125 gr vs 158 gr

[Mike.357]

There is nothing second rate about this gun.

there you have it James, straight from the Rabbi's mouth, errr fingers.

Rabbi all I would say in favor of my Ruger is that I can shoot .38specials, 357mags and I do not have any trouble ejecting casings. I never shot a S&W revolver so I do not have much to compare mine to.

How much more dough would you put into James' handgun?

[Guest Jamesmb]

I do not think I would put any more money into it. For what you have spent you could have gotten something else that looks nicer. I do not know about value of that S&W revolver.

For comparison I bought a used Ruger SP 101 in .357mag for a lot less than what you have into yours.

One of these other guys will be able to tell you if your S&W was worth it.

You going to come to the shoot in December?

Hi Mike

Where and when is the shoot?

I like my Smith & Wesson and all, I just want something I can consistently shoot 357 mags through.

Went out to the John Sevier Range on Tuesday and shot 150 rounds through my Hi-Point cf380. I don't know if its the newness of the gun still or what but it seemed to jam every other round of the PMC ammo I had. After 50 of those, I shot relatively 100 rounds jam free of Winchester so maybe these are finicky on brand.

[DMark]

..... you are speaking about a pinned and recessed Smith Model 19. From the factory it was about as perfect as guns get.....

All Hail the P&R Smith & Wessons!

[The Rabbi]

All Hail the P&R Smith & Wessons!

You got that straight. Go ahead and laugh at this man while you're at it (that's a 19 P&R he's holding btw):

[DMark]

..... Go ahead and laugh at this man while you're at it (that's a 19 P&R he's holding btw):

Bill Jordon - Now that is a LAWMAN!

[Mike.357]

James. We get together the third Saturday of the month to shoot. This month it is in Oak Ridge. Check this post for directions and what not.

http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/showpost.php?p=40469&postcount=56

Check this thread for the shoot

http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2826

You ought to come out, it is great fun. You'll get to meet a bunch of us, well thats always a downside, lol. But just the same it is fun.

Why are you so sold on shooting .357mags? .38's are cheaper unless you are rolling your own.

As for the Hi-Point, some auto loaders are finicky about ammo. If WWB works then stick with it. I have a Hi-Point in .40S&W and it had some hiccups in the first few hundred rounds but in the last thousand or more it runs great. No matter what the snobs think there is nothing wrong with them.

Rabbi, explain to the uninformed (like me) what pinned and recessed means.

[The Rabbi]

Rabbi, explain to the uninformed (like me) what pinned and recessed means.

NP.

Pinned refers to the barrel. If you notice on the pic there is a pin about where the barrel meets the frame. They don't make them like that anymore.

Recessed refers to the cylinder charge holes. Notice on the pic how the holes are recessed slightly into the cylinder. The cartrides will sit flush with the top of the cylinder. This theoretically makes for faster reloading, sort of the way magazine wells are bevelled.

Smith always did this on their revolvers. It was a little more expensive. In later years the bean counters convinced management that cutting it out would save money and not hurt quality.

[Mike.357]

The cartrides will sit flush with the top of the cylinder.

Kind of apples to oranges but my Ruger SAS .22 has this feature. I believe the recess is why that particular .22 can be dry fired.

Now I know what p&r means.

[Guest Jamesmb]

Well I got my model 19-3 back from Gander Mountain today, he said it was a bent yoke the best he could tell or in the ejector rod. Would have cost between $175 - $200 to fix so I just brought back home. I took it then to my usual gunsmith, he said the yoke was not bent, he said the ejector rod was bent a little put it on a lathe and straighten it some. He got it going a bit better, the cylinder was turning better at least except when it rolls by that one hole. He said the only thing he could do would be to start replacing parts till was ok. He did not charge me either, but I gave him the rest of my 125gr mags. On the way home I bought some 38 +P 125gr and will see how they do.

[Mike.357]

On the way home I bought some 38 +P 125gr and will see how they do.

Glad to read that nothing was fatal in your revolver. Bring it out to the shoot next weekend

[Guest Mugster]

The model 19 is such a nice revolver, you might consider getting it fixed. You just can't buy one as nice as those anymore at any price really. Think it over, but you might want to hang on to it. A true classic, designed by a true gunslinger and lawman Bill Jordan. And if you're going to use it for self-defense, its probably wise to get it fixed.

It sucks you got a lemon right off the bat, but thats just the gun world in general. Someone probably bent it doing something stupid and then bent it back to sell it. Probably didn't take much to bend it again. Its always better to buy a new piece than a used one unless you do a detail strip and know what to look for. Even then, you can still get screwed. It sucks, but there it is.

[Guest Jamesmb]

Well I got the old model 19 working as good as when I bought. I took a brass brush and oil and no. 10 cleaning solvent and cleaned very well the barrel, where the barrel and cylinder are with the cylinder open. Also cleaned where the gunsmith back on my first visit, faced off the cylinder. I guess the tolerances are so close that when I was shooting the magnums there was enough gunk to restrict the cylinder from rotating easily. Now I can partially cock the hammer back, and the cylinder revolves smoothly for this gun, and you can hear that nice click click click.

