Looking for advice/recommendations for revolvers

[contender1]

Ok, you have some more info & have opened up your ideas a bit.
May I suggest you look at the Ruger Match Target GP-100?
It, in my eyes is a bit better than the "regular" production GP-100's. I own a few of the older "Security-Six" guns,,, (5 of them,) and they are all quite nice. I never felt the "need" to add a GP-100. Well, I made the mistake of handling the Match Champion version. The wood grips FIT my hands quite well, and I had to have one. It caused me to buy a second GP-100 with a 6" bbl, and I added the MC grips to it as well. But the MC shoots extremely well. Enough to where it's a back up revolver now for Competition. (I won't cut the cylinder for moon clips or it's be my primary competition revolver.)

As for the 41 mag,,, I own several in the SA design by Ruger. If you reload,,, it's NOT a problem to have enough ammo.

[DougGuy]

So far I'm thinking I want something in .357 magnum since I already have some brass for it, and one of my 9mm molds casts at .359 before PC.

Not likely to find a stock revolver that will accept .359" boolits even without PC, and most will need cylinder throats reamed to successfully shoot .358" and a lot of 9mm guys want to shoot .358" in their autoloaders so they get the barrel throated to .3585" this would let you load .358" across the board. The larger boolits seal in the bore better so you get less leading. In a *perfect* world, you would want a cast boolit sized .001" to .002" larger than groove diameter of the barrel, and cylinder throats sized .0005" to .001" larger than boolit diameter.

Since cast boolits are generally sized larger than factory j-words, you may need to have a little work done on the cylinder to properly set the gun up for shooting cast. It's not expensive, and is usually a one-time fix and you will be good to go afterwards.

Also, don't shoot the possums, they don't carry disease like coons and are very beneficial to have around, they eat ticks by the thousands reducing the threat of lyme disease in humans, where you have possums you won't have rats as they compete for the same food groups.

[Mk42gunner]

The suggestion above to visit a rental range and try them out has a lot of merit.

There is a slight but real difference in the balance or handling between a S&W L frame (586 or 686) and the normal full underlug GP-100. I know the GP suits me better; when I had my first one, a blued 6", my shooting partner had a 6" S&W 686 Classic Hunter and I liked my cheap Ruger better than his S&W.

Any of the other suggestions are going to handle a lot different. For example the N frame S&W, I like them, they are accurate, but I have never been 100% comfortable with the big guns and I wear large gloves.

Robert

[Sasquatch-1]

You may want to consider customer service also. I have never had to call Smith for anything (I only own 3 that don't get shot as much as the Rugers). I have had to call Ruger for a couple of things and 95% of the time they will ask my address and say the part is in the mail. I have seen reports that the cylinder throats, in some of the newer guns, may not be reamed properly but have also seen that Ruger will take care of the problem quickly.

If you are ever in the Washington D. C./Baltimore area and traveling along Rt. 81 there are several nice LGS in the area along with a Gander Mountain. If interested I could send you the names. A couple have ranges and will let you try used guns that they have in stock.

[BlackIce05]

May I suggest you look at the Ruger Match Target GP-100?

Actually I was looking at that one real hard yesterday, it appears Bud's sold out of them between then and now but I was looking real close at that and the 686 plus.

So does reaming the cylinder throats adversely affect shooting with j-words at all? I have the expectation of it to be able to shoot both accurately. I fully expect to have to size the boolits differently for 9mm and 357/38 I have no issue with that.

Some of the issue with getting into LGS or rental ranges, is that they really don't like 80,000 lb 70 ft long vehicles tearing up their parking lot (I've actually dug significant holes in blacktop by turning), if their parking lot is big enough for me to get in and out of. But some Cabela's have truck parking, so I can get into one of them and try holding a couple. I think that's about as close as I'll be able to get, but I'll certainly be keeping my eyes open.

[DougGuy]

So does reaming the cylinder throats adversely affect shooting with j-words at all? I have the expectation of it to be able to shoot both accurately.

No. J words are soft cores swaged into gilding metal jackets and they will happily "grow" or bump up to fill the throats upon firing, then swage snugly into the barrel when they leave the cylinder. Unless you are shooting them as mouse fart loads then there may not be any obturation.

I fully expect to have to size the boolits differently for 9mm and 357/38 I have no issue with that.

If you want to interchange 9mm ammo with an autopistol and a convertible revolver, you could size to fit the autoloader and take your chances with how they will shoot in the revolver, what I was saying earlier is that it's not unusual for me to get requests to do both revolver cylinder and autopistol throats for the same guy so that the same load and same boolit can be used universally.

[BlackIce05]

Ah ok, well, then it sounds like I may have to look you up once I get my hands on a revolver. I looked briefly at the convertibles mentioned earlier in the thread, but iirc they're SA and I think I'd rather have DA.

