If you could have only one .38 / 357...

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4" 19-3

I shoot the 6" better, longer sight radius and partridge sight, but the 4" is handier and easier to carry. I love the 14 and 15 .38s, but if I only had one, I'd want the .357 option.
 
Ditto The Comments on the 5" Model 60

I had the same experience you describe. Wasn't intending to buy the 5" bbl but when I picked it up it was like an extension of my hand! Love at first feel!

Obviously, others with different sized hands might prefer the 3"...and it conceals easier...but, even though I don't use it as a daily carry gun, I can tote the 5" IWB with no problems.

I do, however, limit myself to .38 Special +P in this gun. With these rounds it is not only a pleasure to shoot, it's also a 'tack driver'. It just is not a comfortable experience to shoot it with .357. For that load, it's the Python!

Biggest Problem: With normal pressure .38 Special rounds, it is now my wife's favorite handgun. I have to sneak it from her nightstand to take it to the range! :)

Mike
 
how have i not noticed this thread until now!?

Well out of what I currently own, it'd be my 6" GP-100, but as asked in the OP, my Grail .357 would be a full-lug 686
 
I have a 6" GP100 and love it, I primarily use it for hunting, however I am considering the smaller framed sp101 with w the 4.2 inch barrel to carry when hiking and camping. go with a 357 instead of just a 38 special, because u will have the option of shooting 38 special rounds in the 357
 
if only one .357

It would be my 686+ mountain gun. It can do anything I would ask a .357 to do except ride in a pocket. That's what the little j-frames are for.

Colt
 
Ruger speed six, blued with factory ruger rubber or a tyler t and some orange paint on the front sight :)

Ps I have owned many 357s!
 
I've owned most of the guns mentioned here and i sent them down the road long time ago, but the one 357 Mag. i chose to keep is my old M-19. I kept it because i like the quality/fit/finish/weight and how it shoots better than the others i owned at the same time.

Second choise, my old S&W pre M-27... WOW, what a fine revolver they are!

DM
 
I don't carry a revolver or use one for home defense, so my choice is a nice single action.
Bad photo, great gun.
A.jpg
 
My Colt Python, 6", feels the best in my hand, and the most accurate. I did buy an SP 101 3" about 4 months ago, still getting it broken in and learning to shoot the shorter barrel at longer distances, built like a tank.
 
Which would it be? Looking for a grail gun, in the .38 special / .357 magnum catagory.
Click to expand...
4" S&W 686.

I know a lot of people like the arguably superior action and handling of the 66, but in a .357, I prefer a gun I don't have to worry about turning into an unfixable* paperweight if I don't watch the ammo I feed it. ;)

*The reason S&W stopped making the 66 is because even small amounts of hot 125gr loads can crack the forcing cone. Since the guns have been OOP so long, replacement barrels are no longer available so if you damage the forcing cone the gun can't be fixed.
 
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