need a carry revolver, suggestions?

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RevolverMan567

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Despite my namesake, at this point I dont own a single wheelie, I got into pecision rifles and before I knew it the bug had me and these toys are expensive.

I am currently saving for a wheelgun to carry, and looking for thoughts

I have y eye on a 44 mag snubby because i figure it would fill many roles from camping sidearm to daily powerhouse for ccw.

I already have reloading gear for a 357 though. And i love the smith model 66's. my question is how much does a 357 give up to a 38 +P in a snub nose. How would it compare to a 44 mag out of the same snubby. I grew up shooting magnum handguns and recoil doesn't bother me much, besides i can shoot specials all day if i want...which would you prefer, and why?
 
Since you're already set up to reload .357 Magnum that's what I'd go with and not look back.

Unless you are in Grizzly Country I'd not worry about having a .357 magnum, and you will find the 44 Mag a "little light" too. I myself carry two, soon to be three guns at one time. Two of them are .357 magnum and the third is a 38 Special.

Yes, out of a "snubbie" you lose some velocity and power in the .357 Magnum, but it still hits harder than a 38 Special. I carry a 3" GP100 because I like the longer sighting radius. My other guns are 2 1/4" SP101 with a 1 7/8 S&W 38 Special. The SP101 is .357 Magnum by the way.

Even in the backwoods you are more likely to deal with human predators than the four legged kind. If by chance you need to use a handgun for four legged predators you will most likely be well served by the same load in your gun that you would use for defense against a two legged predator, excluding Bears.

Statistically the 44 Magnum is not that good against human aggressors, although it does work and I wouldn't volunteer to be shot by one. Nothing so far has surpassed the "King of the Street" in terms of stopping human attackers, the old 125 Grain JHP by Federal or the 125 Grain SJHP by Remington.

The .357 Magnum is a great round and is very versitle. Also, it's easier to find a good selection of .357 Magnum ammo in my neck of the woods than it is to find a good selection of 44 Mag ammo.

Take care and stay safe.

BikerRN
 
It ain't that expensive to buy a new set of dies for the .44.

The .44 snubby is a nice weapon. I almost went with a Charter Arms Bull Dog .44 special myself. Unfortunately Charter Arms seems to be the only choice for a compact .44 special.

You're reasoning concerning the .44 mag is good though. I'd even go so far as to say look for a 4 inch barrel rather than a snubby. The extra barrel length isn't going to make carry that much harder, but it will give the extra you need to allow a full charge to burn so that you don't lose power on a full load. That could be quite an advantage when facing an angry animal in the woods.

As for carry loads, I'd load it with .44 special. I prefer to power down a bit in the city. YMMV
 
How about a Ruger Alaskan in .44 Mag? Sort of a mega-snubbie . . .


307L.jpg
 
.44 Magnum and snubby aren't two concepts that work very well together I find, unless your "snubby" is the 45 oz Ruger pictured above. It's a beefy round. The .44 Special is better, and even then you need at least 25 to 30 oz to absorb the recoil sufficiently for good shooting. If you're talking about CONCEALED carry, I can't see how the heck you could pull it off with a full size 4" .44 Mag. Those are not small firearms, and that's for a good reason.

I'd second the vote for a 3" or so .357 in the K frame size. Big enough to work properly but small enough to conceal.
 
I cannot fathom a 44 mag for CCW. I am 6'-2" and 260 pounds plus and I don't think I could have in concealed in less than a trench coat. But, if that's what you want one of the 3" S&W jobs with the sights de-horned might do you.
On the other hand, since you are set up for 357 and say you love S&W 66s, it's hard to imagine a better CCW weapon than a S&W 65 in either 3" or 4" configuration. To me that gun is at least tied for the title of ultimate CCW wheelgun.
 
dont forget the Ruger sixes. speed six and security six in 2.75" barrels.

they are sweet guns!

i think the speed six is tied with the SW 65 as the ultimate carry guns!
 
I have a 3" .44 Magnum - the S&W 629. I only use it for open carry in the wilds. It's just too big to hide otherwise. Even in a round butt and 3" barrel it weighs 41ozs, the same as a full size 1911 in .45acp.

For CC I am very fond of the 2.5" S&W K-frame. They are stainless in the Model 66, or blue or nickel in the Model 19. It is a very potent .357 platform, and gives up an acceptably small amount of velocity and accuracy vs. a 4" in trade for its compactness. It packs extremely well. A high-ride holster is particularly useful. A good one will set you back maybe $500 these days - still less than a comparable new 686 2.5" (which is bigger/heavier, and with a lock). Six rounds of .357 is a terribly powerful package.

