Any reason to own a 357 mag if you already own a 44 mag?

[CopperFouling]

I own a pair of .357 Magnums, one of which (a Smith & Wesson 686-6) was my first handgun. Here are my thoughts:

If you were new to shooting handguns and weren't used to recoil, then a .357 Magnum would make sense so that you could shoot .38 Special from it while learning to shoot. However, you have plenty of experience with the .44 Magnum, so that's not really a consideration.

If you were not a handloader, you would benefit from the cost savings and availability of shooting .38 Special as opposed to .44 Special. However, you indicated that you already handload, so you can load as many .44 Specials as your heart desires. You don't gain much by moving down. (You might save a little money from the reduced size of bullet, but that's going to take a little while after you have to buy dies, shell plates, brass, etc.)

If you were looking to hunt with it, a .44 is going to be a better cartridge, at least for large game, so that's not really a factor, either.

If you want a .357 Magnum, by all means, buy one, but I think I would dump the ~$1500 into something else instead.

 

[Eddietruett]

To each his own, but I prefer the .357 over the 44. Over the last 40 years I have owned 10-12 44 mags and have enjoyed shooting them but the older I get, I find I don't enjoy the recoil like I did when I was 25. The .357 will stop any animal in my part of the country and I hunt totally with a .357 these days. 99% of my shooting is at paper and steel plates and the .357/38 does a great job of killing targets as well. If you like the big boom and recoil, then by all means keep the 44 but I find the .357 to be more gun to shoot. Of course most of my shooting these days is with .38's and even when I shot the 44 mag regularly, at least 75% of my shooting was with 44 spl. You can't have to many guns and it is not written in any law book that you have to justify the purchase of a new/used one.

 

[silvermane_1]

Not even close

Exactly, the "9mm" that can't come close to a 357 mag or 357 SIG, and i own both 357 mag and 357 SIG.

 

[Master Blaster]

I love .357 for the accuracy and for the versatility, if you are not a reloader .357 or .38spl. ammo is much cheaper and more easily available.
If you take youngsters and newbies shooting you can load .38 special powder puffs for them to shoot. Much less recoil than even .44 special level ammo in a .44.
You can get the 8 shot 627 with moonclips as well as older 5, 6, 7 shot J, K, and L frames.

 

[Deanimator]

They do different things. If you need to do those things, one of them is going to be a marginal solution.

I have three .357s and two .44s. They do different things.

I'm not going to be carrying my 4" 29-2 IWB (nevermind the 6").

I'd be much more comfortable shooting deer with the 6" .44 than the 6" .357.

 

[Varminterror]

I’ve never found an application where I have felt a full sized 357magnum revolver made any sense at all.

 

[Saleen322]

Is there really anything practical that a heavy large frame 357 can do that a very simular but slightly heavier slightly larger frame 44 mag can't?

Just for the benefit of those reading this thread who are not familiar with Dan Wesson revolvers, they have 2 frame sizes. The small frame includes at least the 22, 32, and 357 mag while the large frame includes at least the 41, 44, and the Super Mags. The small frame is sort of misleading because the frame is bigger than a Smith K frame but the cylinder is about the same size, in fact, the 15 and 715 use the same speed loader as a model 10 or 19 Smith would. Point being a 715 is a small frame DW.

 

[Charlie98]

I went the other direction... I bought a nice, used DW .357, finally found a large-frame DW .41 Magnum... and sold the .357 off. Definitely 2 different pistols, but it also depends on what you want. I'm not big on range pistols and, in fact, am completely out of the .38/.357 business now... but if that's what you want, it's difficult to find a better example than the DW.

 

[Walkalong]

I’ve never found an application where I have felt a full sized 357magnum revolver made any sense at all.

Range fun.

 

[Jack Ryan]

Bill Hickok thought so. He owned both a pair of 36s and 44s.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Any reason to own a 357 mag if you already own a 44 mag?

Yes, because it's so much damn fun.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

The main reason I keep mine is for when the wife or daughter go to the range with me.
Even my .44 special loads are pretty stout (mostly the Keith and Skeeter loads), so they're a handful for the ladies.
But with .38 specials in a Ruger Blackhawk, it's like shooting a .22 nearly.

 

[d2wing]

I like a .357 over .44 Mag. It is much easier on my arthritic wrists, and follow up shots are much quicker if you really need to use it. Mine happens to be very accurate as well.

 

[Walkalong]

Yep, for fun at the range, the .44Mag has to be limited. Of course we can always download it.

