moderately expensive reliable .357

[duckidaho]

I've been looking for a reliable .357 revolver in the $250-$350 used range. Mostly for use as a woods gun, but also maybe for the nightstand. I've been thinking Ruger (for this price range) maybe a security six, or maybe a GP100. Any other good suggestions?

[alwaysacowboy]

My personal carry gun is a Dan Wesson .357 with a 4" barrel. Great gun, but heavy.
Right now we are looking for a Taurus Tracker for my wife. With a 4" barrel it weights in around 27 ounces. In stainless steel holding 7 rounds, I think it's hard to beat.
Actually, my wife really likes the Ruger SP101 with the 3" barrel. The Ruger seems to be the strongest revolver made, I just worry about the recoil with a 3" un-ported barrel.
So my personal first choice is the Dan Wesson, followed by the Tracker, with an "L" frame Smith & Wesson a very close third.
The "L" frames are the 581 & 586 (blue) and the 681 & 686 (stainless). The 1's have fixed sights and the 6's have adjustable sights.
We saw a used 686 at a gun show today for $300.00.
Any Ruger is a good choice
Something else to think about; the Taurus lifetime guarantee transfers from owner to owner.
I don't like carrying a 6" gun, it always seems to be getting in the way, and since my eyes aren't what they used to be, I no longer take long shots with a revolver. In fact, we no longer consider the revolver for anything other than close range work, which is why I have no problem with my wife carrying a fixed sight 3" barrel gun.
We don't have any worry about large animals here in upstate NY, most of our concern is with rabid animals and wild dogs, so most of the time the guns are loaded with .38's. Why? Well, if you're going to be actually shooting a gun in the field, remember you won't have ear protection, and a .357 is brutal on your hearing.
One way to deal with that is to load .38's as your first two shots and make the rest .357's. While the point of impact is very different at a distance, at close ranges it doesn't make much difference, and it's easy enough to adjust your point of aim if you need to.
Art

[GoodDaughter]

I have the Dan Wesson set that has the 3 interchangable barrels and two grips--I have the 4" barrel on it and the sport grip, as my hands are small and my hand won't go around the regular pistol grip comfortably. The sport grip fits just fine as it is a bit narrower at the bottom, and thus my ring and pinky wraps around better. Heavy, yes, but I manage it well.

My .38 is a Rossi. I like it, lightweight.

I am personally chicken of auto loaders. Had one jam on me at a bad time. Said 'never again'.

[kawalekm]

Right now a GP100 is on sale at my local gun shop for 529$
http://www.turners.com/engage/displayad2.php?H=1&m1=January&m2=January%20&d1=2&d 2=8&img=ads/01-02-09/rugergp100.gif

If you want an .357 revolver, may I also suggest getting a .357 rifle. I have a Marlin in .357 and it's one of my favorite guns.
Michael

[MissouriFree]

I got a marlin cowboy and a Ruger SA Vaquero 5&1/2 " both in 357 and love'em.

[duckidaho]

That's a good idea about the revolver and the .357 lever marlin. I've been thinking about getting a lever gun anyway, and I like marlins.

is the vaquero double action? We've bumped into small black bears twice this year in the area where we deer hunt and I want something on my hip when I'm gutting, dragging etc. .357 should be adequate for bears of this size and don't really want a .44.

[MissouriFree]

Single action-- I am pretty old fashioned

[rice paddy daddy]

Single action-- I am pretty old fashioned
Indeed! My constant companion when I'm out in the yard is a Uberti Single Action Army in 357 mag with 4&3/4 inch barrel. But of course, wearing only one hand gun leads to an off balance condition, ;D so the other hip usually has one of my Blackhawks or other SAA's (357, 45 Colt, 44 mag).
When any neighbors drive by, they always wave, but never stop! ;)
For a double action 357, the only experience I have is my Taurus 65, which is a serviceable weapon.

[Clem]

That's a good idea about the revolver and the .357 lever marlin. *I've been thinking about getting a lever gun anyway, and I like marlins.

is the vaquero double action? *We've bumped into small black bears twice this year in the area where we deer hunt and I want something on my hip when I'm gutting, dragging etc. *.357 should be adequate for bears of this size and don't really want a .44.

The Vaquero is single action, with rather small fixed sights. The New Model Blackhawk is the .44 mag frame, with adjustable sights. The 50th Anniversary Blackhawk is the original flat top frame size, slightly smaller than the NMBH, but only about .5 oz. lighter (on my scale).

