Shooting .357 Magnums

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All depends on your experience with handguns. The Atomic Bomb comment seems quite exagerrated, but again it depends on the person's experience.

I personally, love the recoil of the 357 out of my 4" Smith 686. It too is a heavy gun and with the Hogue tamer grips and the magnum loads, is a blast to shoot.

If you plan on shooting alot, shoot 38 spl and practice, work out the bad habits and get comfortable with your gun this load first. You'll learn about your gun and especially where to hold on target. You'll also save some $$$ with the 38 spl. Once you know you gun, you can get the big loads and you'll be much more satisfied that you spent your money well and increased your skill level without breaking the bank.

Just my two cents and hope this helps.
 
It's no big deal man.

The first gun I bought was an SP-101 with a three inch bbl. .357's are fine.

The second gun I bought was a S&W 460 magnum with a 5" bbl. Now that is a little stout.

Really, .357 is not a haymaker. It is a good powerful round, but out of a GP100, full power loads are fine.
 
I carried a .357 as duty weapon for about 15 years, and put a lot of different loads through same.
The ONLY load I ever found to have uncomfortable recoil was Elmer Kieth's old 170 grain Keith SWC over a whole bunch (I don't recall the exact load) of 2400 powder. A compression load.
That booted pretty well out of a 4" M19.

For duty ammo back then, we were all using light-bullet high-velocity loads.
 
Havent shot any mags over 120gn. first time i shot them it felt good but made me say"is that it".
I knew i needed a 44 mag.. havent shot it yet tho.
 
First .357 I shot was an SP101, with the 2 inch (I believe barrel). The recoil was there, didn't love it. The second .357 i shot was a Blackhawk.
I grinned ear to ear like I got a new cymbal.

.357 is one of my favorite rounds, next to .22lr that is.

Getting a GP100 with 6 inch barrel in a few months.:D
 
One other suggestion--be sure you have good hearing protection.

A .357 can be *loud*.
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ha yes my 2nd shot with a 357 I had removed my earplugs while checking out my bloodied thumb and forgot to put them back in. BANG! charter arms mag pug ported I still love .357 but not a fan of ported barrels.
 
Jest keep your mouth closed when you're shootin' it, son. That way your fillings won't fall out when it goes off!

Seriously, you probably won't enjoy shooting the .357, but you should learn to master it. It's an incredibly versatile round, great for outdoor use such as camping or hiking.
 
My first .357 came out of a Smith 19. What I really noticed most was how much more "snap" it has over .38. Really nothing to be concerned about in a full size revolver. Lots of fun. :D
 
non sense, .357 is pretty mild compared to whats out there. And outta a gp100, a big heavy over built revolver, not gonna be that bad.
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It also depends on which .357mag. A Golden Saber is in a different league than a Buffalo Bore heavy load.

But even BB/DT ammo out of that GP won't be terrible. Don't over think it or you'll totally psych yourself out. Just go shoot and have fun.
 
Female here with tiny wrists and I can attest that your Ruger with 357 Mag at 158 gr load is fine. I find I target shoot more with 38s just due to the cost. I have a Ruge 4" Security Six and a Smith 6" Model 19--both are fun with 357. Yes, they are louder and yes, they will recoil a bit more. Shoot near twilight so you can see the breathing dragon effect :) Have fun!
 
.357 is powder puff in a heavy revolver. Oh, the muzzle blast is there in the shorter barrels, but recoil is not an issue, nor is recovery for the second shot with proper technique. Where it becomes a menace is in the snubbies. A Smith and Wesson M340, don't even go there. laughing-smiley-014.gif

I do get that Tim Allen thing goin' with my 3" in an indoor range. :D
 
I'm a skinny guy, and shooting a .357 (from a SW model 13) for the first time was not bad at all. From a four-inch barrel, I felt the recoil as a push back into my palms, not muzzle flip (which is legitimately unpleasant). In fact, I find shooting +P's out of my SW 642 to be more unpleasant than shooting .357 from a medium frame four-inch barrel. But that's mainly because of the weight of the 642. The same rounds in a model 36 (all steel) aren't felt as much. So shooting .357's out of a Ruger GP100? Nothing to worry about.
 
