I was talking to a lady recently who seems to be starting to "get it" regarding personal defense. She's not ever going to be a "hardcore shooter" so let's take her situation as an example (note that she's small and has never shot a gun):
* Let's assume she's going to carry in a purse, so a 3" or even 4" barrel SP101 is going to work.
* If she buys the 357 version, she'll have five shots on tap and is unlikely EVER to shoot ammo heavier than 38+P (250ft/lbs energy) or maybe low-end 357s like the Speer 135 short barrel 357 (300-350ft/lbs energy).
* But with the 327 version, first she's got six shots. Second she can do initial practice with the 32ACP or 32S&W (or long) to get an initial feel without developing a flinch - call it 120-150ft/lbs. She then works her way up to 32H&RMagnum, the best ammo for that rivals the 38+P at around 200ft/lbs. And with some practice, she can work her way up to 327 Gold Dots with 400ft/lbs on tap, as effective as the lower-end 357 loads she'd maybe have worked her way up to in a 357 gun. But waitasec, she's still got six shots on tap.
And all of the six-shot 32Mag speedloaders for J-class guns work with the SP101 327.
Worst case, if the 327 remains "too much" for her, she can carry five 32Mags set up "first at bat" and with a single 327 as "cleanup batter" (and with the gun letting her know it's time to reload or scoot!). Bringing the last round down off of recoil for the "next shot" is a non-issue, right?
Yes, if she got a 357 version SP101 it could eat Buffalo Bore/Grizzly/Doubletap high-end 700ft/lbs monster loads. But trust me, those would flat-out break her wrists. Why have that available to *her* at a cost of an extra shot?
For those of us who might take an SP101 into the woods and make use of real 357 power levels, having that horsepower on tap makes sense.
Not for the lady I'm describing.