This is an older Roy's pancake holster that works well. Below is a stainless one so you can get a image of the overall package.

IMGP2941.gif

IMGP2547.jpg
 
When the shooting is over I would still like to be able to hear. Muzzel blast in magnums will damage your hearing permenately. Even standard velocity loads are loud but magnums are really bad. No since haveing a gun that kills on both ends.

jj
 
Well I’m partial to S&W and currently love the j frame with the internal hammer. 357 is fantastic and you can adjust between 38’s and 357’s depending on the recoil and penetration you want. I have to agree with the 44 being more difficult to conceal as well.
 
Ruger SP101, .357mag, either barrel length. I have a 2.25" version and am totally happy with it. They are tough, and the trigger on mine is surprisingly good either DA or SA. They are a little big for a snubbie but definitely still concealable.
 
If you go with the 2 1/4" in the SP101, they you have the choice of hammer vs. spurless hammer. I would go with the spurless one. I think it's better for carry.

50L.jpg
 
You said it yourself - Smith 66. Unless you want deep concealment, then a 66 is excellent. If you need to go deeper, a J frame, or Taurus/Ruger equivalent will work fine. By the way I do like my Charter .44s. They're not top qual construction, but they work (once you get the bugs worked out - one of mine had burrs creating light strikes on one cylinder). The problem was carrying spare ammo. There are some solutions, but nothing as "neat" as a speed strip. :)
 
thanks guys, I apprciate the sincere responce,

in one post above I realized i may be sounding crazy asking for a snub 44, the only reason i ask is because i was curious of anyone did it, taurus has a small to medium frame 44 that a local shop has for 400 bucks, in a 44 and i was curious as to whether it is a legitimate step up compared to a 357, Im not into the chest thumping of carrying a snub 44, but i like to plan on the worst and hope for the best, if it come to me or my wife not coming home at night i was just curious if a 44 presents a better chance of that with a worse case one solid hit confrontation.

thank you so far for the good info, I have it narrowed down to the 44 taurus, a smith 66 or a smith 642/442 with the 66 way out front for various reasons, one of which is qualified for my ccw with my first one with full house 357's just to ensure i could handle it.

I am slightly concerned with the taurus, because i had a snub nose 41 mag once that had a burr in the spring loaded plunger in the cyclinder and after about 100 full mag loads it locked up in a free spn and would not engage the cylinder, scary because it was going to be my ccw gun. any insight on this from other taurus owners, i know there fine guns but once in that situation s scary enough, and through 15 or so smith's i never ran into this?
 
On the other hand, since you are set up for 357 and say you love S&W 66s, it's hard to imagine a better CCW weapon than a S&W 65 in either 3" or 4" configuration.
Click to expand...

+1

You said it yourself - Smith 66. Unless you want deep concealment, then a 66 is excellent.
Click to expand...

++1

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE my M29, but when it comes to conceal ability, it's not just the 6.5-inch barrel that makes it a problem. Yeah, you could always do this, but I think you would love the 65 or 66 so much more for a daily gun! (IMHO, of course!)

--Michael
 
There are so many good choices when it comes to a revolver for CCW. Many have already been mentioned like a short barrel K frame and the Ruger 6 Series revolvers. Also mentioned were the Ruger SP101 in both lengths and a 3" GP100. S&W Jframe revolvers are also good choices.

Since you are talking about possibly carrying a short barrel .44 Magnum I'm guessing a weight and large size doesn't bother you. If that's true and you aren't against buying a current production revolver you might like a S&W M686 Plus in either a 2.5" or 3" barrel. The Plus revolver is the 7 round revolver so you get an extra round over older .357 Magnum K/L frame revolvers. If you like a more traditional revolver S&W also has a 6 round 2.5" M686.

If you want something lighter take a look at S&W's new M327 Night Guard. That's a 8 round, 2.5" N frame .357 Magnum revolver which weighs only 27.6 oz. The Night Guard Series revolvers also include .44 Special, .44 Magnum, .38 Special and .45 Auto models.

Like I said, there are many good revolvers around to choose from. Look around and see what's comfortable in your hand and if possible fire as many as you can and see which you shoot well.

Good luck finding something you like!
 
Don't know how you are going to conceal a 44 mag. I would go with an older Smith model 60 or (like so many others) the Ruger sp101
 
I'd stick with a .357 Mag. My choice would be the 2.25" SP101 or, if that sixth round is important to you, a 3" GP100. Both are excellent CCW revolvers, although the SP101 has the edge for IWB carry. The 3" GP shines when worn OWB.
 
Either a nice pre lock 65, or pre lock 66. Even better a 2.5" model 19, which was discontinued in 1999, and never suffered any of S&W's "innovations".
 
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