My father bought a S&W Model 649-3 when they came out '96. It's fun to shoot the hot 125s from time to time just to see the fireball from the 2.125" barrel.

John
 
The sound and light are more likely to affect you than the recoil. You might be inclined to blink or flinch more than normal.

If you want to see if you're doing that, try loading five, spin the cylinder, and pay attention to what you do when the gun doesn't go BOOM.

When I first started shooting, I used to think my revolver was inaccurate. Then I tried that...of course, it wasn't the revolver.
 
The sound and light are more likely to affect you than the recoil. You might be inclined to blink or flinch more than normal.
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This is the answer that fits my experience. I have a mental anticipation that I think makes me shoot a .357 worse than a .38. It's not the anticipation of physical discomfort, but dang I can tell a difference in how well I'm likely to group on-average. I believe it's a brain-thing I haven't learned to master yet.

I need more practice. :)
 
If you plan on shooting your .357 much it's probably a good idea to reload due to the high cost of the .357 ammo. Also you can then shoot mid power loads or light loads most of the time. Many people including myself rarely use full power loads. There's no reason to shoot full power loads 99% of the time. The mid power loads I use are easy to shoot. Putting 150-200 rounds of full power ammo isn't fun to me but shooting that many rounds of mid power ammo is fun. It's easier on the gun too.

I used to use a a .357 snub which I shot regularly and the recoil and blast on that never bothered me. Every time I see where people say a snub .357 is a bit much it is hard for me to understand. I'm a small guy too. Your reaction to the .357 could be either way. I wouldn't worry about it. You will have to worry about flinching more than likely though until you get used to it.
 
Thanks for the advice. I'm used to shooting 9mm and .45 ACP but I expect this will be a different ballgame - or can be, anyway. Have ordered an assortment of ammo ranging from standard .38 Special up to .357 Loudenboomer (with stops at .38 Special +P and medium .357 loads along the way) to get a taste of what the gun has to offer.

I was not brave enough to order any Buffalo Bore, though. :eek:
 
never shot BB's but CORBON Hunter 200 gr. hard cast cant be to far behind them and out of a 3 inch sp101 they aren't that bad. you got yourself a nice revolver to learn on, I have been wanting a gp100 for awhile, let us know how it goes! :)
 
Make sure you have good hearing protection Muffs rated to at least 25DB and maybe some plugs. Shoot the .38SPL first, a box of 50, that way you can get used to the gun before you have to contend with the added blast and recoil. Are you an experienced hand gunner? If not you may want to read up on the fundamentals, and practice more with the .38spl until you can hit the target consistantly. Starting out with full power ammo will cause you to develop a flinch which is hard to overcome. Dry fire practice with an unloaded gun pointed in a safe direction will also help develop good habits.
The recoil from a .357 is not bad at all but could be distracting for a new shooter.
 
Starting out with full power ammo will cause you to develop a flinch which is hard to overcome. Dry fire practice with an unloaded gun pointed in a safe direction will also help develop good habits.
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One trick to overcoming a flinch is randomly load 4 rounds in the cylinder, then concentrate on 6 smooth trigger pulls, keeping your focus on the front sight. If you can't keep the gun steady and on target for each trigger pull, repeat the excercise until you can.

I've also loaded the cylinder with a mix of .38spl and .357 just so folks can make an easy comparison. The typicaly response is a shoulder shrug and a "ok, that was a .357... right???" The gun is a 4" speed six.
 
IMO the only problem you will run into is developing a flinch but not from the actual recoil but from your expectations of the recoil. It's only a .357 Magnum for goodness sakes and a fairly heavy one at that.

You are working yourself up into a froth with no good reason. When you do finally shoot your new GP100 with .357 Magnum ammo you are going to think, "wow, is that all and that was GREAT!" Sure the felt recoil is more than from a 9mm but it's also a different kind of recoil. While 9mm and 40 S&W handguns will have more of a snap the .357 Magnum will lift the front of the barrel more than snap sideways. It will also push back more like a 45 Auto instead of sideways like the 9mm and 40 S&W.

Just go out and enjoy your new revolver and while starting with .38 Special ammo isn't a bad idea you will quickly want to move up to the real deal!
 
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