I have thought well of the .38 special/.357 magnum cartridge in general since I started shooting in the late 70's with many guns that I got to shoot/owned chambered for it. I hand load for it. However, look at the choices today, bad!! What do we have? Second rate Smith and Wesson's with a nasty hole in the side plate for a safety and 2nd grade fit and finish with an ungodly high price if buying new. Ruger, bought a new GP-100 in 2002, it would jam up quickly with fowling had to draw file the forcing cone as it was rough and too tight in regards to the front of the cylinder gap, paid $399.00 for it new then, blued finish. Now around $800.00 NIB, outrageous!!!! It started sticking on me to the point that I had to open the cylinder wiggle it again this week to get it to turn, the hammer would not move, irregularities with cylinder again.

Bought 2 Taurus revolvers in the late 90's, one a short barreled .38 special and a medium framed blued .357 magnum, soft steel with both, cylinders out of time. Sold em'. Read a recent online report of a guy who had to return 3 Taurus revolvers in .38 special as the transfer bars were so badly made they cracked. Had a used Banger Punta Smith and Wesson model 28 Highway Patrolman in .357 mag., decent gun, did me well for 20 years bought used in 1982, but traded it off as the steel on the timing for the cylinder was soft. My friend's Dan Wesson .357 magnum jammed up on him back in the 1980's, hammer would not fall, I managed to tear it down and fixed the internal part that came out of alignment as I have gunsmith skills, but told him not to depend on it, just use it for plinking.

Bought a Ruger Super Redhawk in .454 Casull for almost a thousand dollars in 2009, so roughly made I had to draw file and polish much of it to make it decent, thousand dollars for that!! And I still get stung occasionally in the left cheek with debris shooting out of the cylinder gap!

Ok, lets try overseas...the Philippine version of a Colt revolver RIA made, 20% of them are defective and the company just replaces them if bad. Of course Taurus, hit and miss, not likely to get one that you can depend on. My sister's Taurus looked like someone vomited on it with the rough finish, it even jammed on her. Charter Arms revolvers, bankrupt several times, said to be somewhat workable, but tinker toy.

Want the best? Try Korth of Germany, the best, but thousands of dollars to buy one.

In the end it looks like you have to buy an old Colt DA or a Smith and Wesson made in the 1950's to get a decent revolver. Thinking of selling my Rugers and just sticking to Glocks. Austrian engineering over over priced revolver junk. Too bad as the DA revolver in .38 special/.357 magnum has so much potential if done right.

Lol you forgot Rossi.

Man, that was a depressing read.

Yeah, the finish and fit on a Glock is awesome....and they are apparently infallible.

Most guns that are [bleep] up are generally owned by people with "gunsmithing" skills....YMMV

Damn! That is some bad luck right there.

yup, Rossi was taken over by Taurus.

Pragmatically speaking, the only place the revolver still holds a distinct advantage over the semi-auto pistol is with large caliber magnum cartridges. Attempts as corralling the power of large caliber magnum cartridges has been pretty much a failed exercise in practical terms, though the reintroduction of the Auto-Mag creates some small light at the end of the tunnel in that regard. If they could just make it (the Auto-Mag) affordable, I think it might sell pretty well.

Revolvers are simply a dated design, and ounce for ounce (and inch for inch) offer very little (if any) practical advantage over the semi-auto. It's a bit like analog or digital technology .... they both work, but one clearly has an advantage over the other in most circumstances.

I'm not anti-revolver by any stretch, but it is what it is.

Depressing. Are revolvers really that bad now?

He missed Kimber also.
And Glock to me = overpriced plastic gun that feels like crap.

Well my super redhawk in 44, my Blackhawk and my wife’s gp-100 in 357 and mine and the wife’s lcr’s in 38+p all have been flawless. And we shoot heavy loads 90% of the time. So I have no complaints about my rugers oh and I can shoot any and all loads from mild to wild in my rugers.

No they aren't. I have more than a few revolvers both Single Action and Double action that can be put into service at any time and prove to be very effective. I would have not problem using them for personal defense. Mostly Rugers, but also a C/A or two, couple of Taurus, a few S&W I don't think you want me shooting at you at all. Oh throw in a Colt or two.

