Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Snub nose .38 or .357 for carry

I have a Ruger LCR .38 and a S&W .357 both snub nose. I shoot them both well but I favor the .357 to carry. Any thoughts?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27wDLjY5JSs

357

My two .357's, a mod 66 and a mod 60



The .38sp Ruger LCR and a companion .22. They carry nicely in a pocket holster

38 special in 38 special pistol...not 38 special shot out of a 357 mag.

To me the .357's just not worth it; I carry the .38+P.

The .357 has about a 200fps advantage, but it comes at a pretty stiff cost. Massively increased muzzle flash, twice as much recoil, and twice the noise.

Yet when the bullets hit, the terminal performance isn't a huge difference; certainly not enough to justify the flash, noise and recoil.

I chose the S&W M&P 340 (357), but if I did things over again, I just might go with a 3" LCRx in 38. It's still ultra light and I'd replace the grip with the grip of an LCR. It would cut the ballistic difference between 38 and 357 in half with the longer barrel and with a better sight radius with, in reality, negligible difference in carry ability.

I've got a Ruger LCR in 357mag,that carries, 38+P's and a Ruger SP101 3" which carries 357 mags. I think in the colder climates where many people dress wearing heavier clothing the 357 mag, gives you an edge. Especially dealing with the gang bangers that wear heavy Carhardt clothing.

While my CC is a Model 19 in .357, I agree with GunGeek regarding the use of .38 +P ammo instead of .357 Magnum. I make my own FBI loads for it.

Don

Yeah, I wouldn't bother with a snubby .357 Magnum. Flash, blast, and recoil not worth the extra velocity from a snub nose. For humans, a good +P .38 Special is perfectly adequate for self defense.

PS I have them, and have carried them, but only ever carried .38 Special in them. I'd have been just as well served if they were actually only chambered for .38 Special.

The 357 is more than 200 fps faster.
A snub nosed 38 special with 147 grain JHP in Federal or Winchester +P+ does not stack up to a 357 mag in my experience.
A snub in 38 special is a backup last resort weapon in my opinion.

I personally think when the .357 was developed, that was for a long barreled gun. Kind of lost in a snubbie. One atvantage tho if you ar loading up to the top in a .38special, it's nice to have it enclosed in a magnum.
As to the velocity thing, it's kind of like 30.06 vs. 300win mag, and trying to educate a former son in law on his flinch with the 300winmag. Downloaded to 30.06 he didn't have a problem. and at a 100yards i don't think the deer knew the difference in 200fps.
same thing holds true at short ranges between a 38special and the magnum.

I've carried .357 snubbies, but with .38 Special ammo. I don't shoot them well with full house .357 loads. I did like the ability to shoot "tweener" rounds in .38 Special, such as the Buffalo Bore 158 gain +P LSWCHP .38 Special, which was equivalent to slow .357 ammo in the same weight bullet.

What is with the clickbait?

The lead +P semi wadcutters that I tried in the sub nosed 38 special expanded well, but penetration wasn't enough in my opinion.

There are plenty of factory loaded 357's that are watered down to the point that I do not consider them magnums.

Just information from testing

tag

in a small revolver, I don't much care for a .357 Mag. Vastly prefer a good .38 Special.

Last time I chrono's a 125gr .38sp vs. a 125gr .357 it was 945 for the .38 Special and 1140fps for the .357mag. Both out of a 2" barre.

That's high for the 38 special in my experience. I've never got into the 900 fps range with mine and I have 3 snub nose 38 specials for +P 125's. I've also shot 147 Federal and Winchester +P+ and got about the same for them as the 125 +Ps.
357's are in the 1200 fps range depending on gun and ammo, some factory loaded 357's are weak in my opinion.