Anyone have one of these? Like / dont like? 12 ounces unloaded I might have to buy one. Thoughts?

I shot a friends 360 S&W, 3", 12 oz. .357 and it was a hand full. I can shoot my subcompact Glocks in .40 and 357 all day long. No problem.
The 360 hurt to shoot, but if it's a carry a lot shoot a little, It's a very nice weapon.
I'm sure the pain would go without notice if you were in a life and death situation but for practice you would want to go with 38's.
They are about $600.00 to $700.00.
BTW. I have a Taurus 617 .357, 2" barrel, Big rubber grip. It's a K size, and is 19.9 ozs. empty. 7 shot. I can shoot full power .357's thru this without a problem.
This seems to be the size comfort limit for me.
Taurus has a 605 in titanium that goes about 17 ozs. and is a j size I would like to try.
Oscar

A friend has one. He loves it. Says that it is very light compared to his Glock 26.

It does not shoot too bad with .38s in it. It hurts worse when you use both hands. One .357 is enough, all five and you are done shooting for a day or two.

My brother has one and borrowed it to me for a week. The first day at the range my hands hurt after 25 rounds. Later that week I put 50 rounds through it and I thought it was tolerable. It was pretty accurate at 21 feet and I would consider one next time I get a new pistol.

thanks for the feedback. i was thinking about keeping .38 spl +p in it because of the bite the .357 has. maybe i will go to bill's and see if they have one for rent. thanks again!

I fired a few magnum rounds through one a couple of years ago. Tolerable but not pleasant. I'd be less thrilled with it now as I don't have the tolerance built up that I used to (haven't shot much magnum in a while).

I'd suggest getting a steel small frame to use as a practice gun for size/sight alignment etc.

There are medium velocity magnum loads that should out-perform the 38 +P loads but with less bit than full power. I keep some Win. 357 110gr JHP's around for my K frame (yes, I'm that out of practice).

Steelheart

There was a gun test published a couple of years ago, I forget where, that showed 38's lose a fair bit of velocity shot out of a 357 chamber as opposed to a shorter 38 chamber. It also showed that you don't gain much power with a short 357 barrel. You need a 4 inch to take advantage of a 357. The laser is very accurate if you can hold the gun steady. It's easy with a hammer gun you can shoot single action. I've shot skunks and stray cats with mine and even a beaver that was causing damage. 38+P is plenty of power if you shoot a 38 gun. The laser means you can shoot from the hip with your hands braced. That position is real accurate for me but real hard on the ears if I don't have hearing protection. Get a hammer gun and learn to pull it with your thumb under the hammer. It won't get caught and you'll enjoy shooting beacuse you can hit things shooting single action even with the light snubbie.

Sorry Dick but I beg to differ. The extra bit of cylinder length shouldn't make that much of a difference. Here's an article that may help explain it:

http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/38vs357snub.htm

If I had a small frame 357 would I carry 357 vs 38 ammo in it? Would depend on if I was planning on using it with my right or left hand. Right hand 357 but I would only load 38's for my left. Full power or reduced magnums would depend on how much practice I get and/or tolerance I build back up.

Steelheart

I was out at Oakdale (I'm a member) watching a CCW course ( I was too bored to move to another range when they booted me), and there was one woman who was taking a CCW course and had never shot before. Sadly, she was there because she had a stalker following her, and even her family didn't support her need to learn how to shoot. At any rate, this woman could absoultely not hit anything. Her concept of the sight picture was totally ass-backwards, and she would contort her body into horrible positions to get her body to line up with the gun, instead of vice versa. Most of the day, she couldn't hit the target at all at 21 feet, EXCEPT when the instructor gave her his own carry piece, which was an airweight 357 loaded with 38's, AND it had CT lasergrips on it. With THAT gun, she hit the target 90% of the time, although due to her newness to guns, the recoil was too much to take for more than 10 rounds. Out of good conscience the instructor couldn't pass her through the course, and as far as I know he scheduled another visit to the range at no charge to get her up to speed.

The point, however, is that this woman couldn't hit anything with a 22, but was able to make killing shots with an airweight 357 (with 38's) with Lasergrips on her first day of shooting. In my mind, that says a LOT about that combination.

A friend and I have taken many new shooters to the range. After spending one to one and a half hours going over safety and how this thing works (Semi-auto, revolver, rifle) we head to the range. Out of 20+ people we have taken to the range (mostly female) every one of the has shot well. Not well for first timers, actually well. 22, 9mm, a small .40 cal, and .45 depending on size and strength of the person have all produced good results. Heck I know a couple of little girls (8-10) that shoot 1911s better then I do.

In my mind the only reason an adult, or in most cases a child can't hit the target is:
1. The round is too big for them. It is hurting them. Go to something smaller.
2. Someone didn't take 10 minutes to explain sight alignment and stance
3. Someone explained sight alignment and stance poorly.

4. They refused to listen when two took place.


I live by the rule that a smart man never teaches his spouse to shoot or golf.

Amen to the car part, let me not tell you about teaching my wife to drive our 5 speed.

I have taught a few to shoot and i agree with if taught well they can learn fast, a pad and a sharpie to make visual aids is most helpful.


As to the scandium S&W's, to me they are carry all the time, shoot very rarely guns. If your hand does not fit the grip they are down right painful. If you hand does fit the grip, they are tolerable, but not for shooting hundreds of rounds for practice. I would suggest finding a police trade or used Smith to join it in your range bag as your main practice weapon.

I agree with the CT grips/laser, I now have them on a ruger .22 auto and they are remarkable at how well beginners can hit with them. My daughter took a friend with up the our property a few weeks ago. The girl was hitting regulation clay pidgeons first or second shot, out to 40 yards. By the end of the day I would say 75% were first shot hits. she too had never touched a firearm before that day. I have them on two of my 1911's and on a model 13 too. They are remarkable aides to teaching as well as preventing trouble.