Shooting too many .357 Magnums in your .357 Magnum?

Question

I just picked up a S&W model 60-15 J-frame. And after checking out some forums, review, and even Q&A on here. I keep running into the same thing.

IE "Don't shoot too many 125grn .357 Magnums, It'll stress the frame."

Now I don't know about yours, but mine doesn't have stamped on the barrel

.357 MAGNUM (ONLY A FEW)

So what's the deal?

Is it some kind of conspiracy of men trying to make up for what they lack via a large frame revolver? Or is there an actual basis of reasoning that I just don't know about?

Answer 1

There is no conspiracy here, it is just a point of fact. The smaller S & W 'J' frames are not strong enough for sustained .357 Magnum usage. These types of revolvers were intended for .38 Special practice and .357 Magnum use only for serious buisness, like duty-carry. Same with the S & W Model 19. If you want to use .357 Magnum ammo in your Smith all the time, find a good used Model 28 or Model 27 which is built on the .44 Magnum platform. These are nearly indestructible. The Model 27 n Model 28 are available with 'round' grips for smaller hands. I put Pachmyer grips on mine which are large, but very comfortable.

Good luck.

H

Answer 2

My Always Gun is an S&W M-640 .357 Magnum.

It has been shot a lot with .357 Magnum ammo, with no problems. Your hand will give out faster than a J-frame .357.

There was some merit in the claim that 125 gr. JHP's were hard on handguns in the 1970's. Since then, S&W has changed their heat-treating method, and ammo makers have reformulated their 125 gr. JHP's loads and it is no longer a serious problem. Most of it was exaggeration any way. The biggest complaint was about flame cutting of the topstrap above the barrel/cylinder gap. It scared lots of folks, but in general it looked worse than it actually was. In most cases, the cutting eroded only a fraction of an inch and then quit further erosion. It looked bad, but really was not as much of a problem as some folks thought.

Someone mentioned the muzzle-blast, flash and recoil of snubby .357's. They had a point. There is only one word for the muzzle-blast of full-power .357 loads from a 2 1/8" barrel. It is FIERCE!!!

Muzzle flash can also be rather impressive, espceially in the dark.

And recoil can be pretty rough as well, especially if you do as I did and replaced the sticky rubber grips with skinny wooden service grips. That is actually why you need to do some of your shooting with full-power loads. If you do the majority of your shooting with mild .38 SPL loads, you might loose the gun if you have to drop hammer on a full-power load in a defensive situation. I believe in training like you fight.

I'd say do at least half your shooting with full-power magnum loads. If it wears out, either replace it or send it back to Smith & Wesson for a rebuild.

Doc

Answer 3

Guns do stress and eventually wear out. This is a fact of life. I get a big kick out of people who claim that there will be no problem with shooting a bunch of magnums out of a little j-frame. Those guns were NOT intended to be full time magnums. K-frame S&W revolvers (models 13/65, 19/66) in magnum had problems once a lot of magnum was used. Want to shoot a lot of .357 out of a gun with little problems? Get a 619,620, or 686. These are duty-sized guns that can take the heat. "Only a few" would be extreme the other way. Just don't make a habit of shooting only .357 mags out of your revolver when you go out. Make .38Spl the majority of the diet. I have even seen .357 Blackhawks that were obviously abused from being overshot with .357 magnum.

Answer 4

Back in 1935, the .38 SP case was lengthened 0.10" so that it would not fit in a .38 Sp chambered firearm, the pressure was increased and called a .357 Magnum. Is there any reason that you would think that a .38 Special handgun would chamber a .357 Magnum?

Answer 5

I have worn out lighter .357 magnum revolvers to the point of discarding them after 18 months or so. I fired 5200 rounds per year in my first S&W "M-19". It should be obvious that a smaller gun will wear out much quicker than a bigger one. I use the S&W "M-586" that weighs 41 oz with 4" barrel. I do not like the J-Frame for such a potent shell as the .357 Mag. It loses too much power and has excessive recoil, muzzle jump and muzzle blast. A .357 needs a long barrel to fully utilize the slow-burning powder needed in sane loads. I advise you to follow directions and practice with light wadcutter loads mainly. Save the 125 grain HP's for business. Your adrenaline will be high in an emergency, so you will hardly notice recoil or muzzle blast.

Answer 6

Some older guns cambered in this cartridge rapidly wear when feed a steady diet of magnum loads, this is why police dept's had problems in the 70's and 80's and lead to smith and wesson making the L frame to stand up to the constant use of heavy loads.
The newer guns may wear faster if feed a steady diet of heavy loads (but this would be several thousand rounds) then if 38 spl's where used. just the same as a car would wear quicker if the driver drove it hard compared to someone babying it.

I would not be concerned about shooting 357's in your gun.

Answer 7

Many of the older J-frames can't handle the repeated stress of the magnum loads. The ones they are making today however can. I say drive the damn thing until the wheels fall of then get a S&W 686 or a Ruger. They are both as tough as an anvil and can handle a lifetime of magnum loads. Especially the Ruger. There is more steel in a Ruger revolver than there is in a John Deere tractor.

Answer 8

A modern 357 mag can handle any standard mag round you want to shoot almost indefinitely. (150,000 rounds). The problem is some reloaders, not happy with factory rounds, push the limits and put in a lot more powder than they should and load really heavy bullets. That causes the chamber pressure to exceed design and the cylinder could blow out. It also stresses the frame. If you just use factory ammo, do not worry about the "stress" as the gun was designed to take it.

Answer 9

OK one Johnny to Another I have 2 that I have worn the finish off of With thousands of rounds shot through them No prob yet-But they are not my fav 357 I do favor a bit more weight

My all time fav is a ruger security 6
But there is nothing wrong with the design of your Smith
Later Johnny

Answer 10

Yup- the secret is out- you'll wear something out if you use it a lot.
Take your pistol to a 'smith and have him/her bless it...then shoot your brains,er,enjoy the pistol a lot.

I have a State Patrol buyback .357 and run only .357 in it- no .38's at all.
My hand gets weary before anything else .