Alphecca

No contest: .357 Magnum.

I've got a .40 S&W, and while the ammo is cheaper than .357 Magnum, .38 special ammo is about the same. "Combat" loads (Hydra-Shok, etc.) are about equal in price.

Kick is hard to call, but that's because the two .357s I own are night-and-day different: A Ruger Security Six with a 6" barrel (less recoil in .357 Magnum than the .40) and a Smith and Wesson AirLite 360PD .357 snubbie (WAY more recoil).

Of course, take this coming from me with a grain of salt: I prefer revolvers anyways...

Jeff,

The Glock was more comfy to shoot because of it's tupperware frame and grip. The polymer, she flexes, nu?

For me, it's the .357 Mag all over the .357 SIG. Ammo pricing, availablity, etc.

Here's how to make your Magnum less painful to shoot:

1. Never cease in the quest to find the perfect grip. The "L-Frame" S&W uses the same grips as the venerable "K-Frame", so the choices are almost endless. You'll know when you've found nirvana grip-wise though; the recoil suddenly all but disappears. I use Pachmyer's Gripper Professional on my S&W Highway Patrolman.

2. Invest in a world-class action job on any .357 Mag. revolver you own. A smoother trigger, odd but true, results in a lower perceived recoil, especially when shooting double-action.

3. Find the right load for your gun. My S&W Model 28 Highway Patrolman "N-Frame" with a 4" bbl. is entirely controllable, rapid fire with Winchester 145 gr. Silvertips. By controllable, I mean 6" groups at 7 yards, as fast as I can cycle the action. Usually 6 rounds in under 2 seconds. (ask Kim DuToit or Doc Russia to vouch for this *grin*) Ammo with a huge muzzle blast, sharp, spike-like pressure curve will always cause more muzzle-flip. Be willing to give up 50 fps for controllability!

4. Getcha some snap-caps and dry-fire in double-action at least 50 trigger-pulls per day. It's amazing, when your hand is running totally on muscle-memory, how much less you perceive the recoil. If you don't have a death-grip going in order to pull a coarse trigger, you'll perceive less recoil. A good trigger frees your mind to see the sight picture all the way through the sear-break.

5. Shoot a lot. Shoot a hell of a lot.

That's my $0.02. Your mileage, as they say, may vary.

Jim
Sloop New Dawn
Galveston, TX

"Never cease in the quest to find the perfect grip."

Excellent advice.

I currently have four grips for my Security Six, each one more comfortable than the last... I have graduated from the Pachmayr Gripper grip to a nice set of Hogues (that I still need to fit...)

(Hi Jim!)

You have to ask? The trick to the magnums is to get the large frame revolvers. Small frames are good to conceal, but they offer too much recoil (and in the case of .357 or .44 too much recoil is uncomfortable)

You have to ask? The trick to the magnums is to get the large frame revolvers. Small frames are good to conceal, but they offer too much recoil (and in the case of .357 or .44 too much recoil is uncomfortable)

You have some comment problems though...I was getting server error messages, which is why there are 2 of the previous post

I prefer the .357 mag. In my heavy barreled Ruger GP-100 the recoil isn't bad even with factory grips.
Shooting a lot gets you used to it too.

Ammo cost isn't really a factor. You can reload anything for quite a bit less cost than factory ammo, and you can tune the loads to fit your gun.

.357 mag hands down. S&W 686. Not enough credit is given to dry fire practice, Jim is right. Try 110 gr mag rounds, they're less$ and many can't tell that they're shooting a magnum.

The .357 Magnum will be here in five years. Will the .357 Sig? Maybe...maybe not. Go with the tried and true...especially when there's no improvement in ballistics.

For a real hoot, try a .357 rifle. Marlin and Winchester both make excellent examples. The .357 is a whole new cartridge when fired out of a rifle. Do a little research and compare rifle calibers where you have a 160 gr bullet going close to 1800 fps. Then remember that the bullet diameter is .358. The rifle-fired .357 is easily a 100 yard deer cartridge, if the shooter does his part.

Depends on your purpose. You know autoloaders, so the simplicity of a revolver doesn't offer an advantage. Revolvers also offer no meaningful advantage in reliability over a Glock, with 'combat' or self-defense loads.

