In these days of mega-magnum
handguns like the 454 Casull, 475 Linebaugh, 500 Smith & Wesson and 480
Ruger, the .357 Magnum seems like a weak sister to a lot of folks. Why get a .357 when you can get a .41 or .44
Magnum? There are plenty of reasons for
going with the .357, in fact if I could have only one gun, it would be a
.357.
The .357 Magnum is now 77
years old, having come to fruition in 1935, right in the middle of the Great
Depression. Even at the then exorbitant
price of $60, Smith & Wesson sold every one they made. At the time, each one was hand made, and
could be ordered with pretty much any option the customer wanted.
The cartridge itself is an
extended .38 Special case, stretched out an extra 1/10”. This was to prevent the hot loaded round from
accidentally being chambered in the weaker .38 Special Military & Police
model. The new .357 Magnum was chambered
in the N frame size gun, as it was believed that only the larger framed gun
could handle the pressures of the new powerhouse, which were upwards of 47.000
psi. It was, at the time, the most
powerful factory handgun round available.
Handgun authorities of the
time, including Elmer Keith, Phil Sharpe and Douglas Wesson, were quick to
extol the virtues of the round. In fact,
Doug Wesson used the new handgun and cartridge to take many head of game,
including antelope, elk, moose and grizzly bear, to prove it’s superiority to
any other factory round available. The
head of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover, authorized it for carry by his agents.
Fast forward 20 years to
1955. A Border Patrolman named Bill
Jordan liked the .357 Magnum round, but didn’t like carrying the weight of the
heavy N-frame. He asked Carl Hellstrom,
then president of Smith & Wesson, if it would be possible to package the
power of the .357 round in a revolver the size of the K-frame Military &
Police. This resulted in the creation of the .357 Combat Magnum, later to be
known as the Model 19. At 35 ounces with
a 4” barrel, Jordan
One of the biggest fans of
the .357 Magnum round, and one of my top 3 favorite gun writers, was Charles A.
“Skeeter” Skelton. He wrote many
articles praising the .357, and his use of the Lyman bullet mold #358156, a gas
checked 158 grain semi wadcutter bullet available as either a solid point or
hollowpoint, has made that particular bullet a classic along the same lines as
Elmer Keith made the Lyman #429421 250 grain bullet famous for the .44
Magnum.
For a long time, I wrote off
the .357 as being more of an annoying little brother to the .44 Magnum. As I’ve gotten older, and done more study,
I’ve come to realize that the .357 Magnum may be a better choice, for most
people, than any of the larger rounds available. The acquisition of several hundred .357 and
.38 +P cases allowed me to experiment with different powders and bullets, and I
have settled on one or two loads for all my needs.
I have 2 .357 revolvers that
I normally use, a Smith & Wesson Model 19 with 4” barrel, and a Ruger
Blackhawk single action revolver with a 6 ½” barrel. The Model 19 is a favorite for defense and
field use. I have a set of Herrett’s Roper style grips on it, made to fit my
hand perfectly. They are not too terribly expensive, running about $100. They are worth the money, as good fitting
grips are worth their weight in gold.
My normal working load is a
handload of the Oregon Trail Bullet Company 158gr semi-wadcutter bullet, with
7.5grs of Unique. This gives me around
1200 fps or so, which is adequate for most of what I use it for. It is powerful enough for lighter, thin
skinned critters, and I can load up a pile of them to shoot and practice with
on a regular basis. Getting out and
shooting is the only way you’re going to get good with a pistol.
I carry this sixgun in one of
2 holsters, depending on what I’m doing.
For concealed carry, I’ll use a Range Master Holster from Rob Leahy at
Simply Rugged. It pulls the gun butt in
close, yet allows a speedy draw. I’ll
carry extra ammo in a belt carrier on my left hand side.
For field carry, where
concealment isn’t a concern, I use a tanker-style holster I picked up in the
local Cabelas Bargain Cave
The Ruger Blackhawk .357
Magnum single action revolver has been in production since 1955, with a few
improvements along the way. They are
just about indestructible, and are offered in blue or stainless steel. Mine was picked up new in 2007, and has been
toted around quite a bit in the time since.
It has been a hunting revolver for the last two seasons. With the 6 ½” barrel, it balances nicely for
long range shooting, but is not ungainly like some guns with longer
barrels. It wears a set of Ruger
synthetic ivory grips, which give it a little bit of personality, along with a Belt Mountain
Normal shooting loads are
made up of the Cast Performance Bullet Company 180 grain Lead Flat Nose-Gas
Check bullet with a healthy dose of Alliant 2400 powder behind it. This is my
hunting, walking around, do-all load for the Blackhawk. Sighted in at 50 yards,
I am entirely confident in it to do whatever I need it to. For a light practice load, the above
mentioned Laser Cast 158gr semi wadcutter bullet and 3 grains of Bullseye in
.38 Special cases fills the bill.
It is usually carried in
another holster made by Simply Rugged, a #120 with an extra long retention
strap. The holster rides on a 2 ½”
cartridge belt with 28 cartridge loops, and the whole thing is carved in a
floral pattern. It’s a beautiful rig,
made for showing off or heavy work. It is quick to draw from, should the need
arise, and keeps the gun safe and secure.
I asked Rob to make me one just like Skeeter Skelton’s, and he came
through! If I want to carry it
concealed, I have a Simply Rugged Pancake holster for it. It’s a big gun, but under a cold weather
parka or rain jacket, it’s doable.
Even with its heaviest
loadings, the .357 Magnum is still much easier to shoot than its larger
siblings. The Blackhawk is the best
value in a hunting handgun today, and will last forever if cared for
properly. For someone who is doubtful of
their ability to handle the bigger calibers, the .357 is still effective on
nearly everything 4 legged in the lower 48, except that bullet placement is a
little more critical. We owe this to any
game animal we shoot, anyway.
The Smith & Wesson Model
19 is a classic sixgun, and is lightweight to carry while still being easy to
shoot. One can carry it all day, and not be tired or sore when the sun goes
down. Six rounds of .357 is still pretty
potent, and I’ve never felt undergunned by having “only” 6 rounds.
So, don’t be ashamed of
having a .357 Magnum; embrace it, make it your own, live with it, shoot it
every day. You’ll be far better off than
your friends who have their bigger toys, but can’t hit the broad side of the
proverbial barn!
