.357 Revolvers
- Thread starter Vapor
- Start date
I wish I had a fraction of the Dan Wesson .357 Revolvers I could have and sometime did buy back in the 80's & 90's for $200 or less....often less.
Xae289
.223 Rem
The GP100 5" is a nice gun. Their triggers aren't as good as Smiths or Colts, but have a lot of room for improvement with a good trigger job. I like the 686 a little better, but you really can't go wrong with either as far as I'm concerned.
I just got a 5" S&W 625, (.45 ACP) full underlug to complement my near-identical 629 (.44 Mag). N-Frame Smiths are a bit bulky to carry, but not too bad. The S&W 627 only weighs 2 oz over a GP100 and gives you 8 rds of capacity. The L-Frame 686 Plus weighs 1 oz less than the GP100 and gives you 7 rds of capacity.
Colts are very fine guns, but expensive. Only worth it if you want something that doesn't just work well but also looks very good.
Taurus... eh. On paper they look good, but more quality problems than Ruger and Smith with worse/slower customer service. I'd only buy one I could hold and inspect to make sure the timing and lockup look good.
I just got a 5" S&W 625, (.45 ACP) full underlug to complement my near-identical 629 (.44 Mag). N-Frame Smiths are a bit bulky to carry, but not too bad. The S&W 627 only weighs 2 oz over a GP100 and gives you 8 rds of capacity. The L-Frame 686 Plus weighs 1 oz less than the GP100 and gives you 7 rds of capacity.
Colts are very fine guns, but expensive. Only worth it if you want something that doesn't just work well but also looks very good.
Taurus... eh. On paper they look good, but more quality problems than Ruger and Smith with worse/slower customer service. I'd only buy one I could hold and inspect to make sure the timing and lockup look good.
Define "Snub Nose". Is a S&W L frame with a 3" barrel and snub nose? There seems to be no concensus on this, with some saying it would be and others saying it isn't.
@Vapor, I have a S&W 586 L-Comp which is S&W's medium-heavy frame in .357 Magnum, 7 shot cylinder and a 3" barrel w/ integral compensator port. I regularly carry it in a leather OWB holster though it is not my primary. It's overall dimensions in terms of height and length are very similar to a Glock 19 while it's weight at 40oz loaded is nearly twice that of the Glock. Despite the heft I find it comfortable to carry and it conceals readily under most cover garments. I think the shape of revolvers, being narrow at either end and thick around the cylinder, fits the natural contour of the body whereas a flat semi auto feels more like having a plank strapped to your side.
The velocity loss from a 3" vs a 4" barrel is very minimal so I think the 3" is the best length for a carry gun.
I use my carry comp for woods walks and for those times when I am in a Marty Robbins type mood. There is something about having a potent cartridge like .357 Magnum at your disposal that gives a certain authoritave feeling.
As for the gun itself..... It's quite excellent ONCE S&W fixed it. It had light strike issue out of the box. My little 340PD J frame also needed repair right out of the box. S&W makes a wonderful revolver but their QC has become shit. Once they are sorted I like the S&W better than the Ruger but the latter is much less likely to need to go back to the factory.
Ruger also offers a 7 shot, 3" version of the GP-100. That general configuration regardless of make I find to be a very all round usable carry revolver, convenient to carry yet still fun on the range. A great deal of fun actually.
Bustedknees
.308 Win
Answer 1. No
Answer 2. No
Ive got a 3 inch GP100, 4 inch S&W 686 and a 7.5 inch Dan Wesson.
If you look at ballistic testing, there is very little difference between a 3 inch and 4 inch 357 revolver. In fact, with many loads, the 3 inch outperforms the 4 inch.
The only one I carry is the 3 inch GP100.
I don't like the lock on the S&W and the Dan Wesson is a POS.
After a lot of testing in gel and on deer, I either carry Remington Golden Sabre 135 grain JHP, or 155 grain Underwood BJHP.
If you look at ballistic testing, there is very little difference between a 3 inch and 4 inch 357 revolver. In fact, with many loads, the 3 inch outperforms the 4 inch.
The only one I carry is the 3 inch GP100.
I don't like the lock on the S&W and the Dan Wesson is a POS.
After a lot of testing in gel and on deer, I either carry Remington Golden Sabre 135 grain JHP, or 155 grain Underwood BJHP.