I have a fairly new 629 and it seems fine to me, even with the lock hole

Hell 2 inch groups from a bench at 75 feet are an almost certainty with it

I have autos, but 98 percent of the time, it is a revolver I have with in reach.. I have been shooting revolvers probably well over 50 years.. I have never had a serious problem with one.. I do not live in an area with a large population.. So for most of what I do, hunting, target shooting, woods bumming, the revolver is perfect.. When I travel, I have glocks and extra magazine, but I also have my 44’s and .357’s in reach also..

Yup
.38/.357 revolvers should all be sent to the scrap heap
5 rounds of Federal Red Box .357's
At 100 yards I could barely keep this 5" 1955 Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum (pre-27) on paper

The only death in a DA revolver involves the need to make guns out of plastic.

I really dont find much enjoyment in shooting a contraption. Generally the triggers suck, they need coddled when it comes to ammo and the brass gets flung all over hell. They own firepower and are disarmed with more difficulty for defensive purposes, but for my tastes a DA wheelgun with the assortment of grips eat plinkers to hot rods is much more enjoyable.

I wont say how many are in the vault, but Ive never had an inkling of bad taste from any of them like the OP.

If they are dead, just send me the corpses and I'll bury them for you......

It aint dead on my farm, have an old first gen Colt Trooper 357 4" blue that runs like a sewing machine, even Wifeys little S&W model 60 38 is bulldog tough and STAYS ready to go too, I love those revolvers and will never sell em.

Yeah, right in some damn fine leather.

There are plenty of well made double action revolvers on the market today from Ruger, S&W, Kimber and Colt. However, quality control across the board is inconsistent for all of those companies, in my experience, so my rule of thumb is never to buy new-production revolvers sight-unseen.

Agreed on the older, not a 38/357 but when i saw that near 100% condition pre-25, Model of 1955 S&W 45 ACP 5 screw with a 6.5" barrel, with target grips, trigger and hammer for 800 out the door I had to jump, hope you have one or have got to fire one, talk about sweet!

My only 357 is a Ruger Security Six I bought around 1980. It's real nice.

I've had two solid GP100s along the way, They ran fine, but they got traded away.

I have four .357's, a Smith 686, a Smith 3" snubby, a Ruger Blackhawk, and a Ruger Security Six.All are older and all are will built.

In addition I have a Smith K22.I challenge anyone to come up with a better handgun to teach anyone the basic shooting fundamentals or go back to tune up one shootings from flinches and poor form. The Security Six is a great carry gun while in the saddle. The 686 has probably 30,000 rounds thru it shooting handgun competition and is still going strong.Plus another thee revolvers. There is no tearing apart,stripping down to get them clean

In comparison, I have two semis.

Comparing any of them against today's plastic ugly semis is like comparing older Mustangs,GTOs, etc to today's trash that they call classic designs.Or to me comparing a classic wood and blued rifle to todays plastic stocked rifles with plastic parts

And a good one it is.

Most of the unreliable double action revolvers that I have seen have had do-it-yourself action jobs. Some just had attempts to lighten trigger pull by cutting springs or backing off on the strain screw.

How do you keep the back of the barrel square when adjusting the barrel-cylinder gap with a file?

No. Unless I'm much luckier than other things in life would indicate.

…..THAT is the quote of the year!!! You knocked that one outta the park Hawkl !!! Well done!!! :-)

How do you draw file a forcing cone?

Have not had it to the range yet but the 1961 S&W Model 10 I purchased used last month meets standards for factory new - cylinder/cone gap,case head/shield gap, pin protrusion, end shake, etc.

Have 5 ruger revolvers mgf from 1999 through 2013, no problems with any of them. Single Six, SP101, LCR, Blackhawk, Super Redhawk.

I have an old Colt King Cobra. Purchased around 1988. 6" barrel. Nice shooter. Bet I've put over 5k rounds down range with it. And that is a conservative number.

No problems with the various DA revolvers I have now... Several Rugers, including the wonderful little SP 101s.. All work/function perfectly..

I must be doing something wrong. My S&W 617 is circa 1993-ish, has MIM internals, an internal lock, and works perfectly. I have over 50k rounds through it, and I haven't had any problems at all...clearly I'm doing something wrong.

Mod. 66,.357 @ 50 yds.
6:00 hold.
Kinda sucks, don’t it.



Have a Mod. 27-2, 6” and a 337 3” that also hold their own.

I have a couple of revolvers that date from the early 1970s. far from dead, they aren't even feeling their age yet.