My GP-100 weighs 39.2 oz. and the 4 5/8" NMBH weighs 45 oz., if that is important to you. Both are very tough. Both come a little rough and tend to need some internal smoothing. Both are very accurate. Both make a very nice companion to a Marlin 1894C or other suitable rifle.

If you want one for black bear protection, be sure to get tough heavy bullets to ensure penetration. 180 gr. loads would be a good choice.

[MissouriFree]

Indeed! My constant companion when I'm out in the yard is a Uberti Single Action Army in 357 mag with 4&3/4 inch barrel. But of course, wearing only one hand gun leads to an off balance condition, *;D *so the other hip usually has one of my Blackhawks or other SAA's (357, 45 Colt, 44 mag).
When any neighbors drive by, they always wave, but never stop! *;)
For a double action 357, the only experience I have is my Taurus 65, which is a serviceable weapon.


Wonder why you never get company man !!!

[fishercat]

I have a S&W 65-3 That I like, but my brother in law has a Ruger sp101 that I really like to shoot .

[rice paddy daddy]

Wonder why you never get company man !!!

That's the way I like it! Fenced and gated with no trespassing signs and beware of the dog signs. ;D I often carry a shotgun while rambling about the property, too!
I'm an anti social son of a gun. The more I learn about people, the more I appreciate my dogs. ;)
I'm just the "crazy old coot". ;D ;D
Did I ever mention that when I go to the range I wear a Vietnam Veteran T-shirt and use live 45 ACP rounds for ear plugs? I get plenty of elbow room from the other shooters.

[MissouriFree]

Yep.
People are the biggest cause of Antisocial behavior. ;)

so how long is you driveway,

[rice paddy daddy]

Just 150 feet. But the 4 board horse fence is sweet - any mutant zombie bikers can climb it like a ladder, giving me a good shot at center body mass when they reach the top and get ready to jump over.

[snake]

That's the way I like it! Fenced and gated with no trespassing signs and beware of the dog signs. ;D I often carry a shotgun while rambling about the property, too!
I'm an anti social son of a gun. The more I learn about people, the more I appreciate my dogs. ;)
I'm just the "crazy old coot". ;D ;D
Did I ever mention that when I go to the range I wear a Vietnam Veteran T-shirt and use live 45 ACP rounds for ear plugs? I get plenty of elbow room from the other shooters.

Sounds pretty much like my situation except I only pack a S&W mod 29 and a K-Bar. I too get very few visitor's, aside from meter readers!

[MissouriFree]

Just 150 feet. But the 4 board horse fence is sweet - any mutant zombie bikers can climb it like a ladder, giving me a good shot at center body mass when they reach the top and get ready to jump over.


see my pm

[duckidaho]

I've heard nothing but good about the Ruger GP100 in .357. If I can find a used one at a gun show later this month I think I'll go with that. I'm a little wary of Taurus, but they are significantly cheaper. I've heard some reports of jamming from a friend who works at a firing range that "rents" guns to try before you buy.

[rice paddy daddy]

I have a couple of well used Smith and Wesson's in 38 Special, and my Taurus is every bit as slick and dependable. I liked it so much I bought a Taurus 605 which is a J frame 357 snubbie to keep in my truck. The trigger on the snub was a dissapointment, and I'm eventually going to put some Wolfe springs in it to see if it will help.

[fancyfowl]

I bought a taurus one time, 357, stainless, I liked it , it was a good shooter. Went thru a fire when my beer store burned up and the wood scales burned off, put on new grips, sold it a couple years later and the dude had it for a couple years and liked it too. good gun. I always carried a SP101 in .357. It was shipped to magna port before it hit the wholesaler, a run of a few hundred. It was loud but the felt recoil was considerable less than my kids which is not ported. Love them pocket rockets.

[alwaysacowboy]

Both my wife and I have .357's for our personal rifles/pistols.
She now has the 4" Charter Arms target bulldog and a Rossi M92 16" barrel. Within the next couple of weeks I hope to get her into either a Ruger or Taurus handgun.
I have the Dan Wesson with 4" and 6" barrels (don't use the 6" much), and a Winchester Trapper (16" barrel).
I have to have a scope on it since I can't see the iron sights with these @#$% bifocals.
Sure does ruin the looks of a nice lever gun.
Art

[mwhaught]

I don't think you can go wrong with a used GP100. I have a Security-Six and its a great gun. The only knock on the Security-Six in my book is the small grips (and aftermarket grips are hard to find for that model these days).

Bottom line, Ruger makes good, servicable firearms that last a long time.

Also, the Marlin 1894 as a companion piece is a great idea. I have one as a buddy for my S&W 629 in .44 mag.

