Revolver vs semi-auto

[sqwidbrain]

I'm thinking about getting a pistol. What do you all like better, revolver or Semi-auto? And why? I'm looking at a .357 Tarus revolver.

[WAHUSKER]

It all depends on your purpose. A light weight semi auto works best for concealed carry. For home defense I lean towards the double action revolver. In the heat of the moment you do not have to worry about if there is a live round in the pipe, ****ing or forgetting the safety. On second thought, that applies to most every other situation too.

Go with a revolver.

[sqwidbrain]

Any brand preferences?

[scoots60]

Why the 357 Mag.?

Its really only useful as a self defense or varmint round. You can shoot .38 special for target practice in it but its not any good or even legal for hunting any game in Nebraska. Take a look at a .44 Mag if your wanting to expand the guns usefulness besides home defense and you can shoot .44 specials in it to reduce the recoil, penetration and cost of the larger rounds.
As to the semi-auto its much easier to keep a semi around that can be kept unloaded and seperate from the ammo for safeties sake if your not using it as home defense weapon. But its also quick to load as needed by having the removable magazine. And like the DA revolver you can get a DA or safe action semi thats as safe as keeping any loaded wheel gun around.

Make sure you get a chance to try the various calibers before you purchase, as the magnum centerfire handguns with sub 6 inch barrels are very loud and have a stout recoil. And the only way to get good with a handgun is to practice and that costs alot in a centerfire handgun if you don't reload.

Dollar for Dollar Ruger Handguns are the Best Value for the Buck.

[magnusthebigbrownlab]

Like the others said, depends on what you wanna do with it. If you're looking for a cheap, all around fun gun to shoot...I'd tell you to check out the Glock 17. 9MM ammo is still relatively cheap in relation, and it's slim profile would make for a decent cc weapon, although seriously lacking in knockdown power.

If you wanna hunt with it, .44 mag or .454. Taurus makes very nice revolvers.

If you want home defense, save your money and buy a short barreled 12ga. Mossberg and Winchester both make home defense shotguns, and you can check them out at Scheels pretty easily.

If you want a CC gun for the sole purpose of personal defense, I would suggest a snubby .357 from Taurus. Hell of a gun.

Depending on your budget, you can get some really nice CC guns. Para Ordinance makes a gorgeous small-frame .45, or if you're a bigger fella, Taurus is making a new semi-auto .45 in the 1911 style that is impressing me thus far. In fact, that will be my next pistol.

I'm currently sporting a Springfield XD 4" service model in .45. It's a really, really nice gun for the money I spent on it. It shoots well, is easy to clean, and fits my hand...and my beltline quite nicely.

[cougarw]

I got the .357 taurus last year and love it. It's a very good gun. I shoot the .38 in it for plinking because they are cheap, and plan on useing the .357 mag for doe season this year. I would have to check but I think the 357 is leagal for deer.
If you want something just for plinking I would get a semi auto probably in a 9mm. If you really want to do something with it (like hunt) the .357 would be good. or a .44 would really knock em down.

[scoots60]

You are correct that a .357 mag. in the proper bullet weights does have the required muzzle energy at 50 yards to be used for legal deer hunting. But its not what I would call a good hunting caliber for deer sized or larger game. Just as the .223 Rem is legal in rifles its another caliber I would never recommend it for deer sized game.

Even though any kind of gun can kill a large game animal with correct bullet placement and a lot of luck (check out the link below to see what I mean).

Catfish Gumbo: Grandma's Griz

The ammunition is not designed for that purpose and causes as many wounded and crippled deer as it does kills because of improper bullet design and mass. The same with the .357 mag. it tends to over penetrate with heavy bullets due to less frontal surface area and most hand gun caliber hollow points are not able to reliably penetrate into the vital organs of large game due to rapid expansion.

This is just my two cents worth and I have been handloading over 30 different calibers for over 25 years.

[cougarw]

If you had to,(which I would) use a 357, what bullet would you suggest for deer. At my place they would be about 30 yrd from the blind or less.

[magnusthebigbrownlab]

Coug, I'd give the 158 gr. straight lead rounds a try. That'll pack a whallop.