The answer for hunting isn't the answer for fun at the range, and fun at the range is what most people do with their revolvers.

 

[Varminterror]

I haven’t found a full size 357mag to be terribly fun for the range. Range fun wasn’t excluded from my original statement.
Not for not trying, I own and have owned them for 20+ years, but if there’s something they’re really great for in 2019, I sure can’t figure out what it might be (conceding there was a time where a full frame 357 was as good as it gets for a duty weapon; a day long over).

 

[Deanimator]

I’ve never found an application where I have felt a full sized 357magnum revolver made any sense at all.

It depends upon:

1. whether you shoot full power loads
2. how much you shoot
3. how much you enjoy recoil

ALL of my shooting is range shooting. If you enjoy shooting a couple hundred Fiocchi 158gr. JSPs through a Scandium J frame, knock yourself out.

 

[Varminterror]

I haven’t found a full size 357mag to be terribly fun for the range either. Range fun wasn’t excluded from my calculus.

 

[John Joseph]

A .357 is handy for shooting .38 Specials---they rattle around too much in a .44

 

[jmr40]

I sold off all of my 357's after buying my 1st 44 mag. I pay about $3 more for a box of 44's than 357's, works out to 1/2 cent more per round. If I want to shoot cheap I have 22's. Mid-level 44 loads are more pleasant to shoot than full power 357 mag, and are just as effective if needed for personal protection. Of course if needed there are loads out there that take the 44 to another level.

My Smith 629 is 1 oz lighter than the 686 and Ruger GP-100's I sold and are close enough to the same size that I could use the same holsters. My better 124 gr 9mm loads were within 50 fps of 125 gr 357 loads from 4" barrels and beat most 357 loads from 2" barrels. I just never found a need for 357 if I had a 44 and 9mm.

 

[Keith G]

If you don’t currently own a 357, then I think that’s reason enough to get one. But perhaps I’m just an enabler...

 

[FROGO207]

Lets see------You are asking a bunch of gun revolver enthusiasts if you should buy a new one in a different caliber. It is a fair bet that they own a few each in multiple calibers. I sure do. Not Dan Wessons for sure but some quality iron and stainless. From .22 to 500 S&W for starters. You already have to change the primer setups to go from 9MM to 44 MAG so that is a moot point. Also you are willing to spend how much for a new revolver? But you think that spending money for a new tool head and dies might be a deal breaker----come on! You should get one just to have a different caliber footprint. I bet that a good gunsmith would be able to take a spare DW cylinder and bore it out for 9MM for you. For a range toy a Ruger 357 SBH with a 9MM cylinder would fit the bill IMHO and what you saved will buy you the necessary gear to reload for it. I bet you end up with more of them down the road.

 

[gotboostvr]

You want to talk about redundancy, I'm already heavily invested in 44mag and just bought a 45LC that's available in the same configuration as a 44mag.

There's some great sixguns worth owning that are only possible with a smaller cartridge. Things like a M19 or Flattop Ruger.

 

[mavracer]

It's been very easy for me to get along with the .357. I skipped right past it and got a .44Mag as my first centerfire revolver and never looked back. Just never cared much for the .357 cartridge. Much prefer a moderately loaded big bore to the ear splittin' blast of the .357. I do love the .38Spl and a nice set of 2", 4" and 6" K-38's are among my prized possessions. However, I do have a handful of .357's but it's more despite the chambering, rather than because of it. Some .357's are just classic sixguns and I feel compelled to own them. Like my model 27 and Highway Patrolman.

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IMHO, the Old Model Blackhawk like this `58 flat-top fancy walnut, color cased hammer and nitre blued trigger, is the finest iteration of the .357Mag sixgun.

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A suggestion I might make would be for a .44Spl, like the 5" GP's from Ruger. You get a much smaller, lighter and handier sixgun but all you'll have to buy is brass to handload for it. Isn't adjusting your 650's dies easier to change the whole shebang? I bought another 650 just to avoid changing the priming system.

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This is exactly my feeling about the 357 I could easily get by without one, but I'm a gun nut so I have several because they're classics.

 

[CraigC]

I just realized I said in my first post "get along with" when what I meant to say was "without".

 

[Mn Fats]

Lots of iconic guns in that caliber also.

Among others, this would be my main reason. S&W 686. Security Six. Gp100. Python (if you have the dough). Blackhawk. S&W 19. And on and on.

Plus OP said a Dan Wesson 715? Uhhh sold. Dan Wessons are excellent revolvers.