My 2 1/2" Model 66 would be amongst the last things I'd part with.

Yeah, that's worthless...who would want that:)

I just bought a brand new production S&W 442 that I needed to send right back to the factory for a very rough finished barrel breech/forcing cone. Looked like it was rough cut without any smoothing at all. Razor sharp burrs all around. Completely unacceptable for a company like S&W. I've never seen anything like it on an S&W. Not even on a Charter Arms. I'm hoping I can praise them right here on the Fire on how well they fixed it. We'll see as soon as I get it back.

Clearly.

People bitch about Ruger M77/MKII/Hawkeye accuracy. I guess I get all the good ones.

My DW's are fine shooting revolvers---I like a revolver for hunting,esp.the DW because I can change the barrel length to fit the hunt. But my carry guns tend to be auto's---mostly for two legged varmints.

There was a time about 35 years ago I could shoot like that. Sadly those days are long gone. Good shooting. Hasbeen

While the handful of pre-model # S&W's and 1920's Colts I own are T&B good, the modern stuff has worked quite well for me. I will allow that luck does tend to be on my side when it comes to firearms, though.

I have been using fine tools since the 1960's and it is an acquired "feel' skill with a file. Old school tech here concerning the use of a file for final fitting.

I'm from the 'Old School' too - and the only tool I ever use is a HAMMER !

I love my Wheel guns, here's some of them

I haven't bought a new revolver for at least fifteen years, so I guess I don't have anything to refute the OP. But while I've shot the heck out of 'em, my revolvers (Smith, Ruger, and Taurus) are all far from dead, and certainly not useless, or even problematic.

Yep, as a kid I was only allowed to shoot a Colt .22lr Buntline for many years before progressing to autos and large caliber revolvers. Definitely a fine teaching tool.

Something we agree on. Currently I've got several Ruger revolvers and a S&W and have had a couple other S&W revolvers. All are/have been way more fun then any semi. The house guns are all revolvers because my wife and semis don't mix.


Some of the Rugers. .44 Super Redhawk, .357 Blackhawk, .22/.22WM Single Six, .327 Federal SP101.

If anything happens where my 8 shot S&W 627 and my +P 638 are not enough I plan to have one of my AR's or my 12 ga eight shot 1100 at hand. I like automatics fine, I carried a 1911 in the Army, but revolvers suit my shooting style and loading habits better. Their not superior to autos, but suit my needs well.

I got two myself. On is a Service Six, a great traininer. The other is a Colt King Cobra 6 inch (NRA) edition.

SW took my two new model 63's back, said one was not repairable and gave me my money back, said they fixed the other and it still shot poorly, traded it on a ruger 22/45 lite which shoots fine, bought a 4 inch 44 magnum stainless had to screw the sights all the way to the right, sent it back they put the barrel back on and gave me new sights, now it shoots to the center. I have one titanium airweight and one 44 magnum left as wheel guns, I cannot shoot the airweight that good but its on a hip clip no holster and its a good beach gun for when you wear a bathing suit and a t shirt.

I have owned a Colt Trooper Mk III, a 7.5" M657 Hunter, a six inch M57, a 4" M57 mountain gun, a 6" GP100, a Ruger old Vaquero in 45 Colt, a Colt SAA in 45 Colt, a smith M442, two smith M640, and several M642s. The only one that had issues was the M442, which locked up tighter than Dick's hatband after firing a round.

Thank you for your intelligent comments ! I personaly have experienced all of what you have stated, I commented to a friend yesterday, this is upside down, a beautiful rifle can be bought for a lot less.
Welcome to the mushroom farm, kept in a dark spot and fed horse padookey.

Thank you for your intelligent comments ! I personaly have experienced all of what you have stated, I commented to a friend yesterday, this is upside down, a beautiful rifle can be bought for a lot less.
Welcome to the mushroom farm, kept in a dark spot and fed horse padookey.

19-2, 686+, SP101, 200year stainless Blackhawk, all smooth, well finished and accurate. Don't know about new stuff but I like my guns to be more my age than that of my grandkids.

Revolvers started out as working tools.

Many still are.

A high percentage of pistols are fashion accessories or for bragging rights......

True many revolvers are fashion accessories .......but many will always be working tools.

It's late and I'm tired.

the good thing is that s&w made a billion awesome guns and you can still buy them for not much more than the new ones. and the new ones are not bad. i have a 29-8 mountain gun with the mim and lock and that sucker is a beauty and shoots like a laser.