[cougarw]

I have some 158 gr hollow points, but now that I think of it I might go with the solids. Might need the penitration.

[magnusthebigbrownlab]

Well, if you're gonna use the HP's, just make sure you shoot 'em in the face.

[scoots60]

I like the round nose flat point solids in good quality cast bullets for hunting. I use a Ruger Blackhawk in .45 Long Colt and deer never take another step when they are hit in the vitals with it. Of course it helps that I have never had to shoot deer over 20 yards away with it either.

My single action has only a 4 5/8" barrel with adj. iron sights on it too so that limits my range abit also.

[sqwidbrain]

I was thinking I would hunt deer with it some. I'll have to try the .44 first. I guess I thought it was overkill! You know like Dirty Harry! Go ahead make my day deer! Lot's of really good info on this post all.

[carbonman]

Originally Posted by cougarw

If you had to,(which I would) use a 357, what bullet would you suggest for deer. At my place they would be about 30 yrd from the blind or less.

Winchester now has the 180 grain Nosler Partition available for the .357 and is available through MidwayUSA — Shooting Supplies, Reloading, Gunsmithing, Ammunition, Gun Parts & Rifle Scopes .
It takes the .357 into a whole new realm when it comes to whitetail hunting. What used to be marginal in killing power is now pretty spectacular out to about 55 yards in a 4" and 75 yards from a 6".
Mike

[DeerSlayer]

.44 gets my vote, its a sweet round. .357 is very nice also, but if I were to buy one strictly for hunting, it would be a .44. either way they both will do the job.

[redhawk]

Well I have a 44 magnum and it's a great weapon, great on deer, could be used for home defense I suppose.

Here's my problem with it. I've got a Ruger Super Redhawk with a 7.5" barrel. In all honest it's a real pain to keep around the tent or camper when camping, is too big to really keep in the car or truck when traveling for self defense etc.

Personally if I had to do it over again I'd look really hard at the .357 magnum. I'd check into it deep enough to find out if the .357 was legal on deer and could make the velocity needed in a 4" barrel.

Don't get me wrong I love my SRH but my brother has this cute little Ruger GP100 in .357 mag that to be honest is a whole lot more fun to shoot.

I went with the SRH because I planned on reloading. The SRH was the biggest and beefiest .44 mag available at the time and I figured if I made a mistake on a reload I had enough gun to handle it with out losing fingers, eyes, face or life. I still believe this to be true with this revolver.

I personally am partial to Rugers because I have yet to ever see one that is worn out. They'll take the hammering of magnum loads and most shooters will give up way before the gun ever will. They aren't the smoothest, they aren't the prettiest but I don't plan on taking it ball room dancing or entering in any beauty contests. It's big and it's heavy and it handles the recoil of a 44 magnum quite well.

[NETim]

I'm a semi-auto kind of guy for SD/CC purposes (can't beat the ol' 1911) but for huntin' I'd go with at least a 41 mag revolver of some kind if I were after deer sized game or bigger.

A 4" DA 357 revolver is an extremely versatile handgun that can do a lot of jobs well but you can't rely on an HP bullet expanding at normal pistol velocities. A large diameter slug like the 44 or 45 may not expand, but it sure as heck isn't going to shrink. A 240 grain or larger Keith or LBT type bullet out of a 44, even at moderate velocities like 1000 FPS, is serious business. (It should go without saying a guy needs to practice a LOT before taking to the field with a handgun.)

Semi-autos generally are chambered for pretty pathetic cartridges, with the exception of course, being semi's chambered for 10mm and the Desert Eagles.

I reload so that I can tailor the load to the game.

[Ty Stromquist]

Originally Posted by magnusthebigbrownlab

Well, if you're gonna use the HP's, just make sure you shoot 'em in the face.

Coug I think you should listen to Magnus here and take em out "ty" style. HAHA

The only way to cleanly kill does with no wasted meat.

[cougarw]

I'm thinking the 158 gr hp is going to drop em pretty fast. It's all in shop placement anyway, and I been doing a lot of practicing. If it's inside 100 yrds,, it's dead.