Also I am having a hard time finding 357 158gr mags in walmarts around here. I bought their last box, of 158gr, at Bass pro today, and was a bit more then the blazers I had been using. There was 125gr though in all these places or 110gr.

[Mike.357]

Also I am having a hard time finding 357 158gr mags

Sometimes J Floyd on Merchant Rd has Blazer in .357. They are aluminum cased and are about $16 for 50.

If you are just punching paper why not use .38 specials? J Floyd usually has .38 special wadcutters for 11.99 for 50.

If you are dead set on .357mags call around to some WalMarts, or order online. I have been rolling my own for the last month or so. I can make them for about 10 cents a round just using a Lee Loader. Paid ten bucks for that thing. It is slow but pretty accurate.

[Guest Jamesmb]

I have been rolling my own for the last month or so. I can make them for about 10 cents a round just using a Lee Loader. Paid ten bucks for that thing. It is slow but pretty accurate.

How much was your total initial cost from the reloader to powder and everything to reload your own 357s? I might consider doing that. If its not too hard and would bring great savings. These Remington's I bought are nickel-plated brass and were almost twice as much as those AL blazers. I had bought some $16 a box or so blazer 357s at WalMart back in October, but the two I visited recently were out of just about everything, 158gr at least. I like Winchester but from what I have seen they are the highest at least at WalMart. Will check out J Floyd never heard of them but I get off at that exit when going to John Sevier.

[Mike.357]

The 10 cents a round is based on making 1000 rounds. Pound of powder; $17, 1000 magnum small pistol primers (from Gander with a $10 coupon) $20, Nosler 150gr jacketed bullets from Wideners are $16 for 250 rounds. I use brass I had saved from previous cartridge purchases. All that added up comes out to about 10 cents a round. Even without a coupon for primers and possible shipping charges to buy components online they still would come out to no more that 15 cents a round. Buying Blazer Aluminum cased rounds work out to be about 32 cents a round. So reloading is a no brainer really.

You can buy the Lee Loader from Wideners or several other places online. To use the loader you need a mallet and a caliper. it is pretty simple really.

[Guest BG38357]

What about 110 gr. magnums; I carry these in my 3" 66?

Don't shoot many of 'em, though.

-BUD

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Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms

should be a convenience store,

not a government agency.

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[Mike.357]

110 gr. magnums

why such a light bullet? wouldn't a heavier round be more effective?

[Guest 2HOW]

The bigger the better, check out Buffalo Bore .com they have some great ammo. look, penetration is the key, hit a vital organ or the CNS, hopefully the CNS , takes a few minutes to bleed out , takes no time to disrupt the brain stem and CNS, bang your dead right now. Big bullets, penetration. Throw all that frangible **** away. bonded bullets traveling fast and as big as they can be.

[The Rabbi]

Bigger is better is certainly the American Way. Whether its smart when it comes to bullets is another story.

Ed Lovette mentions "problems" with the .357 mag load that were taken care of by the 125gr bullet. I have not written to him asking what he meant. I suspect they seriously over-penetrated, wasting their energy on whatever was behind the varlet.

The 125gr became king of the .357mag in law enforcement. As stated, I prefer the heavier bullets because I perceive less recoil. Effectiveness is secondary to me.

[Guest Jamesmb]

why such a light bullet? wouldn't a heavier round be more effective?

Hi Mike

Did finally made it to J Floyds recently and all they had was 110gr for 357 magnums. Did buy some FMJ 357s at Sevier Indoor range in 158gr for about 16.49 so that seems to be the best price I have seen lately in stock. The Walmarts I go to still have not restocked much in the way of 357s seems like even the 125gr boxes are few. And just bought the last box of 357 from bass pro. There must be a less expensive place.

Will order that Lee loader soon with powder and primers and all. Some brass I saw had the primers already in them. A few different powders for 357s but guess should go with the full load for 158gr? Would you choose http://www.wideners.com/itemdetail.cfm?item_id=175&dir=278|283|307 or http://www.wideners.com/itemdetail.cfm?item_id=173&dir=278|283|307? Just trying to get an idea on the powder I should have

[Mike.357]

James I use accurate #2 for rolling my .357mags. Seems to work pretty well.

[Guest Jamesmb]

James I use accurate #2 for rolling my .357mags. Seems to work pretty well.

Ok Mike, I had bought the AAN 9 at the show so I will see how that works. I think I have everything and still waitng on the Lee Loader to get here. This should be an experience.

[Mike.357]

James did'ja get a caliper and a mallet?

[Guest Jamesmb]

James did'ja get a caliper and a mallet?

the workroom downstairs I have a mallet and some kind of caliper but have not be able to use or read it properly, are they necessary?

[Mike.357]

I think you need a caliper of some sort. There are maximum lengths to consider.