If you want a self-defense carry gun, 13+1 rounds of .357 Sig in a flat light package has a real advantage over 6 rounds of .357 Mag in a thick heavy package. Autoloaders are easier to control than revolvers for the same weight of gun because the line of the bore is closer to your hand, giving the recoil less leverage. (Especially in Glocks and similar designs, and except the Mateba autorevolver). It's not "tupperware frame flex", and if it were, so what? They last forever anyway. The G32 you found comfortable is only 24 oz, my 5-shot 3" barreled SP101 is 29 oz. if I remember correctly, and a lot harder to control. In fact, my SP101 with Houge rubber grip is harder to control that my full-power 10mm Glock 20 with factory tupperware grip. It weighs about the same for a big power decrease. (That's influenced by the fact I have big hands, and practice more with the G20.)

If you can't find .357 Sig ammo, or want to practice with something cheaper, get a .40 S&W barrel. All other parts are the same, it takes less than a minute to swap at the range, and .40 is easier to find than the whole .357/.38 family.

If you want versatility, on the other hand, a big .357 Mag revolver is far superior to an autoloader. You can shoot all kinds of stuff from a .357 Mag, but the autoloader is a lot fussier. It also has big advantages if you reload, but if I remember correctly you don't.

Also on the .357 Mag side, I think a stainless steel revolver looks more intimidating from the wrong end, which might conceivably save you from having to shoot someone.

I routinely carry a Ruger SP-101 loaded with .357 magnum. I have no problem with controllability. I must confess that I actually kind of enjoy the recoil. I never shot a .357 Sig, so I can't comment on it, but I do love the .357 magnum. Someone once asked me about how it felt to shoot it (vs. just loading it with .38 Special), and I said that there was a slightly longer recovery time. His reply was, "Yeah, especially for the person getting shot."

Just ask yourself, what would Patton carry?

The mass of the bullet has a direct, linear relationship to felt recoil. .357 sig bullets being 125 grain, substituting 125 grain in the .357 magnum can tame the muzzle flip somewhat.
That said, if you are mechanically inclined, a semi-auto in .357 sig could be very cool, especially a 1911 clone. Here's a link for ammo:

http://www.cccammo.com/page2.html

Reloading is always a viable option. A Dillon 550, along with RCBS dies, powder, primer and bullets is a sizeable investment. However, if you shoot often, you will see the outlay amortized rather quickly.

Crisp Triggers and tight groups!

The only other person who's chimed in to say autoloaders can be cool suggests the 1911. Dang y'all! Nothing good since the Great War? Do you drive Model Ts or Dusenbergs? ;) (Seriously, I know firearms haven't changed nearly as much as cars in the same period, because firearms technology is not nearly as profitable as automotive technology. Also the .357 Mag is from the 50s, I think.)

The .357 Sig has not quite fully lived up to the promise of .357 Mag performance from an autoloader, especially with heavy bullets. With lighter bullets, however, it can come pretty darn close. For example from CorBon, the 125-grain .357 Mag is listed at 1450 fps, while the same bullet in the .357 Sig is listed at 1425 fps.

Personally I think rapid shooting including double-taps are overrated outside range conditions and I go for more power than average rather than faster followups, which is why I chose the 10mm for my main carry gun. But, if the choice is between significantly faster or slower followups with virtually the same load, I'll go for faster.

PS I wouldn't want anyone to think I thought the .357 Mag SP101 was unpleasant or uncontrollable. I also kind of enjoy recoil under range conditions, to the extent that I searched out speedloaders that would fit my .454 Casull Ruger Super Redhawk. (The HKS 25-5 meant for an S&W .45 LC work, in case anyone is interested). I can put all 6 shots in the K-zone of a man-sized target pretty fast, which is fun.

PPS I also have one of the aluminum-framed 12oz. 360PD snubbies. THAT is truly unpleasant to shoot. And I hate the built-in disabling lock. But it's still a good backup gun.

I have 2 of each...a Ruger GP-100 with a 4" BBL and an SP-101 with a 2.25" BBL. I also have 2 Glocks in 357 SIG, a model 32 and a model 33. I grew up on the revolvers and love them to death. In fact, I carried them for years. Nowadays, I carry the Glock 33 (subcompact) with a model 32 mag (13 rounds). With an extended grip spacer, it is the most comfortable grip of any gun, fitting into my small grip perfectly, that I carry. I am convinced that comfort in the grip, along with LOTS of practice, make all the difference in putting rounds on target.