Velocity expected from 3" .357 with 180 grain bullet?

[contender]

It's good to know your daughter can step up & let "Daddy" know what she thinks. Yet,, even the most comfortable male/female relationship has a certain amount of (often hidden,) peer pressure seeking approval. The ladies often say it,, but even my Miss Penny says she still worries a little if she gets something wrong. Yet, she KNOWS I will NOT give her any grief over any of it. We've discussed it, & swear is a genealogy difference that's been there since Adam & Eve.

And you are correct,, many guys find semi's hard to shoot,, just as many guys who shoot semi's find revolvers hard to shoot. ALL of it takes proper & correct training to understand the physics of how each design recoils. And,, as we always say; "Fit & Comfort, or you won't like it!

I just had a match here a few weeks ago, and a lady competitor who was brand new to it,, had an improper grip. It caused her to "limp wrist" her gun, causing jams. As her RO,, I spotted this immediately,, and took a little time off to the side to work with her. She did MUCH better immediately once she understood how to get a proper grip on her handgun.

 

[BuckRimfire]

Tell her that you want to get her shooting JUST .22's to build her skills. Find one SHE feels is comfortable with.

What I'd really like to do is buy the SP101 (or a 3" S&W .357) and also an LCR in .22LR, so she could could shoot a bunch of SV .22s, then HVs, and then some Interceptors (of which I have a couple bricks in the ammo stash). I think that would be the ideal gun to practice DAO revolver shooting. Only problem is that convincing my wife to let me buy TWO new revos may be tough.

I shot a rented LCR .22 quite a while back (close to ten years, too lazy to look up the exact date) and I liked it alright. It's been on my "want to buy, but not top priority" list ever since. I have a .22 revo but it's a 6" S&W K-frame with big target grips that my dad bought new circa 1955, so not quite the same animal.

 

[Chief 101]

without reading all the threads here, my guess would be....it doesn't matter. full house loads with say H110 and you don't have to hit your target assuming a reasonably short distance the flame will set the hair on fire if you are directing your shot at a Bear...or if a bad guy he will have 3rd degree burns from his hair catching fire and his clothes burning....that's my thoughts on this subject...

 

[mr surveyor]

without reading all the threads here, my guess would be....it doesn't matter. full house loads with say H110 and you don't have to hit your target assuming a reasonably short distance the flame will set the hair on fire if you are directing your shot at a Bear...or if a bad guy he will have 3rd degree burns from his hair catching fire and his clothes burning....that's my thoughts on this subject...

yep .... that's the reason I went to AA#7 for my 3" SP-101 instead of AA#9 or A2400. Gave up only 75+/- fps, but also gave up that nasty fireball from the short barrel


jd

 

[contender]

"What I'd really like to do is buy the SP101 (or a 3" S&W .357) and also an LCR in .22LR,"

Buy a LCR right now,, and later on, a SP-101. Give her time to shoot the LCR a lot first.

 

[BuckRimfire]

"What I'd really like to do is buy the SP101 (or a 3" S&W .357) and also an LCR in .22LR,"

Buy a LCR right now,, and later on, a SP-101. Give her time to shoot the LCR a lot first.

Thanks to the rapid degradation of the gun laws in WA state, we now have a 10-day waiting period on everything, along with other inconveniences. It's about a 100 minute round trip drive from my home to my favorite FFL when traffic is average, so if I'm going to buy two guns in the next six months, I'd rather buy both of them at one time to minimize the time and hassle.

Cash on hand is not the problem, just the appearance to the spousal critter that I am impulse-buying guns for fun. Of course, the new laws make it harder to sell my guns, too, so while I don't want to get rid of any to keep the safe at the same population, I would also probably find it wasn't so easy to do so except at a fire-sale price.

 

[Groo]

Groo here
I have the guns you refer to,, good choice for smaller hands.
My idea would be to get or make a load like the underwood 38 +p "Keith Load" OR the full wadcutter hardcast load from the same company.
Driving deeply is as much a fuction of bullet hardness as weight or speed .
Either of these loads will go through a person [with winter coat] or go deeply in a "Big harry, bitey, scrashy" Critter....
Also the lower pressure and shorter case will aid in reloading quickly if needed.[mostly for 2 legged critters]

 

[contender]

Ok,, here's an approach you may try for the less than enthusiastic spouse.

Explain to her your issues of distance & time, travel etc. AND,,, add in the fact you are trying to get the guns to help your daughter. For her training, & her potential protection. Say that by having the guns,, you can spend more time with her,, and hopefully teach her something that may one day save her from an attack,, of any kind.

