.357 magnum - The truth please!!

[liljake82]

Baljit, great looking STI (?), a nice .38Super is on my list of "guns I gotta get sometime".

Re; .357 magnum, I would put it at maximum for self defense and minimum for hunting. It's not going to break your wrist. It's not going to render you deaf with 4 or 5 shots (though your ears would ring for a few days. It's going to have more penetration than .45ACP and depending on the type of bullet, more than likely a wider wound track.

[Mark]

I've posted this before, but it has been a couple of years, as the person in the picture is now taller than I am.

This is one of my sons shooting a 45 ACP, as you can see with proper form and training the recoil is easily managed.


With proper instruction most guns can be shot by most anyone. Without proper instruction, well, the internet is full of videos showing what can happen.

[Hammerhead]

It seems that I am not the only one confusing Skyman and Bowman. However, that is no excuse.

My humble apologies to Skyman ... and Bowman.

See I'm not only one, but I;m not picking on any one. No Offense.

Pics removed............

[Skyman]

Thank you all for the replies.

Baljit ji, i think those many rounds are out of question.I was thinking - Does practice with say an air gun or .22 translate to practice in general? Because they use the same general muscles, but there will be the need to adapt to each gun and caliber.

For example, riding a particular bike for a bit will make you familiar with it.Another bike is a little different but the same underlying principle.So a few adjustments and you are off.Get what i am saying...?

Mark, Dad of the year award for you.This kind of training is the best gift a child can receive, .SO if the .45 ACP can be handled by an 8? year old, i can most happily do it.

Hammerhead ji, you are guilty of creating a raging jealousy within me.The PRECIOUS!!!! ( Lord of the rings reference ) SO much ammo....and is that a playstation i see on your desk?

Back to topic, how is the Tokarev for defense? It seems to be a caliber of choice in the north.It seems more powerful than the .32 ACP.

[liljake82]

The 7.62x25 shoots a lighter bullet than I would prefer but it's got a lot of velocity.

Re; practice. I'm a big believer in dry fire practice. Shooting a .22 or air pistol can keep your marksmanship fresh, but to be proficient with your defensive gun it requires enough practice to build muscle memory. Dry fire practice can really help.

[Skyman]

Is it too light a bullet for practical purposes? And yes, dry firing is an important part of one's practice i have been told.

[Mark]

If your handgun will take repeated dry firing, an excellent method of practice is to stand facing a wall and tape a piece of paper with a 1/4" spot drawn in the center of it to the wall. Now position yourself so the muzzle of your pistol is about an inch from the paper and aim at that dot and squeeze the trigger while keeping your sights on the dot.

You will be amazed at how hard this is! It is excellent practice and costs nothing to do.

You can make a dummy cartridge with an empty shell, punch out the primer and epoxy in a bit of the line used in "string trimmers" into the primer hole.

If your gun will dry-fire without any damage, you can put a sharpened pencil in the bore and it will make a mark on the paper when you fire it so you have a record of how well or not so well you can hold the point of aim.

[liljake82]

Personally I feel 9mm is the smallest cartridge I would use for a primary defensive handgun. If it's between 7.62x25 and .32acp I'd go with 7.62.

[Skyman]

Neat trick Mark.How far is the pencil capable of traveling? Also could you explain a bit regarding "epoxy in a bit of the line used in "string trimmers" into the primer hole "?

SO put in the dummy cartridge and put the pencil in....?

Thanks.

[Mark]

The pencil is only going to move an inch, more or less. If it does not touch the paper then move closer.

The purpose of the exercise is to be able to hold -exactly- on your point of aim and as long as the muzzle of the gun is not touching the paper you are not too close.

The generic term for dummy cartridges with some sort of cushioning for the firing pin is called a "snap cap". I just did a web search on the term "making a snap cap" and got pages of articles on how to make them using all sorts of different materials such as pencil erasers, etc. Anyway, if you do that I am certain you can find some well written and illustrated examples.

[TwoRivers]

Is it too light a bullet for practical purposes? And yes, dry firing is an important part of one's practice i have been told.

That would depend on how you define "practical purposes". A .32 ACP bullet weighs 71 grains, typically; the 7.62 weighs 86 grains. I would think that a cartridge designed as a military cartridge would have a bullet weight adequate for the purpose.

[Skyman]

Practical as in actually stopping a perp for a bit.I have heard stories of people keep walking after taking a hit with a .32.The tok should at least make them stop, realizing they have been hit.

Mark, is it possible to practice dry firing with a revolver?

[YogiBear]

Aloha,

If you want to get "good" with any gun/caliber, you have to practice shooting a Minimum of at least 1,000 rounds a month.

When competing, I was shooting almost 5,000 rounds a month.

The 38/357 is the Minimum I would consider as a self defense round.

Here in Hawaii any gun used in any shooting situation where people are the target, is automatically impounded.

It will be held by the police until one is Totally Cleared of the shooting.

It can be months and sometimes over a year before the police clear you.

As a result, our home defense guns tend to be guns I find at a good price. At the moment any one of several

different 38/357 and one 40 cal Beretta. I do NOT use any of my Better $$$ guns for self defense.

You should also practice shooting at ranges greater than 100 yards. There was a time when I was invited to shoot

on another island, I could routinely hit a 18 x 24 metal plate at least 1 out of every six shots with my 357 at 300 yards.

At 100 yards, 8 out of 10 with a stock Beretta 92.

I have a friend who was able to hit a metal plate fairly consistantly with a Stock 1911 45 at 200 yards.

The bottom line is Practice, Practice, Practice. Accuracy first and formost, smoothness and speed comes later.

[liljake82]

I'm sorry Yogi but I don't agree. Maybe if you want to be a world class IPSIC shooter 1000rds/month is needed but for the average shooter wanting to become proficient 1/10 of that combined with dry fire practice should be sufficient. I have no idea what situation could arise in which you would need to take a 100yd shot with a handgun but that is just ridiculous.


For dry fire practice (which you can do with any CENTERFIRE handgun) is to just put a post-it on an exterior wall and shoot just like you would any other target. If you find yourself jerking your trigger balance a coin on the barrel and practice dry firing without dropping the coin. The goal is to build muscle memmory so that you can do it right on the range.

[Hammerhead]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Well, it's going to derail the thread but I tend to disagree.

Dry Firing and Practical Firing are two different things - Haji