357 MAG/ 38 Special opinions?

I have a used Dan Wesson, and love it. Nice weight with a 6" barrel, pachmeyer grips.
Trigger on DA is nice and even, on SA a previous owner polished enthusiastically and its only a touch to let off.
Havent tried ruger or SW so cant compare.
Just throwing another option out there.
 
Senatormac said:
What would you recommend in a 357MAG/38 Special revolver? I am leaning towards a 686 S&W, but am open to suggestions.........
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If you plan on shooting primarily .38Spl with the odd cylinder of Magnums then a 66 or other S&W "K" frame gun is pretty sweet. But for mainstream use the mid size framed 686 and GP100 are both great options.

Now for me there's one big separating issue between the S&W and the Ruger. The S&W in double action is one long pull with no little indicators of anything going on until the Big Bang. On the Ruger there's a little "click" you can both hear and feel through your trigger finger slightly before the hammer drops. It's great if you are one of those that stages your trigger. But I don't and when I do I tend to shoot more poorly. So my own preference for a revolver that I'll use for primarily action shooting in double action mode is for the S&W. Depending on what you're doing YMMV. If you'll be primarily a thumb cocking sort of shooter then either gun is fantastic.

0357 said:
Any opinions or experience on the board with "cowboy" style 357's?
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The Ruger Blackhawk or Convertible will handle Magnums all day long. For the Uberti and Pietta 1873 replicas and the Ruger New Vaqueros that are chambered in .357 Mag they certainly won't blow up in your hand. But my own feeling is that a regular diet of magnums will tend to lead to these guns wearing or stretching more quickly. After all they are roughly the size and weight of the K frame S&W's.

Will they handle the odd cylinder now and then for giggles? Most certainly. I've put maybe 100 rounds of Magnum through each of my two cowboy action Piettas and they are still tight and timed well. And I doubt that a further 100 rounds would change this by much or any at all. This on top of probably 8K of .38Spl through each gun.
 
Auggie Doggie said:
586. I prefer blued guns. A model 19 is also nice.

Auggie D.
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I second the 'blued' versus 'stainless' pistol choice.

My 686 (no dash) hid in my safe for 30 years, because it was always 'dirty'.

I replaced it with a tuned 586-1 and have shot it more this past summer than I did the 686 in 30 previous years.

The S&W guns are easy to 'self tune', but the Colt revolvers need 'professional help' to make really smooth.

All are good, and you won't be disappointed with Colt, S&W or Ruger.
 
I have shot a few rugers, think good service gun, they will always work, But if you like super trigger pulls, they are much harder to do. You will never get a light strike with a Ruger, you may with Smith or Dan Wesson
I am too old to shoot very much 357M, + most of my ammo is 38 shoot colt 357, s-w 19.2, best trigger was on a Dan Wesson , model 14 38/357m
This is like asking if you should have ford or chev, NO Dodge.
 
All good suggestions!

If you have a lot of spare cash to invest I would suggest a walther Manuhrin MR-73 or a MR-88.

You can shoot tens of thousands of rounds in those and it will be as new. Precise and built as a tank.
 
I have both the 686 NO Dash 105.14MM barrel and a Ruger GP-100 4.2". Both are stainless. Of the two, the Ruger has by far the best trigger. I don't feel what my friend BC Rider feels in the trigger. Mine is a straight pull relatively light DA pull. The S&W has a relatively heavy but very smooth trigger pull. Both are excellent shooters and will handle any type of .357Mag load your wrist will take and ask for more. The GP-100 weighs slightly less than the 686, probably because I have lighter grips on the GP-100. The Smith carries the original rubber grips.

I have heard some good and bad things about the recent Smith production guns. If you go that route go over the gun thoroughly before buying. The biggest downside in my opinion with the Smiths is the old fashioned main spring. It determines to the greatest extent the trigger pull weight. It was never meant to be backed off to reduce the trigger pull but often as not, folks back off the retaining screw to lighten the trigger pull. I tried it, had light strikes and screwed mine down again. I love the gun, shoot it well and and happy with it.

The Ruger comes with it's own set of challenges. A good friend of mine calls them the ultimate kit guns. You buy one then complete the build. The cylinders should be checked and if found to be to tight - more than likely - they should be reamed out to .358. I had three cylinders that measure .355 and three that were .356. I had the forcing cone cut to 11 Degrees from the factory 5 to get the most out of my lead bullets. I put a lighter trigger return spring and main spring in mine. I installed shims in both the trigger and hammer. Done!. LOL I use it shooting IDPA. I should polish the trigger group but just have not got around to it.

You could buy the Match Champion and tick the box on some of what I did. The forcing cone and cylinder work would be the two "Must do's" for either version of the gun. You can't get decent accuracy out of a revolver with .356/.357 cylinder diameters shooting .357 jacketed or.358 sized lead bullets.

Take Care

Bob
 
I can't add much that hasn't already been said but if you're in the Colt Python range (you'd be lucky!) no one has mentioned Korth. Worth a look.
 
I added something a little different to my 38/357 enjoyment.....worth considering.
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I went with a Ruger Blackhawk Convertible 357 Mag - 9mm. With a set of faux stag grips it now has the 'cowboy' look I was looking for.


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Ruger Blackhawk Convertible 357 Mag - 9mm c/w Altamont Grips.
 
I had a Beretta Stampede with a 5.5" barrel chambered in .357

Pointed just like yur' finger but it had the worst feeling recoil of ANY handgun I've ever owned. That and the trigger guard was too small
 
First choice S&W 19, second choice Ruger GP100. I have both, the 19 rivals the GP by a very small margin.

M
 
I have a 586 with 6" barrel which gets my first vote. Easy shooting with either 38 plinking semi-wadcutters or 357 hollow points.

If you want to go high tech the S&W Model 327 8-shot is an option.
 
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