Back to the Special from the Magnum

[atlctyslkr]

I have read alot of articles about muzzle flash, over penetration, HP expansion failures in regards to short barreled .357's. Anyone else carry a snub .357 and do you put magnums in it or specials?

I have seriously thought about going back to the special. It's not that I can't handle the magnum its that - why drive a V8 when a V6 will do?

 

[steveracer]

Magnums in the 2.25" SP101 for me.

I think that during a defensive shooting, you aren't going to notice recoil, and your target WILL notice the difference when you shoot him with magnums.

 

[AirForceShooter]

I have a Rossi .357 with a 2" bbl.
Usually I have .38 +P in it.
But as has been noted if you have to use it I'm pretty sure you're not going to notice the recoil at all with .357's in it.

AFS

 

[jc2]

I think that during a defensive shooting, you aren't going to notice recoil, and your target WILL notice the difference when you shoot him with magnums.

1. You may not notice the recoil (and muzzle blast), but they will slow your second and subsequent shots--maybe significantly.

2. If you do your job (which might be easier with a .38 Special), I doubt the target will notice any difference at all. Anyway you cut it, the effect on the target is mere speculation on both our parts.

 

[HankB]

I'm currently carrying .357 Silvertips in my 340SC.

 

[HiWayMan]

I carry "hot" specials in a magnum snub. I can only hope I'll never need to find out if that is a good decision or not. Today at the local deli I saw a big dude, 6-6" 350+, fat but muscled day laborer. I wouldn't feel comfortable fighting him off without an armoured division, let alone a handgun. I'd feel more secure with a big knife, but even with a 7" blade I doubt I'd be able to tickle any of that fellows innards.

 

[ID_shooting]

I may be way off base, but the work I did on the crony showed me that in a 2 inch SP101 I saw no speed difference between 38+p and 357. Lots of flash and recoil difference though.

Out of a 4 inch Security-Six, I see a 300 FPS difference between the two, still more recoil and flash.

I came to the conlusion that in a snubby, you don't have enough barrel to burn all of the 357 powder up and therefore are better off keeping it fed with 38's.

That said, my night-stand 4 inch Ruger, has 357 gold-dots in it.

 

[nitesite]

My 442 snubbie is chambered for .38Spl and I load it with 158-gr Remington LSWC +Ps. They'll cut a clean wound channel and drive as deeply as I need.

And I get really fast/accurate follow up shots (at least in training/practice anyway).

I never felt compelled to get a .357 snubbie. I wouldn't have a Titanium/Scanium airweight, so an all-steel Model 60 weights as much as my G29 10mm compact.

 

[MCgunner]

Never left the .38 Special, myself. The are a little more compact and the flash/bang in a dark room would be very disorienting in a fight, I'd think. I prefer to minimize that and I think the .38+P is plenty of power in a fight. The .357 loses a good bit of juice in a 2" barrel, too, not worth it for me.

If I carry a .357 right now, it's my 4" Taurus M66, not exactly compact, eh? So I hardly ever carry it, but occasionally when I'm going down to my place and just carry it IWB. I think for me, a 3" SP101 would be an option for CCW. I've thought a lot about that, but I'm not sure the step up is worth the hassle. The little .38 only weighs 15 ounces and it's just such a breeze to carry all day, IWB or pocket.