Considering another Smith & Wesson revolver

graydog said:
You are correct the .44 mag is the right choice. If you go with the .41 mag you hve to be a reloader and it also helps a lot if you cast your own bullets as well.

Graydog
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Given that factory ammo is about a dollar a round, I think reloading is a must even for the .44 if you want to shoot it enough to become competent. Also, if you have access to reasonably inexpensive cast bullets, you can load it down to .44 Special ballistics when you don't need full power loads.
 
All good information, thanks. I know there is no magic caliber that would be the best for everything but having something like the .44 that can be loaded down for paper shooting at the range in the winter and up for the outdoor range in the summer sounds appealing. I'm very new to the handgun scene, any advise appreciated.

Another thought, would it be more economical to shoot .38 at the indoor range and reload vs. shooting the downloaded .44?
 
OverUnder725 said:
All good information, thanks. I know there is no magic caliber that would be the best for everything but having something like the .44 that can be loaded down for paper shooting at the range in the winter and up for the outdoor range in the summer sounds appealing. I'm very new to the handgun scene, any advise appreciated.

Another thought, would it be more economical to shoot .38 at the indoor range and reload vs. shooting the downloaded .44?
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Way less money to shoot the 38, and also way more fun to shoot paper.

Graydog
 
Sounds like what I should do is buy a .357 to start for the indoor range, shooting .38 and run .357 on the outdoor range just for sh!ts and giggles and then move up to a .44 once I decide I want to get more serious with silhouette. The nice thing about our silhouette range is I can go out there anytime of day and mess around. You don't have to go to the organized event once a week. So if I went just to play around, I could go during the day and not bother the fellows that were there to shoot more serious.
 
graydog said:
Way less money to shoot the 38, and also way more fun to shoot paper.

Graydog
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.38 is not as popular as it once was and sadly not as cheap either. It is cheaper if you can find it.....just not way less in my experience.

Here's the current price from Custom Reloading for reloads,

9mm Luger 124gr/ 147gr TMJ $117.50 per 500 $11.75 per 50
38 Special 125gr/ 158gr TMJ $140.00 per 500 $14.00 per 50
357 Magnum 125gr/ 158gr TMJ $165.00 per 500 $17.00 per 50
40 S & W 180gr TMJ (Standard or Minor Load) $135.00 per 500 $13.50 per 50
45 ACP 200gr/ 230gr TMJ $180.00 per 500 $18.00 per 50
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I was leaning towards .357/.38 because it is a revolver and I don't recall seeing a revolver in 9mm. I have shot a few glocks, M&P's and a Beretta and am not sure they are for me. I have not had a chance to shoot a 1911 yet.
 
OverUnder725 said:
I was leaning towards .357/.38 because it is a revolver and I don't recall seeing a revolver in 9mm. I have shot a few glocks, M&P's and a Beretta and am not sure they are for me. I have not had a chance to shoot a 1911 yet.
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There are some revolvers that shoot 9 mm but .357 is a classic revolver and good first choice!
 
I am leaning towards a .357. I can shoot it at the indoor range in .38 and .357 at the silhouette range and still make some things ping. If silhouette becomes more than just plinking for me, I will look into a .44. That being said, my brother in law says one of his co-workers has a S&W .357 in stainless with wood grips, only 15 rounds fired through it, 7 shot cylinder. I will have more details with pictures later. His ask is $800.00, any thoughts? I do find myself drawn more to the older blued guns.
 
Check your silhouette rules. If they are like IPSC and IDPA and other shooting organization rules there is likely specifics about revolvers with more than 6 holes. For example no revolver in IDPA can be loaded with more than 6 even if it has more chambers than that. So a 7 or 8 shot gun would need to be loaded with 6 only. Which means there's two "clicks" somewhere in the mix when you go to shoot. In IPSC the revolvers with more than 6 are automatically bumped to the higher classification along with the JM specials and such that use moon clips instead of being restricted to speed loaders. So check the rules used for your handgun silouhette before you leap.

