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Ruger sp 101 in 357 with Hogue grips.
It has never, and I mean never, made sense to me to buy a 38 special,when you can buy a 357 of any flavor,and shoot either caliber. The 38 is a really weak caliber compared to the 357 magnum. They are the same size guns and although some of the 38's are a little lighter,it's not enough to difference to throw away the option of shooting 2 vastly different rounds out of one pistol.
 
Ruger sp 101 in 357 with Hogue grips.
It has never, and I mean never, made sense to me to buy a 38 special,when you can buy a 357 of any flavor,and shoot either caliber. The 38 is a really weak caliber compared to the 357 magnum. They are the same size guns and although some of the 38's are a little lighter,it's not enough to difference to throw away the option of shooting 2 vastly different rounds out of one pistol.

Nice thing about .357 is you can shoot very hot +P .38 loads too, all day long. Huge difference between .38 and a hot +P
 
Ive put a lot of time and thought into what brand of gun i want and ive decided on the ruger sp 101. Now i had to decide on DAO or a hammer? I want it so my wife can still shoot it with .38 but i dont know how the trigger pull is on the DAO. The DAO is the one id rather have but it is nice to be able to cock the gun. Any help?
 
Ruger sp 101 in 357 with Hogue grips.
It has never, and I mean never, made sense to me to buy a 38 special,when you can buy a 357 of any flavor,and shoot either caliber. The 38 is a really weak caliber compared to the 357 magnum. They are the same size guns and although some of the 38's are a little lighter,it's not enough to difference to throw away the option of shooting 2 vastly different rounds out of one pistol.

If you are talking about airweights, then you really do need to stick with .38+p. The recoil of a .357 Mag load in an airweight is brutal, making accurate followup shots impossible and creating potential issues with the gun jamming due to bullets backing out of the crimp in the case. And with a 2" barrel, there is only so much velocity you can get for a given bullet weight anyway. The extra powder in the Magnum cartridge does nothing but create a fireball and a huge muzzle blast, leaving you blind and deaf in a low-light situation. Just stick with .38+p, its a good performer with the right bullet.
 
Ive put a lot of time and thought into what brand of gun i want and ive decided on the ruger sp 101. Now i had to decide on DAO or a hammer? I want it so my wife can still shoot it with .38 but i dont know how the trigger pull is on the DAO. The DAO is the one id rather have but it is nice to be able to cock the gun. Any help?

One advantage of DAO is that, in guns such as the S&W 640 and Ruger LCR, the bore axis sits lower in the grip due to the absence of the hammer. The gun is just naturally more "point-able".

If you wind up using the gun for self-defense, you will be firing it DAO. Its a snub revolver with minimal sights, not a target or plinking gun. Hammers have their place on full-sized guns, but not on snubs.
 
If you are talking about airweights, then you really do need to stick with .38+p. The recoil of a .357 Mag load in an airweight is brutal, making accurate followup shots impossible and creating potential issues with the gun jamming due to bullets backing out of the crimp in the case. And with a 2" barrel, there is only so much velocity you can get for a given bullet weight anyway. The extra powder in the Magnum cartridge does nothing but create a fireball and a huge muzzle blast, leaving you blind and deaf in a low-light situation. Just stick with .38+p, its a good performer with the right bullet.

This doesn't even make any sense.
You talk about how much more recoil the .357 has,then go on to say that the extra powder of the .357 does nothing but make but make a huge fireball.:huh:
 
This doesn't even make any sense.
You talk about how much more recoil the .357 has,then go on to say that the extra powder of the .357 does nothing but make but make a huge fireball.:huh:

I think he is saying you get more bang and recoil but you do not get much added velocity because of the short barrel. When the barrel is this short the majority of the powder is burning outside the barrel which still gives you the fireball and recoil but does not do much to push the bullet faster. :)
 
I think he is saying you get more bang and recoil but you do not get much added velocity because of the short barrel. When the barrel is this short the majority of the powder is burning outside the barrel which still gives you the fireball and recoil but does not do much to push the bullet faster. :)

Yes, I believe that was the point. It is, however, not correct. :)
If the extra powder was burning outside the barrel and merely making noise and a big fireball, it wouldn't impart twice the recoil (goes back to the whole equal and opposite reaction thing). Now I'm not saying it's the most efficient .357 on the market, but I do believe the S&W 340PD provides the best power to weight ratio of any pistol on the market.

The recoil is substantial, but not unbearable. It takes a lot of practice, and a different grip. One cannot try to over-control or inhibit the recoil. You have to let the gun move, a lot. Don't cam the support hand and try to make it shoot like a 9mm. Let it move, let it return, pull the trigger again. It's a great little pistol, after you learn how to shoot it. It does require a different attitude ... you gotta learn to love the recoil!
 
Yes, I believe that was the point. It is, however, not correct. :)
If the extra powder was burning outside the barrel and merely making noise and a big fireball, it wouldn't impart twice the recoil (goes back to the whole equal and opposite reaction thing). Now I'm not saying it's the most efficient .357 on the market, but I do believe the S&W 340PD provides the best power to weight ratio of any pistol on the market.

The recoil is substantial, but not unbearable. It takes a lot of practice, and a different grip. One cannot try to over-control or inhibit the recoil. You have to let the gun move, a lot. Don't cam the support hand and try to make it shoot like a 9mm. Let it move, let it return, pull the trigger again. It's a great little pistol, after you learn how to shoot it. It does require a different attitude ... you gotta learn to love the recoil!

It is my humble opinion that the moderate increase in bullet velocity of the .357 load vs. its counterpart in .38+p is not worth the huge increase in felt recoil, muzzle blast, and flash when fired from an airweight snub.

I dont mind recoil; I think .44 mags are a ton of fun to shoot. But if my life or the life of a loved one is depending upon my ability to make rapid, accurate followup shots...its time to check my ego at the door and use the right tool for the job.

I would go so far as to say there has probably never been a bona fide instance where the difference in muzzle velocity between a Magnum load vs. 38+p made a difference in a self-defense shooting. In other words...a center of mass hit with a .38 +p 158 gr JHP will probably kill an assailant just as dead as an identical hit with an identical bullet from a .357 mag moving 200 fps faster.

The snub revolver is what it is. In its airweight form, anything beyond .38+p is overkill.
 
Ruger sp 101 in 357 with Hogue grips.
It has never, and I mean never, made sense to me to buy a 38 special,when you can buy a 357 of any flavor,and shoot either caliber. The 38 is a really weak caliber compared to the 357 magnum. They are the same size guns and although some of the 38's are a little lighter,it's not enough to difference to throw away the option of shooting 2 vastly different rounds out of one pistol.

some people buy the .38s because they will NEVER shoot the .357 round and the .38 SPL guns are usually quite bit cheaper than the .357 counter parts.
 
I have a S&W 642 that I carry daily, I can't even tell its there in the front pocket and neither can anyone else! I personally don't find the recoil to be much of issue even with the +p ammo. It is actually pretty fun to shoot!
 

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