[bisleyfan41]

First off, I think it's pretty cool that your mom has a 357 Blackhawk. Secondly, since you shot hers and liked the experience, why not consider going that way? The Ruger Blackhawk grip frame helps handle recoil and with a 6.5" barrel, you'll realize high velocities and excellent field accuracy. The Blackhawks are also way more user-friendly than the DAs in regards to a detailed take down for service or cleaning by the average gun owner. Simple mechanics, rock solid reliability, multi-generational durability. You almost can't tear one up if you try.

One word of advice should you go this way, search out an older used example. I wouldn't buy a current production Ruger if you paid me. There are many excellent condition older models out there for really low cost that don't suffer from Ruger's current QC issues.

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

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[BlackIce05]

So it is, that's weird, on my end it'll show up one time and not the next.

[CDRGlock]

Here are two of my 357 Magnums:
S&W Performance Center 627 8 shot 5" and 586 L-Comp 7 shot 3".



Then you can go beastly!

Smith 460 XVR 8 3/8"



Or smith 500!



Or just get one of each!
Smith 500
Smith 460 XVR
Ruger Super Redhawk 454 Casull
Smith and Wesson Performance Center 629 Hunter.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[BlackIce05]

Wow, very nice! I'd take one of each for sure.

[Sasquatch-1]

One consideration I don't think has been mentioned is the S&W 929. This is a bit more expensive considering it's a pro shop gun and was designed for Jerry Miculek. It's in 9mm only and uses moon clips. It is one of the most accurate factory revolvers I have ever shot. It is also the one that Miculek made the 1000 yd shot with.

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

...k

[iomskp]

I have had a few S&W revolvers over the years, the 686 was great, model 10 is good but the latest one is a model 28 with a 4" barrel, it's big it fits my hand, maybe I should upgrade the sights and do a trigger job but I like it as it is.

Regards Trevor

[BlackIce05]

I think of the 2 you're right, I'd prefer the one with novak sights too. I hadn't tried Gander Mountain, I know I go by one in IL every once in a while that is always empty. I'll have to check that out. I've been looking awful hard at the 686 plus and the 686 plus deluxe though, both look very nice. Sooo many choices.

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

ht ...

[Soundguy]

My first vote is a 6" blue python, but if you want something 2600$ cheaper

Try a Rossi 972 6" stainless.

Good basic 400$ revolver that shoots good right out of the box, decent grip too.

As you know, with a 357mag, you can shoot 38spl, 38+P, and 357mag.

[Walkingwolf]

My first vote is a 6" blue python, but if you want something 2600$ cheaper

Try a Rossi 972 6" stainless.

Good basic 400$ revolver that shoots good right out of the box, decent grip too.

As you know, with a 357mag, you can shoot 38spl, 38+P, and 357mag.

I have not seen them available anywhere new, it is like Rossi dropped out of the DA revolver market.

[Petrol & Powder]

OK - I've been trying REALLY HARD to avoid getting into a Ruger vs. S&W debate on this thread but I can't take it anymore.

Full disclosure - I own a lot of S&W revolvers and a lot of Ruger revolvers. I've also owned (past tense) a lot of S&W and Ruger revolvers over the years.
They are BOTH great revolvers in my opinion.

I grow weary of the glowing comments about the quality of S&W actions (they are generally very good) and the comments that the S&W is capable of better accuracy than a Ruger (probably not true).
I grow equally as weary when people disparage the Rugers as having horrible triggers. (OK, they're probably not great out of the box)

The fact is, the S&W L-frames (581, 586, 681, 686) are fantastic guns. The Ruger GP-100's are fantastic guns. The debate about which is better has been running since the mid 1980's and it shows no sign of relenting. It's Ford vs. Chevy trucks for crying out loud !

When the GP-100 was first released it had a seriously heavy main spring. The GP-100 got a bad reputation for its DA pull. Ruger remedied that a few years later but the "out of the box" DA trigger has never been all that great. S&W had a clear advantage when talking about bone stock, "out of the box", DA actions.

However, the Ruger trigger isn't as horrible as it's often described and it can absolutely be greatly improved with just a little work. If you're not a real mechanically inclined person, the S&W may be a better choice. I can make a GP-100 trigger as good as any new S&W but I can't make it as good as an old S&W.
That being said, the Ruger is a seriously strong gun and they can shoot incredibly well. I'm not a little girly-man; what some people call a grossly heavy trigger, I classify as an average service grade trigger. As long as the action is smooth and breaks cleanly; it will probably shoot just fine for me.

There's more to a good revolver than trigger pull. Both guns are incredibly strong. The Ruger may hold a slight advantage but it's not a significant advantage. Both guns are proven to be incredibly durable. The Ruger generally holds a price advantage when new. The S&W may have slightly better "out of the box" quality. Ruger has great customer service. The new S&W has the "Hillary Hole" but it doesn't affect the operation of the gun. Both guns can suffer from thread choke where the barrel passes through the frame.

Overall; It's a wash between the two.
Personally, the best shooting .357 mag I ever owned was a S&W model 681 but I would take a GP-100 over the S&W, if given the choice.