Is the 357 fading away?

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+1 for another person of the younger generation shooting a .357 magnum wheelgun. I'm 20 years old, and I've been shooting my Heritage Arms Big Bore for about 2 years now. I'll also go ahead and agree with the general consensus that the majority of people I see shooting on the pistol range tend to hold something semi-automatic and 9mm. I can't say I blame them though, with the local Wal-mart selling the stuff at $20 for 100 rounds of WWB. I tend to run more .38 Special because I can't afford to shoot the magnum load on a college kid budget. Just as another stab at the generational assumption, my 53 year old father swears by his 9mm, so cut us a little slack ;)
 
Nope...

I am 37 and prefer revolvers over autoloaders. I only own revolvers right now. I love the flexibility of the .357 magnum revolver and would take it over any other handgun for personal protection and protection in the field. I had no interest in even considering a revolver until I rented a GP100 and a 686. One range visit was all the convincing that I needed.
 
im 20 and I love my gp-100! If things got really bad it would be the last handgun that I would ever sell.

t george
 
I wish Smith & Wesson would bring back the Model 65; that was one of the best service/defense handguns ever made. K-frame, stainless steel, bull barrel and fixed sights: Perfect! Sure, the basic design is 110 years old, but it's hard to argue with something that just works for decades.

My first handgun was a blue Colt Trooper Mk. III with a four-inch barrel. I later graduated to a Model 28 Highway Patrolman (all the major area LEAs were using the N-frame Smith) and then to a Model 27 with a 3 1/2-inch barrel. I did have some Model 19s and a couple of Model 66s because they were lighter as duty weapons, but I still think there's nothing like an N-frame Smith or a Colt Python to handle full-house .357 Magnum loads.

These days, my .357 is a Smith & Wesson Model 60 with a 3-inch barrel. I carry a speedloader in a pocket. Around the house, I keep it loaded with .38 Special +P as I don't really need all the penetration a Magnum round provides. I do have a couple of automatics, including a 17-shot FNP-9 and my 20-shot Beretta CX4 Storm carbine, but the Smith is the one I carry most often.
 
I shoot 95% 357mag and the rest in 38spl and 22LR. I also hardly ever see any revolver action at the ranges. I is quite comical when a fellow (young) shooter wants to see my GP100 or 686 and they ask me how old it is. :rolleyes:
 
I'm 25. I own a .357, and it is my wife's favorite gun. I think I shoot pistols better, but it isn't because of the trigger. I'm pretty good at staging the trigger etc. My problems are in the grip technique. I just can't seem to find a good one. I'll keep experimenting.

I would buy more revolvers but they are just getting so damn expensive. The Colt snake guns are all over a grand. All of the new Smiths I would like to have are $800-1200. Smith only even lists two revolvers under $700. Ruger might be the only manufacturer putting out quality, affordable revolvers (depends on your opinion of Taurus and Charter, etc.) For $1,000 I can get some great 1911's, and I'm just more interested in that.

.357 is the most versatile caliber around. I think it could kill anything in North America. It is certainly worth keeping.
 
I think the .357 is fading slightly. Lots of people are carrying .357's but I figure most of them have .38 Special +p's in the chambers. The huge price increases in ammo may be driving some to the slightly less expensive .38's. Still, I think the .357 is a sweet round that will be around a long time.
 
I'm younger generation. Not so much "brain washed" as it is that when I'm out at the range I'm usually out for some casual fun shooting, and so I typically just don't take my revolvers (I have 3 - no .38/357 though). That doesn't mean that I think any less of them or that they're antiques - just that when I'm out shooting I'm just not personally interested. A lot of people are feeling the same way. To each his own. :)
 
I'm 26 and my last two guns were revolvers (5" GP 100, 5.5" Ruger Bisley), and my next gun will also be a revolver (S&W 642). I'd also LOVE to get a S&W .41 Mag Mountain Gun (Buds is selling them right now).
I think the .357 has a couple of challenges. The first is the declining popularity of revolvers, as has been said. Despite the number of my generation here proclaiming their love for revolvers, by and large they're just not selling as well. The second challenge is that once someone makes the decision to buy a revolver they're quite likely to get something well beyond the power level available in auto pistols.

That said, it's such a wonderfully balanced round that's so effective in an amazingly broad set of uses that I can't ever see it fading too far.

P.S. Huzzah for not having to pick up brass!
 
I didn't read the whole thread, but I think as a percentage of market-share they are definitely decreasing. Far from obsolete, far from dead, but they are not the ubiquitous service guns they used to be.
 
I do not think so since a few companies keep coming out with new models chambered in .357. If there was not a market for it they would not produce them.
 
I don't see many other wheelguns when I'm at the range, either. I like to shoot my .38 and .357, and my old Colt .22. 90% of the other pistols at the range with me are autos.
 
I bought my L-frame S&W .357 when they came out in 1982 (SN <300). It was $237 brand new (granted, my dealer cut me a break, but not a lot). At the same time, a new 6" Python would have been in the $550-600 range, which seemed unbelievably expensive.

A new Beretta 92SB in the same shop ran $720 in those days. There just weren't any really high-quality, affordable autoloaders that I was aware of.

The market is tending to run the other way now. There are a lot of really good autoloaders out there at reasonable prices (minus HK/Sig), and the good revolvers are much more expensive.

So which is responsible? Are autoloaders cheaper due to economy of scale because everyone is buying them, or is everyone buying them because they got cheaper (and more reliable than they used to be)?

Either way, the .357 must still be popular, because it's one of the calibers that's still in short supply (though not as short as .380).
 
The reason no one's shooting theirs is because they know that in a post-apocalyptic world, the .357 will be the only caliber that will put holes in invading tanks and down weaponized helicopters.

Actually, it's more likely due to the lack of ammo.
 
I love the 357. My wife and I own one each but I'll admit we primarily burn 38's in them. I hunt with a 44 magnum simply because it is undeniably superior in the deer woods. I do reload but it's a lot cheaper to load 38 wadcutters than high end mags. And the wife doesn't handle mags so well to boot.

It's for certain the new generation of autos is taking it's toll but I doubt the 357 will ever die.
 
The .357 will fade away when the 44Mag and 45LC fade away, not in your lifetime. I have 4 S&W's. 2 Model 586's, 1 Model 19 and 1 Model 340PD
 
I'm 27 and carry a .357 S&W Model 66-3. It was my only SD gun until fairly recently.

I *do* have a pocket autoloader for deeper concealment, and think it's a fine gun. But - I still prefer to go to the range and shoot .38s out of my .357. Sometimes I have to put a few of those expensive .357s through just to make sure residue doesn't build up between cleanings. ;) Not, of course, because it's fun as hell. :D
 
im 20 and LOVE the 357mag, its my grandmothers carry gun and i love taking it out and popping off 2-300 rounds, i like it almost more than my 1911's its just a beautiful round and with her houge grips its a pleasure to plink with.
 
I'd probably attribute it to ammo costs. .357 isn't cheap to shoot unless you roll your own, which I do.

I would also say, that with advancements in ammo in the last 5-10 years, velocity has become less important to lethality. Projectiles like the Barnes DPX and Federal HST open reliably and beautifully without the need for warp speed, possibly diminishing the edge some of the high-powered cartridges had.

With that said, I am still an avid lover of revolvers and the .357 in particular. I think there will always be a bond between handloaders and revolvers due to the versatility and the fact that you don't have to chase your brass all over like some kind of rummaging primate. And for the record, I'm 25, so don't assume that all young folks neglect the classics.
 
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