[docsoos]

Good Replies, all. :D

The only thing I have not seen mentioned are the triggers on the aforementioned weapons. The S&W's are FAR superior to the Ruger's, Colts, Taurus, etc.

That said, it's all about how much you want to spend. Years ago, I tried all revolvers in existence at that time (Taurus wasn't being imported yet), and the Smith & Wesson's were slick as glass on the single AND DOUBLE-action trigger pull. Smooth trigger pull makes for accurate shots, if the shooter does their part.

How hungry are you or your family? How much is your life worth? These are personal decisions, but to me, I want ALL the edge I can get, and my preference was Smith & Wesson, after trying them all. As stated, the Rugers are all great guns, accurate and built like a tank, just not as smooth as the Smiths.

The Smiths I mentioned are all of the OLDER ones (pre-1990). Some of the newer abominations that S&W is attempting to pass off as revolvers (with those DAMNABLE integral locks!) would never hold up to farm\homestead\combat use, especially the ones made from "exotic" metals (i.e. Scandium, Titanium, etc). Can't beat an older, used Stainless Steel Model 65 for a durable, take-ANYwhere revolver. Unless it happened to be a Model 29/629. ;D

Good luck in the search!

DocSoos

[duckidaho]

I was the one origionally shopping around for a .357 and I found a .44 special S+W lightweight that I really liked. I will mostly be using it for a hunting, hiking, backpacking, fly-fishing side arm, so the ultra light part is great. It is not a "fun" gun to shoot. Lots of recoil. But it would possibly stop a small black bear, which is mostly what we have around here. If I want to plink tin cans, I'll shoot my ruger .22. thanks for all the input though. Russ

[rice paddy daddy]

*If I want to plink tin cans, I'll shoot my ruger .22. *thanks for all the input though. *Russ
Plinking concrete blocks with a 44 magnum is a lot of fun, too! ;D ;D ;D ;D

[snake]

Plinking concrete blocks with a 44 magnum is a lot of fun, too! ;D ;D ;D ;D

Yes this is true. But do you think the blocks feel the same way? :)

[mwhaught]

Plinking concrete blocks with a 44 magnum is a lot of fun, too! ;D ;D ;D ;D


My push button combo nightstand gun safe jammed up on me. It has been beeping in the garage for 3 solid weeks. If it goes 4 weeks, I'm going to see if a .44 mag 240 gr JHP will shut it up! >:(

[NowKnowYe]

Ruger SP101 Snubby for concealed carry...perfect and built like a tank.

[9er]

Try to find a used S&W K-frame. I have one and a J-Frame. Can't beat a S&W IMO.

But due to your budget, I would recommend a Taurus.

[mtdrtbag]

The Taurus Mod. 65 is a great gun for the money. These guns are built on old Smith and Wesson tooling in Brazil. Pretty much a Smith and Wesson in most every way. I shoot a S&W 686 4" and S&W Mod. 60 in a 3". Both are great guns. You can find some decent deals on the S&W Mod. 19's, 28's these days if you look around. With any used guns make sure the cylinder locks up with minimal slop when the hammer is drawn back. There are alot of old cop guns out there that are just plain worn out. I am comfortable with the .357 in black bear country, but carry a .44 mag in grizzly country and a short barreled 870 with slugs when picking huckleberries in grizzly country.

[Clem]

The only thing I have not seen mentioned are the triggers on the aforementioned weapons. The S&W's are FAR superior to the Ruger's, Colts, Taurus, etc.

Out of the box, I agree that S&W does usually have a better trigger. After the Ruger trigger has been smoothed and broken in, that difference tends to disapear.

I won't buy Taurus due to what I see as inconsistent QA. Some are fine; some are junk. Too many are junk. Hard to tell before you take it to the range.

[hiker45acp]

Hi, New to this forum, but not new to firearms. You say you want it for woods carry and possible night stand coverage, well you want something compact, not a 5" or 6" barrel. And you really do not want a Single action for a house pistol, not that you couldn't but if you ever have to pull it on someone, you don't want to have it go off accidentally because you had the hammer back with a much lighter trigger pull in single action. Most people do not know how they will react in a situation like that and if you end up in court because you did shoot an intruder, a double action revolver will be a lot safer to deal with legally. The SP101 Ruger in Stainless steel, which I own among others, is comfortable to shoot with magnums, reliable and affordable if you can find a used one. Best bet is the Gun shows as there is usually more competition there for pricing since you will probably find a few of them at a show and can do some bargaining. Good Luck.