If you do end up with an older blued gun a S&W model 27 or 28 would be a great option. Fantastic guns that have the added weight to let you shoot full house .357's all day long without any stress to your hands. Call me a wuss if you will but I find that full power magnums from my K frame guns are just a little over the top. So I tend to load the magnums for these down a little to around 80% of max. Actually they primarily get used for .38Spl.

I'd actually prefer the N frame 27 or 28 over a 686 or Ruger GP100. The 686 and GP100 are sort of middle sized. The bigger N frame gun weighs a few ounces more then either of those two so it's going to sit in your hands a little more steadily and will soak up the magnum recoil a little better. Plus you get that oh so smooth S&W trigger.
 
>>The .357 is good out to 100 metres in silhouette, but that's all. You'll need a .44 mag for the longer distances.

Really? I remember the CFSC book says the range for .357 magnum is about 1.5KM...
 
bigrevolver said:
>>The .357 is good out to 100 metres in silhouette, but that's all. You'll need a .44 mag for the longer distances.

Really? I remember the CFSC book says the range for .357 magnum is about 1.5KM...
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Really. A bullet fired from a .357 Magnum might hypothetically be able to travel 1.5km, but that is not the same as having enough momentum to knock over the silhouettes.
 
tjhaile said:
Really. A bullet fired from a .357 Magnum might hypothetically be able to travel 1.5km, but that is not the same as having enough momentum to knock over the silhouettes.
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hmm, so you meant .357 Mag can probably still make a hole on something after 100m but the stopping power is much less. Thanks
 
There's a slick little external ballistics calculator on the Hornady website. Find out the ballistics coefficient for a couple of the typical bullets and you can see the velocity and muzzle energy drop for distances out to what you're considering.
 
OverUnder725 said:
I was leaning towards .357/.38 because it is a revolver and I don't recall seeing a revolver in 9mm. I have shot a few glocks, M&P's and a Beretta and am not sure they are for me. I have not had a chance to shoot a 1911 yet.
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Would love to see Smith & Wesson release a new 9MM revolver something in a K frame..
 
BCRider said:
Check your silhouette rules. If they are like IPSC and IDPA and other shooting organization rules there is likely specifics about revolvers with more than 6 holes. For example no revolver in IDPA can be loaded with more than 6 even if it has more chambers than that. So a 7 or 8 shot gun would need to be loaded with 6 only. Which means there's two "clicks" somewhere in the mix when you go to shoot. In IPSC the revolvers with more than 6 are automatically bumped to the higher classification along with the JM specials and such that use moon clips instead of being restricted to speed loaders. So check the rules used for your handgun silouhette before you leap.

If you do end up with an older blued gun a S&W model 27 or 28 would be a great option. Fantastic guns that have the added weight to let you shoot full house .357's all day long without any stress to your hands. Call me a wuss if you will but I find that full power magnums from my K frame guns are just a little over the top. So I tend to load the magnums for these down a little to around 80% of max. Actually they primarily get used for .38Spl.

I'd actually prefer the N frame 27 or 28 over a 686 or Ruger GP100. The 686 and GP100 are sort of middle sized. The bigger N frame gun weighs a few ounces more then either of those two so it's going to sit in your hands a little more steadily and will soak up the magnum recoil a little better. Plus you get that oh so smooth S&W trigger.
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Good advice above. If you hand load, you can go to a 175gn cast and it will wack the silhouettes with more authority. 44 is a better caliber for the game, 41 is great too, but you'll be hand loading. realistically, unless your independently wealthy, you'll be handloading for all of them if you want to shoot lots
 
bigrevolver said:
hmm, so you meant .357 Mag can probably still make a hole on something after 100m but the stopping power is much less. Thanks
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no, momentum, not stopping power. stopping power is fictional, momentum is measurable. Heavy bullets knock things over better. That matters in the steel target games.
 
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