lookint to buy first wheelgun

[bacardisteve]

ok the title pretty much says it all im looking for a good 357 with anywhere from a 5 to 7 inch barrel. has anyone had any luck with the taurus or should i spen the money on the ruger. its primary purpose will be as a plinker and sometimes carried in the woods while hiking

 

[woad_yurt]

Model 65! I've seen them for $300 or so, used, online.

 

[357WheelGun]

S&W Model 19. Use it to plink with .38 Spl and carry nice 158 gr. .357 Magnum when you're in the back country. I absolutely love mine.

 

[bacardisteve]

the smiths seem great but looking at the website they r pricey. i could always get a used one but id rather have a new gun wuth warranty

 

[rxraptor02]

S&W 66-7 with a 4 inch barrel. Well that is what I have. The 4 inch has a great balance to it. You can shoot 38spl out of it all day at the range and the .357's are not that bad. Very accurate and fun. My S&W was bought used. I was told it was an old rental/range gun. I think I even rented it one day at the range. I lost count as to how many rounds have been down range with this revolver.


Taurus handguns; I do not own one. You can read all about them on this forum and other forums, That is all I want to say.

Smith and Wesson or Ruger you can get a solid one used for not that much.


You should have no issues with warranty service with ruger/smith and wesson.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

ok the title pretty much says it all im looking for a good 357 with anywhere from a 5 to 7 inch barrel. has anyone had any luck with the taurus or should i spen the money on the ruger. its primary purpose will be as a plinker and sometimes carried in the woods while hiking.

Please don't waste your money on a Taurus. Even though there are many on this forum who have gotten good revolvers from Taurus that are also far too many who have bought a nightmare. I've heard of brand new guns breaking with less than 20 rounds through them. You have to pay to send it back to Taurus ($50 or more) and then they take several months to even look at it.

Do yourself a big favor, buy a Ruger like you asked about or even take the advice of some of the posts and buy yourself a nice old used S&W K frame. Personally, I would buy a S&W L frame since it's a heavier frame and will be able to take more abuse like a Ruger does. If Ruger is what you want there's nothing wrong with a GP100. Not only are the Ruger and S&W revolver much better but you also get the two best Customer Service Departments in the business.

Also, a 5" to 7" revolver might be a little bulky to carry around in the woods. A 4" barrel is usually a better choice. If it were for the range alone then a 6" barrel would be ideal.

Good luck finding something you will be happy with and I must warn you, once you buy a .357 Magnum revolver you get a sickness that's not curable. For some reason this illness causes you to want to buy more and more revolvers. It's a sickness I tell ya!! LOL

 

[Fishman777]

Get a Ruger or a Smith...

I prefer Rugers, but that is not to say the a Smith and Wesson wouldn't be a good choice also. There are a ton of old threads on this very topic.