recommend me a .357

jhblaze1

jhblaze1

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I'm repatriating on Friday and am considering buying myself a welcome home present.

I'm looking for a short barrelled .357. Has to be small enough to very easily conceal (not necessarily a "snubby"), but I'd like more than 5 rounds.

Also, what are the going gun shop prices for a NIB of whatever you recommend? I'm at work and can't to any research as 99% of all gun related websites are blocked.


Thanks!
 
You can buy a 3" Ruger SP101 for about $460.00 NIB. However, it does only hold 5 rounds. Built like a tank, good shooter, excellent value.
49L.jpg


I have a 2.25" DAO like this:
50L.jpg


I believe Davd Kenik author of "Armed Response" is a fan of this gun.
http://www.armedresponsetraining.com/articles/PocketCarry.pdf

If you need more than 5 rounds you could always buy 2 [wink] and that would give you 10!
 
AG Guns in Lowell has the best prices I know of for the SP101. Their honor the pricing they published online and they will order it if it's out of stock. I bought mine there for $395 last year.
 
I have a S&W Model 642 Airweight - Scanadium frame, sleeved steel barrel. It only holds 5 rounds, but it's like 15oz dry with a 1.75" barrel and very easy to conceal under most clothes.

It also has an enclosed hammer (DAO) and a soft grey finish to the frame. If you're concerned about the sight radius of the small barrel, pick up a Crimson Trace laser grip and remove the sight radius from the equation.
 
I don't like any of the new snub nose revolvers and wouldn't waste my money on one. Their to light and their recoil makes them to hard to practice with. Sure their small but most of them are just to small to enjoy other than as a carry pistol. I have a light weight model 37 that's great for pocket carry and to stick in a IWB holster but I rarely carry it because it's to light and painful to practice with.

If I was going to buy a 6 shot snub nose to carry and really enjoy, I would look for a used Model 66 or 19. I think the K frame was one of the best revolvers ever made.

I have a snub nose, Model 66 that I bought in 1984 and have thousands of rounds through it and it's a real pleasure to shoot. The extra weight and size makes shooting it a pleasure compared to the new light weight guns they sell now. You can easily shoot a couple of 100 rounds at the range accurately with no finger banging or pain.

The reason they stopped selling them was supposedly the 125gr bullet was flame cutting the top strap. I'm not disputing that fact but that only happened when literally, thousands of 125gr rounds were fired through them. If your going to use it like a normal person and use 158gr bullets for which it was designed for it's perfect and it's a hell of a gun and will give you a lifetime of reliability. With a good IWB holster you can carry it easily.

But then again, what do I know, I'm just a old cranky gun collector and I'm sure some one will disagree with me.
 
Bugs, if we'd be robots.

I always welcome opinions. Personally, I like my Airweight and I'm more likely to carry it because of it's light weight than I would be likely to carry a full stainless steel.

Talking about 125gn bullets reminded me of something. When Ronald Reagan was shot, Sercret Service agents were still carrying .357 revolvers. One agent fired at the guy and the bullet grazed the top of his head, injuring him, but not killing him. the Agent was initially sited for retraining for "missing" but further review showed that the Secret Service was training with .38 Special Wadcutters ammunition and carring 158gn JHP .357 Magnum ammunition in the same weapon. At the distance fired, this caused the point of impact of the .357 round to be 3" higher than the .38 special ammunition, moving a center headshot (What SS agents were trained to do at the time) to a grazing shot over the guys head. Following the review and report, the Secret Service changed their training program to require agents train with duty ammunition.
 
S&W66. I have one in 2 1/2" and it's a great carry gun and also pleasant to shoot. There was a model 19 for sale here (same gun in blue) awhile ago.
 
I don't think you can buy a S&W 66/19/13 new anymore and used NIB are pretty hard to find without spending

I'd go for a new 686+ with a 3" barrel.
 
I carry a S&W340pd (5 rnd 357 featherweight), and love it as a carry gun.
True it is a handful to 'practice' with, but I take it to the range 3-4 times a year to run rounds through it and stay comfortable.
If you want a range gun, I would recommend are larger framed gun - like the 627 or 686.
 
BossHarley said:
I carry a S&W340pd (5 rnd 357 featherweight), and love it as a carry gun.
True it is a handful to 'practice' with, but I take it to the range 3-4 times a year to run rounds through it and stay comfortable.
If you want a range gun, I would recommend are larger framed gun - like the 627 or 686.
Click to expand...

Ya, now I'm thinking about a 686 plus 4 inch bbl for range and maybe a nightstand gun.

originally I was thinking about getting a very small 357 for a deep concealment gun, but maybe i'll grab one of those at a later time.

I see that on the SW website, the 686plus msrp is $932. That can't be what dealers are selling them for right? Anyone know how much they actually cost?
 
I have two M66s (2-1/2" and 4") and one M65 (3" bull). The 66s are works of art, nearly as beautiful as the M19 on which they are based. However, the M65 is perhaps the most useful single carry revolver made. It is big enough to hit something yet small enough to be a daily carry, and being a K-Frame, it is far easier to shoot than a J-Frame. In a Don Hume 721 holster, you can wear it all day and barely be aware of it.

Be advised, though, the K-Frame S&Ws were not intended for a steady diet of full power .357 rounds. After a lot of trial and error, I settled on Remington 95-grain serrated jacket hollow point .38 Spl +Ps. They have zip recoil yet sufficient performance for the job.

I've never been a believer of the "best single gun for ___" theory, but the 3" M65 comes close to being an exception.
 
jhblaze1 said:
Ya, now I'm thinking about a 686 plus 4 inch bbl for range and maybe a nightstand gun.

originally I was thinking about getting a very small 357 for a deep concealment gun, but maybe i'll grab one of those at a later time.

I see that on the SW website, the 686plus msrp is $932. That can't be what dealers are selling them for right? Anyone know how much they actually cost?
Click to expand...

You can usually get them at around 20% off of msrp.
 

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