My night stand gun is a Sig 232, my carry gun is a Colt Defender, my big shooter is a Colt GCNM, but I shoot my wheel guns for fun.
Have a number of Colt SAA's and this Colt Diamondback. All my wheel guns are 30 years old or older, but they are very well made, and accurate. There is beauty in a nice revolver, something you just don't get in the new plastic wonders. Blue steel and wood is what defines classic revolvers. ( a nice nickle ain't bad either )

Sarah Connor carried a 357 Security Six and she survived the Terminator. Later switching to 1911's in part 2. But still two of the greatest stopping cartridges in common handguns.

Damn! I have bought a dozen or more new Ruger and Smith revolvers over the last two years and found them all to be very well made and also very accurate, fit and finish has also been excellent but they are mighty spendy, especially the Smith models......Hb

Who all owns a Python around here? If you do, share a story. Thanks

He’s obviously never owned Freedom Arms revolvers.

I was a semi-auto guy for decades but in 2015 I bought my first revolver, a smith 66-3 in .357.
Then a couple of M36's for the wife in 38spl (2" snubby and 3" target version) Then Dan Wesson in 44 mag made its way into my life, I couldn't turn down such a good deal. And of COURSE I had to buy a reproduction Colt SAA 7th Cav Army to set on the table next to my original 1873 Trapdoor.

I shoot wheel guns at the range more than I do all my semi-autos. They're just so much danged fun!

Funny I came across this thread. I saw a Ruger Blackhawk in 44 today. If it was used it was not used much $ 764.00 I think.

While I think the GP-100s are good solid guns, I wish Ruger would bring back the Security Sixes. I think they were damned fine little wheelguns, the two I've owned shot extremely well, especially the blued 6" one I had.

I put together some of the Skeeter Skelton loads for it (15.0 gr 2400, Lyman 358156GC) and it would keep all six shots on a beer can at 125 yards. With a witness or two. My cousin watched me to that, and offered me a swap I couldn't turn down, as he had a Remington 700BDL in 6mm in beautiful shape. Imagine my surprise when I got that rifle home, and that old sixgun would outshoot the wretched thing.

I've had a whole boatload of various Smiths, Rugers, a couple of Colts, too, and all of them worked fine (excepting a Smith 24-3 4" that was a POS rendered in steel).
Methinks the OP is full of something smelly.

If you are paying $800 for a GP-100, may I suggest finding another dealer.

A new stainless GP-100 can be had within a 100 mile radius of me for $595 - $625 any day of the week.

I I use only elder Sixguns, and I am TOTALLY happy with that.

Colt SAA, U.S.F.A., Ruger GP 100 ( survived a DEADLY amount of rounds ), Colt´s, S & W´s, a M 29 - 6, last with NON MIM parts, and superb accuracy and AWESOME finish ...

If you fear quality or durability problems with a .357, get a Manurhin MR 73.

My only complaint is, that my 6" Python ( 1976 Centennial model with solid cylinder, from the cased set ) shoots ( slightly ) larger groups with ANY 30 WC load, than my SIG 210 with most 9 mm loads …

Hermann

P.S.: have Glocks, won´t part with them, LOVE HiPowers!

My S&W 627, 638 and my brother's 442, all recently produced, function as well or better than my older Colt and S&W revolvers.

Don't forget ugly and classless.

FWIW: I just put 5 158gr XTP's w/14.5 IMR 4227 into 1" @ 25yds with my 4" 686-6 the other day - as well as banging the hell out of a steel plate with 38's. Lots of fun, very accurate, and never a hint of a problem. I also have a 6" S&W M19-2 (classy as a revolver there ever was IMO) but it doesn't shoot any better than the new one. I'm currently on the lookout for a 6.5" 629, really don't care if it's a newer one or an older one. Maybe I have just been lucky but of the Dozen or so S&W and Ruger revolvers I have owned all have functioned and shot excellent.

Certainly like my Ruger Blackhawk .357/.38. Fine revolver. Oh, My MKII seems to be working just fine also. Imagine that!?
We must be lucky.

My goodness. This is just crazy. Tryin to kill two of the most popular cartridges ever. It's a anti 38/357 epidemic!

It's a leftist conspiracy! I see the malevolent hand of George Soros behind this...

Which is your EDC choice?


mike r