out of my 5 incher. The fireball was the size of a basketball and shot out about 3 feet. It was visible in full daylight with a snowy backdrop. Not surprising since that load was developed for a 8 3/8" barrel.

Anyone have a picture of a 45-70 being shot from a BFR? I bet the flash from that would be huge!
 
The last time I saw a fireball like that, I fired a round out of a SW 340 PD...

I enjoyed the fireball, but not making it... my wrist still hurts when I think about it.
 
The SP101 throws out some great pyrotechnics. Plus, it's such a chunky piece of steel, even the hotter loads don't beat you up that much.

I don't see a problem in making big booms or fireballs for the fun of it as long as you're being safe. I know cracking off some rip-snorters can be a hoot. It's the same reason I like to shoot my 1858 black powder revolver and my Type 53 Mosin Nagant rifle.

I really like the snubbie .357 as a carry gun for out in the open woods/street use. I would hate to pop one off of any flavor in the cab of my truck or indoors. Of course, when life or limb is at stake, what's a little hearing loss, I guess.

I stoke my SP101 with .357 158gr semi jacketed soft points. Like others have said, .38+P isn't going to equate the same performance as the .357 no matter how short the barrel is.

That said, I usually stick to a 9mm or .45 for HD because of the flash and report of the .357.
 
Do you boys not see the downside of that? Any .357M fired from anything less than a 3" barrel is just so much wasted energy.
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Absolutely NOT so with heavier bullets that don't accelerate out of the bore before catching the pressure peak. I've done the Chronographing and found that my 125 grain load with 18 grains of 2400 only got up around 380 ft lbs, but my 140 grains Speer with 17 grains of 2400 shot 550 ft lbs from the same Ruger SP101 with 2.3" barrel. A 180 grain load, loaded for hunting from my 6.5" Blackhawk, of 13.8 grains of AA#9 went 662 ft lbs. The heavier the projectile, the better it'll work in a short barrel, but I compromise on 140 grains myself. More manageable and 550 ft lbs is PLENTY considering I cannot get more'n 250 ft lbs out of a .38 Special snubby nor more'n 410 ft lbs out of a pocket 9 shooting at +P levels with a 115 JHP.

My chronograph backs all this up. I have a 3" Taurus 66 I often belt carry, a little heavy on the belt, but very easy to shoot with the 140 grain load. However, I have a 20 ounce M605 Poly that should be here from Taurus soon. I'm looking forward to playing with it. :D If it works out, I'll likely carry it a lot.

That said, I usually stick to a 9mm or .45 for HD because of the flash and report of the .357.
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Heh, funny, but I have a cap and ball Pietta 58 remmy on my bedpost hanging in a buscadero rig. I just think it looks cool, but is closer to the bed than my shotgun and handy as heck. Probably ought to put my new .45ACP conversion cylinder in it, but the percussion cylinder holds an extra round. The conversion is a 5 shooter. BUT, you wanna talk MUZZLE FLASH? ROFL! Just hope if I have to use it ever, I don't set the carpet on fire. :D
 
Great photography guys! I love to see the fireballs and the rings. No reason we can't have a little fun from time to time and turn our bullet pusher into a flame thrower
 
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The heavier the projectile, the better it'll work in a short barrel
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Interesting MCgunner. As someone lacking a chronograph, I appreciate when others who do some testing provide that info. Sounds like I'm carrying the right load with 158 gr Speer Gold Dots out of my 3 inch SP101 and 3" 686.
 
Is that ring really happening, or is it a by-product of reflective light and camera lenses?

It's funny to me how quickly these posts turn into "low light condition and short barrels, vs low flash powders and then Muzzle energy, not to mention terminal velocity and hydro-static wound characteristics...."

OP was just stating that his awesome pics were in fact awesome. IMO shoot however you want to shoot. It's not always about you saving your own or your loved ones bacon.

Carry on...
 
<...>

What's wrong with making a big noise and a lot incandescent hot gas shoot out the end of my barrel because I find it amusing occasionally?
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Absolutely nothing at all. It is fun, and it is a normal part of shooting short barrel guns. The resulting pictures are really neat to look at.
 
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