Favorite .357 Revolver?

[NDguy]

Looking to pick one up in the next few months. I have been looking pretty hard at the S&W 686 and the Ruger GP100/SP101.

What revolvers have you liked? Personal experience with either of these?

Would use it just for fun and carrying in Cat country as I do not have any plans for bear country as of now, although I guess I would be open to looking at a .44 or bigger. I initially was looking at the .357 because I am a smaller frame guy with baby hands, don't want to buy more than I can comfortably and accurately shoot!

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

I have a S & W 686 4" barrel. I also have a Ruger Vaquero. I really like the 686, it's stainless, has adjustable sights and is very reliable. Great gun....can't go wrong with a "wheel" gun. My concealed carry gun is a S & W 638 with a 3" barrel in .38 Spec. It is rated to handle the hot leads too.

 

[dan maule]

I have the Taurus knockoff of the SW. I have no complaints with it.

 

[hunter25]

Strangely I've never owned or even fired a .357.
That said I have 2 Smith's that I love. A 625 mountain gun in .45 Colt and a .32 H&R mag model 16-4
No experience with the ruger but great reputation.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[theddguide]

Having smaller hands myself, I found the sp101 to feel amazing in the hand. The GP was just too bulky. I didn't purchase one yet but when I do it'll most likely be the sp101 just based on how it felt.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[JimP]

If you want one that will take whatever you shoot through it and then ask for more go with the GP100. Rugers are the tanks of handguns. Place a S&W next to a Ruger and you will see what I mean. I haven't picked up a SP101 but knowing Ruger's I would suspect that it is also built quite well. I have a Ruger Security Six that I believe that the SP was based on and it is a fine firearm.

If you want to look at 44's take a good look at the Ruger Redhawk. It is also a tank and can take more punishment than most other handguns.

Big thing is get what fits your hands. You can get grips that are going to allow the handgun to fit them but you should also be able to find one right out of the sellers case that will. Both Ruger and S&W make fine handguns.

 

[RICMIC]

I carried a S&W 686 on the job for a couple years before buying a Colt Python 6". What a sweet piece that is, and the street price has turned it into a heirloom. I may use it on a cougar someday, but in brown bear country a .44 or 10mm would be my go-to handgun. Go to a gun store that has a large stock, and handle them all. Find one that fits, and you can practice to perfection with .38 loads, and carry the .357 in the bush. I have a .454 Taurus, so a .357 is a plinker in comparison. I did shoot a black bear with a Ruger .357 (range-6 feet; my age 17), I survived and the bear didn't. If it had been a griz he probably would have chewed my face off before he died though.

 

[280ackimp]

I have a fair ammount of exposure to the 357 and wheel guns. I carried a M19 or a M686 for 8 years, the M19 was a 2-3/4"in a shoulder holster and the M686 was a 4" in a duty rig.
The S&W was a great gun, I would suggest you find an original with a hammer mounted firing pin and pre action lock. They are far better quality, in my opinion. The company sold out to the alarmists and now makes guns for the California market, at one time cali bought 50% of the S&W production....
The Ruger is a great gun. Some of the S&W management migrated to Ruger years ago and that is probably why you are seeing so many models in the line up. The Grip options are better with S&W if you have small hands. Some of the old model S&W guns have a round butt frame and this is a big deal as you have many grip options because of that. I would look for a 2-3/4" S&W M66 , M19 or even a S&W 686 or 586 in 3" as they have round butt configurations. Shorter bbls are easire to pack as well.
As to the round itself ....mag loads give you a wide range of options, the best defense (human) load has always been the 125 gr JHP and the bear loads for field use from Buffalo Bore or HSM are a handfull! The option to practice with 38 spl loads is a very valuable and lower cost option as well.

The Ruger Wiley Clapp series is worth a look, a 44 spl and 357 mag versions are really very practical for a defense and field gun.
As far as the Taurus, they do make interesting guns, my industry sources tell me they have a huge backlog or repairs and warranty work. They may be getting products to the market too fast and suffering QC issues as a result. I have a Taurus from 30 years ago, I would not consider current production for any defensive arm now because of a friends bad expreiences with 3 trackers (44 mags) in 4 years.

 

[87TT]

I actually have both as well as a couple of other .357s. I have a Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 too. My current non grizzly carry is a S&W 340PD. Five shot 2" .357. Weighs in at 12 oz empty. As for my take on the Gp100 vs 686. The trigger and action on the Smith is like butter. The Gp100 was a little rough from the factory. I had a gunsmith polish the action and it is way better and ok but still not as smooth as the Smith. I have never fired the 686 as it was a presentation gun in a wooded case. The 686 now carries 7 shots so that is a plus. I love the Gp100 and you can't go wrong with it. They are both HEAVY though.

 

[Tim McCoy]

Have had a Ruger SP101 for a long time in .357 Mag. It is by my bedside. Added a CT laser and love the combo. Rarely carry it, but it’s one of my primary home defense guns and my backup woods carry gun. I find it easy to shoot.

 

[mustang8]

I have a Ruger GP100, friggin awesome gun! Comfortable to hold and shoots great. I have a stainless scope on mine and wouldn't mind trying to take a deer one of these years with it. I would recommend. Luke

 

[wy-tex]

Colt Python for my favorite .357, used it for my concealed carry class shooting test.
I have a Ruger .41 mag that is also a very nice pistol and not bad to shoot.

