Buy a New Handgun CZ Vinveli, Cmt Glock,S&W Werywin,Jindal Tarus

[chicky]

Thanks Timmy,

Appreciate your very detailed and informative answer to my query. I continue to be impressed with this forum, and with the wealth of experience and knowledge of its members. I am truly privileged to be here.

Chicky

[winnie_the_pooh]

Apparently the price I was told of the 431PD in .32 was on the higher side. They are going for between 1.96 to 2.20 lakhs. Still expensive at that price.

[timmy]

Thanks Timmy

Yes, sir. I hope that my rambling helped a little.

[pawan1981]

I haven't fired a .357 as yet but I am presuming it's going to have a kick less than a .45. Am I correct ?

Chicky, this is one of those things that you will have to try for yourself. I have answers for myself, but I don't know how they fit with anyone else.

If you study the ballistics listed for 357 Magnum, you will see that this cartridge is generally rated as much more powerful than 45 Auto in terms of energy it produces. But, there are several issues to consider that make a straight-up comparison very difficult to assess.

45 Auto ballistics generally have a 127 mm barrel 1911 in mind, and if more than one load is listed, it will usually include the standard military loading of a 230 grain full metal jacket at around 850 feet/second. For 357 Magnum, barrel lengths for which ballistics are given often are for 152 mm or 225 mm barrels, but here we are talking about 65 mm barrels (I presume).

The thing about 357 Magnum is that it is a high pressure round, about 35,000 pounds/square inch, while 45 Auto runs at a 20,000 pounds/square inch, like 38 Special and 32 Auto. Because of this, the performance of 357 Magnum falls off quite a bit in shorter barrels.

A person who reloads would adjust the choice of powder to use faster burning powders in the short barrel gun. This isn't available for you to do in india, to optimize your ammunition for your gun. Anyway, although I reload for everything I have, I don't use reloads for carry guns. For one thing, there are legal issues that could arise.

Another issue is the weight of the gun, which greatly affects recoil. A snub nosed 38 Special carry gun is usually thought to be a S&W Chief's Special, with a 5 round cylinder. This is quite a bit lighter than my 6 round Colt Detective Special. Even my Colt can be lively in my hand with hot rounds (though this has been tamed by using Pachmayr grips). People do complain about hot loads in Chief's Specials, however. Running a gun that's not much heavier in hot 357 loads will get your attention, I'm sure.

The thing with a 1911 is that it has some amount of weight in front of the shooter's hand. A snub nosed revolver has very little weight in front of the hand, and because the axis of the bore is higher above the hand than a 1911 or other semiauto, the light weight combines with the leverage of the higher bore to make a snub nose be jumpy when fired. For myself with a 38 Special, this isn't something that is difficult to train for at the range. For me, several sessions at the range of one or two hundred rounds a session will get me back to doing what I should be doing in controlling things. But for others, their training needs may differ -- I can't say.

You might want to refer to these articles, which are pretty good from my point of view:

https://www.luckygunner.com/lounge/357- ... coil-much/

https://revolverguy.com/ammunition-smal ... revolvers/

There are many other places where comments on this subject can be found, and as with any gun topic, some are helpful and most are a lot of rubbish opinions.

One thing I cannot tell you about is the ammunition that is available to you in 357 Magnum. There is such a wide range of this ammunition regarding bullet weight and power levels that almost any idea of what it would be like to shoot a revolver that you may have in mind would be a mystery to me.

For myself, I found 357 Magnum to be very "blasty" and loud -- I didn't care for it. I do shoot 9 mm and 7.62x25 mm (both high pressure rounds) and don't find them objectionable (although the surplus Romanian 7.62x25 I shoot is loud and, I suspect, intended for sub machine gun use.) But, a snub nosed revolver is usually a little gun and harder to hold than a larger one, and you may well find that it is a lot less pleasant to shoot than a 1911. Or maybe not, I can't say.

Some would say, "Just use 38 Special ammunition," but that would beg the question, "What's the point in having a 357 Magnum if you only shoot 38 Special in it?" But, each of us have our own ideas about these kinds of things. My Detective Special is larger than a Chief's Special, but I don't find it to be much smaller than my 1911, and the 1911 is flat without a bulge for the cylinder.

timmy, the import duty along with various surcharges is 56% of Cost+ Freight+ Insurance . If Werywin can afford to import parts, assemble and sell the 431PD in .32 at Rs.2.43 lakhs I don't see how they can't do it for the J frame .357. Even the money that they want for the .32 is on the higher side according to me but the prices they have set for the other revolvers are crazy.

Thanks, Winnie. You re right to question the situation -- it makes no sense to me, either.

thankyou sir for sharing great knowledge

[chicky]

Though not definitely discussed, would like to share this YouTube discussing the best handguns for lesser recoil

[chicky]

It's however another matter that none of them are available in India as of now.

[timmy]

My recent experience with a composite frame pistol has been positive. They can put curves in that are very ergonomic, and the interchangeable back strap for different hands works great. The gun just lays in my hand. Very nice, and makes for a pleasant shooting experience.

Of the guns reviewed, I would pass on a 380, as it seems underpowered and a poor substitute for 9mm -- which I know is unavailable for most in India. The Five-Seven is interesting. If you research it, you'll see that it was intended for NATO. I would guess that it and ammunition are both unobtainium in India. I had a chance to shoot my brother-in-law's a few years back (not a Ruger, but an FN) and passed. We were on a trip and hit the indoor range with him, and i was too keen to blast with one of my 38 Spl Colts, rather than to try his new fangled gadget. So, I can't give any feedback about shooting experience with one.

If, as Vineet indicated, 7.62x25 is available with hollow point bullets, and if you have any idea about their being effective, and if you don't want a 45 Auto, I'd give hard consideration to that. 7.62x25 is about the same power as 9mm, and hollow point bullets will keep them from going thru half of the walls in town, if the bullets are designed and made right. Having a Tokarev, I don't consider that design as being safe for carry with a round in the chamber, but if other, newer guns are available with the 7.62x25 cartridge, I would certainly consider one for carry use.

Just my two paise.

[kps_dhillon]