Help me pick out a snubbie .357 for CCW

[Marvin KNox]

I like my 640 on the hip and the 340 M&P for coat pocket or belly band.

I practice mostly with .38 and carry the .357. .357 recoil is better in the 640 and doable in the 340.

I like somewhat reduced ammo for the light weight .357 mags. I use the DPX. Gives me around 1100 fps from the 340 and probably a little bit more from the barrel of the 640. That's just enough more speed over the .38 +p's to make the effort worthwhile. But not so much more recoil as to make it problematic (at least for me).

 

[bflobill_69]

Yeah those 627's are beautiful... But kinda on the heavy side when loaded with 8 rounds of ammo =P I am kinda biased toward a k-frame snubbie...

Bflobill69

 

[Cocked & Locked]

Now that's a nice revolver but so is the Model 327 in Black and wood grips (the one in Post #7) but the M327 is much lighter and holds the same 8 rounds of .357 Magnum and is also cut for moon clips.

Yes the 327 is lighter and is cut for moon clips just as is the 627-PC snubby. Light is good for carrying!

8-shot moon clips are a pain in the rear (at least for me) as the wobble factor of the cartridges is on the high side. I prefer the 8-cartridge spped strips by Tuff products. Both the 327 and 627-PC eject empties with or without the moon clips.

 

[Cocked & Locked]

Yeah those 627's are beautiful... But kinda on the heavy side when loaded with 8 rounds of ammo =P I am kinda biased toward a k-frame snubbie...

as am I

 

[gunnie]

from earlthegoat2...

"K frame smith for 357s

J frame smith or Colt Detecitve Special for 38s.

Probably not what you want to hear but that is my take."

couldn't agree more with those picks, and that advice. was saddened to see you omitted the colt agent model in the .38spc section though.

gunnie

 

[earlthegoat2]

Colt Detective Special is an all encompassing word to mean the Detective Special, Cobra, and Agent as well as the DS-II or SF-VI, Viper, and Magnum Carry.

 

[BlayGlock]

My vote is for the SP101. If you want to save some money find a Taurus 605. Ive got both and I like them both.

 

[kludge]

I love the 2.25" SP-101.

 

[maniak]

+1 on the Ruger SP101 w/2.25" barrel

Since I took that picture, I've switched out the grips (still Hogue, but now Pau Ferro wood) and upgraded the front sight (Trijicon tritium) and holstered it in a High Noon Hidden Ally.

You may also find this thread interesting.

 

[liquidinfo]

SP101 seems to get the nod quite often, but that extra round you get in a K-frame or one of the Ruger "sixes' is pretty important. Are those six-shot .357 guns *that* much harder to conceal than the J-frames and the SP101s?

 

[ArmedBear]

Are those six-shot .357 guns *that* much harder to conceal than the J-frames and the SP101s?

Hell yes.

I walk around with a Model 60 2 1/8" with the factory extended grips in my front pants pocket sometimes (in a pocket holster).

THAT is easy to conceal.

The 642 hides a bit more easily, with a 1 7/8" barrel and boot grips. The standard 60 snubbie is about max for pocket carry, so anything even a little bigger offers fewer carry options, and is much harder to conceal.