At 24, I bought my first .357

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90three

90three

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Walked into a small little shop with a small selection of mostly semi-autos.

Saw a snub nosed Ruger sp-101 collecting dust in the corner and after fondling her for a good 5 minutes, I didn't want anyone else to have her.

Pick her up next week. I already have a j-frame .38, but I think i'll be collecting revolvers from here on out.

Any you aficionados recommend? The S&W 686+ looks pretty mean.
 
Good taste. Ruger and Smith are my two favorite double-action revolvers.

The SP101 will outlast quite a few larger revolvers when fed a steady diet of .357 thanks to the over-engineering and the fore-and-aft cylinder lockup. And Smiths are just stylin' (and have much nicer triggers out of the box).
 
Welcome to THR, 90three! :)

Sounds familiar. In '73 when I was 21 I walked into a Charlottesville gunshop and fell-in-like with a NIB 150- model 4" blue Ruger Security Six.

I really liked being able to shoot either .38s or .357. Nice pistol, that.

While most of the handguns in my accumulation are semi-autos (about a 3:1 ratio), as a general rule, I find that the revolvers exert more appeal.

Enjoy!
 
The L frame Smiths (686,586,681, etc.) are probably the finest they ever made, with great balance, strength, triggers and somewhat less bulk than an N (as good as the N is). After the dash 2 though, fit and finish began to suffer. The last Performance Center 686+ I saw was shockingly bad........:(
 
90three said:
Walked into a small little shop with a small selection of mostly semi-autos.

Saw a snub nosed Ruger sp-101 collecting dust in the corner and after fondling her for a good 5 minutes, I didn't want anyone else to have her.

Pick her up next week. I already have a j-frame .38, but I think i'll be collecting revolvers from here on out.

Any you aficionados recommend? The S&W 686+ looks pretty mean.
Click to expand...

I have tried to love the L-frame Smiths (586, 686, etc.) since they first came out, but alas I cannot. They are in some sense the perfect revolvers, smooth working and able to digest enormous quantities of hot ammunition without a burp. They feel top-heavy to me, ill-balanced in the vertical plane, which may be unreasonable of me, but there it is.
 
At 24,congrats,I was in my 60's before I bought my first Ruger SP 101.357 Mag.3".My opinion on the S&W 686 go for it,I have the 686-6 .357 Mag.4".
 
You are on the right path to wheel gun wisdom. You will like the 686. I prefer the older S&Ws, early 80s back to the 50s. I'm sure the newer ones are great, I just don't own any.
 
I bought my first handgun, also a .357 (but a Taurus, not a Ruger) for myself the day after I turned 21. I quickly learned how pricey shooting that was becoming, back in 1987. I don't think it was three weeks before I was back in the sporting goods store (Oshman's.. anyone remember them?) buying a pistol in .22LR, which was a Ruger.

I still have that Taurus, and a healthy assortment of revolvers have come since...
 
Bought my first handgun day I turned 21, a Rockford Park Police trade in S&W 681. Only sold it cuz the kids were hungry during the dark days of the Big R.
I was picking up a layaway Sig at the local pawnshop when the manager said "Hold on a sec, something just came in I knew you're want......" He handed me a 6" 686 with target grips, and I left with both.
Unless one of the grandkids proves worthy, they will bury me with it. :)
 
I got my first .357 at 15. Colt Trooper MkIII. I prefer Colts, but the prices have just gone through the roof; Smiths are good guns, Rugers (DA) are not pretty, but built like an Abrahms Tank! Nothing wrong with Taurus, either. My son has a 4" Taurus 66, it does the job, he even got a deer with it.
 
Good on you!

I have plenty of good semi-automatics and enjoy shooting them.

But they just aren't revolvers...
 
Congrats. When I was that age I walked out of a shop with a 9.5" Super Redhawk in 44 mag. A 7.5" is probably plenty though.
 
90three

I bought my first .357 when I turned 21. It was a blued Colt Trooper Mk.III with a 4" barrel. Nowadays used Colt revolvers are out of my price range but a new or used S&W Model 19, 66, 686, 27, and 28 all make for great choices in a .357 revolver. Might also want to consider a Ruger GP100 or an older Security Six model.
 
90three said:
Walked into a small little shop with a small selection of mostly semi-autos.

Saw a snub nosed Ruger sp-101 collecting dust in the corner and after fondling her for a good 5 minutes, I didn't want anyone else to have her.

Pick her up next week. I already have a j-frame .38, but I think i'll be collecting revolvers from here on out.

Any you aficionados recommend? The S&W 686+ looks pretty mean.
Click to expand...
Welcome to THR 90three.:)
I was exactly you age when I bought my first .357. It was a Model 19 Smith. Of course that was in 1972, and I'm not sure when Smith quit making Model 19s. At my age now, it seems like a lot of my favorite guns aren't being made anymore, including Ruger Security Six .357s. I still have one of those.
But not to worry - I bought a sweet little Smith Model 66 last year, and I got my beautiful Freedom Arms Model 97 out of layaway (finally) a couple of months back. Even though nobody builds the revolvers like the ones I cut my own .357 teeth on, there's still a lot of nice ones out there.
I'm sure you've heard this, maybe a hundred times, but wear good ear protection. I didn't when I first started shooting large bore revolvers, and now if we ever had a fire in the house while I was asleep, I'd have to depend on the dog or my wife to wake me up, because I can't hear the smoke alarm.:(
 
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My first was an SP101. Still carry it.

My second was a 686+. Carry it frequently.

Third was a 686 Performance Center. Love shooting it.

You made a good investment that'll last you a long time.
 
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90three said:
I think i'll be collecting revolvers from here on out.
Click to expand...


Congrats & welcome to THR...

You really mean "accumulating", though, no? "Collecting" can get expensive. ;)

90three said:
Any you aficionados recommend? The S&W 686+ looks pretty mean.
Click to expand...

Personally I'd recommend the standard 6-shot 686 or the 8-shot 627. There are better speed loader options for the 6-shot 686. When I need more than 6 rounds, I go for the moon clipped 8-shot. The 7-shot just isn't as versatile as the 6- or 8-shot revolvers. It gives you an extra round, but if you're worried about capacity for SD reasons, I suggest the 8-shot or a semi-auto.

Whatever you decide, I'd urge you to shoot the batsnot out of it to gain some real proficiency with it. Get a kydex OWB holster and some good speed loaders and holders and work on your gun handling and reloading skills. "Accumulating" revolvers and being proficient with them are 2 different things. Personally, I think the latter's more important and satisfying. YMMV ;)
 
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