 

[dan maule]

I have a fair ammount of exposure to the 357 and wheel guns. I carried a M19 or a M686 for 8 years, the M19 was a 2-3/4"in a shoulder holster and the M686 was a 4" in a duty rig.
The S&W was a great gun, I would suggest you find an original with a hammer mounted firing pin and pre action lock. They are far better quality, in my opinion. The company sold out to the alarmists and now makes guns for the California market, at one time cali bought 50% of the S&W production....
The Ruger is a great gun. Some of the S&W management migrated to Ruger years ago and that is probably why you are seeing so many models in the line up. The Grip options are better with S&W if you have small hands. Some of the old model S&W guns have a round butt frame and this is a big deal as you have many grip options because of that. I would look for a 2-3/4" S&W M66 , M19 or even a S&W 686 or 586 in 3" as they have round butt configurations. Shorter bbls are easire to pack as well.
As to the round itself ....mag loads give you a wide range of options, the best defense (human) load has always been the 125 gr JHP and the bear loads for field use from Buffalo Bore or HSM are a handfull! The option to practice with 38 spl loads is a very valuable and lower cost option as well.

The Ruger Wiley Clapp series is worth a look, a 44 spl and 357 mag versions are really very practical for a defense and field gun.
As far as the Taurus, they do make interesting guns, my industry sources tell me they have a huge backlog or repairs and warranty work. They may be getting products to the market too fast and suffering QC issues as a result. I have a Taurus from 30 years ago, I would not consider current production for any defensive arm now because of a friends bad expreiences with 3 trackers (44 mags) in 4 years.

My Taurus is also around 30 years old.

 

[JimP]

The Colt Python was the Cadillac of .357 magnums. They were fantastic firearms but the sad thing is that they are discontinued and if you find one for sale expect to pay $2000+ for it if not in the $4000 range.

It is sad but I actually saw a person blow up Python on a shooting range one day but the fact that it held up to 4 shots before it let loose is a testament to them. But that is another story.

 

[AKaviator]

I see a Python recently advertised here for $3800. Way over anything I'd be willing to pay.

 

[JimP]

I never had the money for a Python and I didn't admire the leverage that distributors held over gun shops in order for the to get one into their inventory. They wanted the shop to order 3 or 4 of the cheaper models for every Python that they wanted. At least that happened in the shop that I worked in back in the 70's.

Even as nice as a Python was I couldn't justify spending that kind of money when you could buy 2 Ruger's for what one Python cost. Then spend a little bit of money on a action job and you had a shooting machine. But then S&W was close to doing the same thing as Colt did. I remember drooling over a Ruger Redhawk 44 when they first came out. People were buying the S&W 29 as fast as they came in but wouldn't touch the Redhawk because of its rougher action. Well I bought a Redhawk and had a action job done on it. Even today that is the slickest action of all my pistols and would be hard to beat with any other off the shelf pistol and I didn't pay as much for both the Redhawk and action job as others were paying just for a pistol..

 

[AKaviator]

I've had 2 Pythons. A 6" nickel plated one and a 4" blue. Great shooting revolvers, I wish I had them back considering their value these days. I do believe they are over-valued.

My favorite revolver these days is a .41 Smith and Wesson that I inherited from a good friend that passed away.

 

[HuskyMusky]

Taurus does make some nice revolvers IMO. Basically SW copies.

I have a .44mag Tracker 5 shot that's quite nice.

possibly look at the .41mag! or .45 colt/casull? I believe you can shoot the colt in the casull.

 

[mcseal2]

I've shot and owned several, the 357 is my favorite revolver round. I had a Redhawk in 44 but the bigger frame made reaching the hammer on the draw a bit slow and awkward for my hands. I grew up putting bricks of 22's through a Single Six and if I'm drawing a revolver my natural motion is to cock it too once it clears my body. I don't try to do quick draws but I like a gun to fit me and get on target quick.

The 4.2" SP101 is a revolver I tried really hard to like, but the hammer angle on it made it harder for me to draw and cock reliably. It got sold.

I replaced it with a S&W 386 XL Hunter. I think it might be discontinued now, but it's a 6" scandium copy of the 7 shot 686 that weighs the same as the SP101 I had did. I've been shooting it for several years and it is easily my favorite 357 to carry and shoot. It is light but full sized and easy to shoot well. The grips soak up recoil excellent also.

Others I like and still own are:

Ruger Security Six 6". Good reasonably light, well balanced, and reasonably priced 6 shot revolver.

S&W 60 Pro Series 3". Nice light 5 shot revolver. The 3" barrel takes away some speed and is a bit harder to aim at distance. It is about 8oz lighter than the 386 empty and is still an nice handling gun. It is much slower for follow up shots due to the smaller grip and lighter weight, it jumps a lot more on recoil.

Ruger Blackhawk 6.5" convertible. Another nice revolver and a tank for reliability. It has sentimental value and stays in the safe a lot. It's a good shooting and handling revolver too. Probably not my top choice for light carry gun though.

Anyway that's the ones I know.

 

[shootbrownelk]

I have a Ruger SRH in .454 Casull and a stainless S&W mountain gun in .41 magnum. I find myself carrying the S&W more than the Ruger. The .41 magnum is a pleasure to shoot and it's an accurate gun as well.