Oh,, the travel thing,, if I understand it correctly,, you have around an hour's drive one way to your FFL. HA!!!! Where I live the closest is about 30 minutes,, as is just about EVERYTHING we do. Most of it takes longer. And to compound that,,, I live in an area that the roads were destroyed by Helene,, and it's added AT LEAST 35 minutes one way for travel to places that used to take 45 minutes or more. We'll be suffering the LONG extra driving for a few years.

 

[Ruger Accumulator]

I'll throw my two cents in here, and I'll guarantee my opinion is worth every penny you'll pay for it!

I have shot a fair number of stout recoiling handguns, and the only one I've ever sold due to the recoil was a SP101 in .357. It was too heavy to be a convenient pocket gun, and it recoiled too hard to be a comfortable holster gun. I'd choose an air weight snub nose .38 for pocket carry, or a larger handgun for holster carry. Personally, I wouldn't want to shoot full power 180's out of an SP, and my current carry gun is a S&W 4" 329PD with 300 grain soft points!

If a SP fits your daughters hand, I'd suggest getting one in .327 Federal. Loaded with .32 HR rounds it shouldn't be too much of a handful, and when she's ready, hard cast .327 loads should work for anything short of a grizzly.

Personally, I'm in the process of switching over to a Glock 10mm for woods carry. I've decided that for me, 15 rounds of slightly less powerful ammunition, makes more sense than 6 rounds of field artillery!

 

[BuckRimfire]

If a SP fits your daughters hand, I'd suggest getting one in .327 Federal. Loaded with .32 HR rounds it shouldn't be too much of a handful, and when she's ready, hard cast .327 loads should work for anything short of a grizzly.

I thought of that, because I think the .32 H&R is kinda cool, but .357 is already a pretty small bullet. Going down even farther just makes me nervous. Also, I'm already deep into .357s, so that's convenient.

Personally, I'm in the process of switching over to a Glock 10mm for woods carry. I've decided that for me, 15 rounds of slightly less powerful ammunition, makes more sense than 6 rounds of field artillery!

10 rounds here, legally. And if the crazy state leg removes the state pre-emption law, which I fear is all too likely in the next session or two, I'll bet a dollar that our city and/or county would declare a Glock 29 a "semi-automatic assault weapon of war murder" and ban them, or put a NY-style 7-round mag limit. Except they won't prosecute 12 year-olds with full-auto Glocks...or their parents.

I sold an EAA Witness 10 mm with 15 round mags a half dozen years ago because I didn't enjoy shooting it much and didn't foresee what douchebags the state legislators were going to turn out to be. But that would have been a bit on the big and heavy side for this purpose. I doubt she'd use it.

 

[kmoore]

No offense but, I think your chasing a rabbit down a hole. You looked up the biggest badness bullet for a .357 to kill a bear. On paper thats great, but you fell into the same trap the FBI did when switching to the 10mm. Far too many couldn't shoot the gun to save their lives. That handgun was too big and had too much recoil for far too many agents. But on paper oh boy was it a great gun, bullet and caliber.
Speed, mass and bullet construction all play parts in stopping power. But the shooter still needs to hit the target and maybe several times. You might look at performance of other bullets. Heck the factory round from Hornady 38 spl 110 FTX bullet does a hell of a job on penetration without massive recoil. In the end it's not really what you or I think is great it's her. I hope you allow her to handle a few different guns before you buy. I hope she gets lots of range time in and is comfortable to shoot whatever she thinks is the best round out of the best gun for her.

 

[Cal30 1906]

Personally i'd just load a 160 grain cast Lee flat nose @1150-1200fps. Actually it is precisely what I do for a short pistol convenient enough to stick in my pocket and if I need more I grab my 44 ,45 +p+ or my 460 Smith but I usually find myself carrying my 638 with 160 cast +p 38s @800 fps but it's nice to have the choices that I have. Pistol recoil never has bothered me like a heavy kicking rifle and I own several calibers that a box of ammo goes a long way.
Anyway whatever you choose or she chooses it shouldn't be an unpleasant experience to shoot or your probably not going to shoot it well.

 

[BIgMuddy]

To answer the original question, it is easy to get 1200 fps with the 180 grain bullet in a 357 Magnum. I think for what I believe to be the intended purpose it is the best choice. Shooting it in a 3" SP maybe not. A 4" GP 100 would be better. If weight of the gun is the issue, maybe find a used 4" Security Six (or Service Six). My Security Six with a 180gr WFN bullet would be my choice were I limited to a 357 for carnivore protection. My wife likes the SS and shoots it very well. Carry it in a Diamond D Guide's Choice chest rig. Easy access to the gun and it's not in the way.

Dan