Hoped someone out there could lead me in right direction, I'm looking for a revolver for Personel protection carry. Was looking at the Charter Arms and the Taurus, I'm on a tight budget. Looking at 357, Can I shoot the 38+p's out of the 357 like in my S&W 686?

Thanks in advance.

My daughter was in the same shape you are she went out and brought a Taurus and it works well I would by a Taurus over a Charter any day I own two charters and am not happy with them.

I would buy a smith over both of the above. You might want to look at the the new Ruger 2inch LCR I belive Ruger makes very tough guns for the money.

You can shoot any 38spls out of any 357 A +P 38 is a light end 357 load. One just has to clean the chambers more often.

Thanks, I think I'll go with the Taurus.

I've got a CharterArms Target bulldog .357 that shoots 38spl+P's well. It kicks harder than a large frame 45acp. and is less concealable than my Taurus 945 45 auto. One gets a longer effective barrel length with a semi-auto than with the same oal in a revolver.

check out the Ruger sp101 before you buy.....a very fine gun!

I have a Taurus SS 5 shot 357Mag as a carry gun. It is a nice gun, shoots well and carries easily.
Peter.

I guess I'd tend to go along with the crowd on this one simply because your asking of the question indicates to me that your pistol shooting/carrying experience is limited and a .38 hand loaded with wadcutters can get you a lot of practice about as cheap as you can do it in a reasonable self defense revolver. IMO practice and the hopefully learned ability to hit what you're aiming at WITH THE FIRST SHOT is much more important than exactly which model you choose. ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE NEW TO REVOLVER SHOOTING do not start practice with your self defense loads, start with either cowboy loads or target wadcutters until you are comfortable with them. Small revolvers can be a handful, even for those of us who have shot many thousands of rounds with full powered +P or .357 mag loads.

You can often find used Smiths or Rugers for just a bit more than a Taurus in this type revolver. I'd prefer a Smith, first, and Ruger, second, myself for nearly the same money.

Finally, if you've got the time AND RELOAD I might consider looking around for one of the discontinued Taurus or Rossi 2 inch 44 specials. The one I have is quite accurate and is helluva lot more self defense round than a .38, BUT the ammo costs substantially more and the pistol is somewhat heavy if you're actually going to wear it all the time. Two issues which are worth factoring into your decision on any revolver. The Charter Arms bulldog in .44 Spec might be a consideration as well. I've never owned one because to my eyes they always felt and looked like cheap pieces of junk, whether they are or not I can't say.

I'd go along with vapodog on this one.

Let me start by saying I've had my permit and have shot my S&W 686 in 357 mag for over 20 years. I have just secured my unrestricted permit and wish to purchase a carry and home protection revolver. I know cheaper isn't always the best, but I was looking for input on which manufacturer would give me most bang for the buck, no punn intended. I seem to be leaning toward the Taurus, with the money left over I might look into some Crimson Trace aiming devices. The Smiths and Rugers are considerably more expensive than the Taurus and the Charter Arms is only about $50 less than the Taurus. Caliber is interesting, but I want my wife to be able to handle the firearm, she shoots the S&W with 38's with no problem, she doesn't like the recoil of the 357 mags. The S&W has a 8 inch barrel which doesn't make it very condusive to carrying, I use it for hunting. All sugestions welcome. Thanks in advance.

I think your instincts are right on the money, thirtycal.

Even though you asked for opinions on only the Taurus and Charter Arms, some folks chime in with "buy Ruger" like they have stock in the company! Talk about short sighted and tunnel vision. Harrumph.

quote:

Originally posted by onefunzr2:
I think your instincts are right on the money, thirtycal.

Even though you asked for opinions on only the Taurus and Charter Arms, some folks chime in with "buy Ruger" like they have stock in the company! Talk about short sighted and tunnel vision. Harrumph.

Go back and read the original post. Then look in the mirror.

quote:

Originally posted by thirtycal:
Hoped someone out there could lead me in right direction, I'm looking for a revolver for Personel protection carry. Was looking at the Charter Arms and the Taurus, I'm on a tight budget. Looking at 357, Can I shoot the 38+p's out of the 357 like in my S&W 686?

Thanks in advance.

He already owns a Smith but now wants another, less expensive, revolver. When I think CHEAP, I always think Rooger. Apparently others did, too.

I've never owned a Rooger in my life. I doubt I ever will. For whatever my needs or wants, I've always found something better.

Since you are already familar with the S&W revolver, I would recommend you use them for yhour carry gun.

I would get the wife her own S&W revolver as well.

I would get them all in 357, even if I intended to use 38 Specials most of the time.

That way both of you are familiar with the same type of handgun.

And all ammo fits all guns.

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
check out the Ruger sp101 before you buy.....a very fine gun!

I have one that I Magnaported and bobbed the hammer on. A very accurate revolver. Tagged a 200 lb. hog with mine ar 45 yds. Only one problem: don't short stroke the trigger on DA. It will lock up. If you get one, practice double action shooting with it a lot. Good all around revolver.

I'm coming to the party a little late here some how I missed this post. I have the Taurus 605. Nice, even though I've been told it's a little short in the barrel. My choice was originally as SP-101. I like Rugers and don't have any thing bad to say about them (I haven't handled the MK-III's yet.) The decision was 2 carry revolvers that were interchangeable for me and my wife while travelling. The Taurus beat out the Ruger for price. Neither one has had any problems until her's was stole in a break in while we were at work. As far as I know it still works. We replaced her's with a S&W Airweight with a laser since she carried .38 +P's and can see the laser on a target without her glasses on. I've worked on a friends Charter and would not recommend one. He dropped it on the hammer and it had some issues with binding until we polished the sides of the hammer.

Saying all that if you know and like S&W stick with it.

I came across this Ad. I'm not sure about your Carry Laws but this new Taurus Slim 9MM looks like an ideal concel carry. Just a thought.

I carry a 38 special. A SS rossi 88 snub with 135 gr Speer snubby loads.

20 years shooting experience bodes well, if you have the time practising. How much do you shoot (especially in the past 5 years)? That is, how many rounds and at what kind of distance?

A small gun of any kind is harder to control (as I infer you already know from you comment about your 8" Smith) But if you have not actually taken the guns side-by-side with the same ammunition it is hard to really tell how much of a difference it makes.

I took my 2.5" small frame (all steel) 5-shot revolver, my normal frame 4" 6 shot 357 and my medium frame 4" and 6" revolvers to the range and find group size at medium distances for the 4" and 6" revolvers about the same, but the 2.5" revolvers (I have several) consistently larger. Since the difference is consistent over several guns, it has to be either the short sight radius, the lousy sights or the recoil.

I lean toward the recoil because I have used the sights VERY carefully and still get large groups.

So, my advice is to get a heavier revolver. It will stand up to the additional practice you will want, be easier on your wife (even with standard 38 loads) and be easier on you.

Do a search on this forum and on others (such as TheFiringLine.com) for lively and informative debates on the relative merits of Smiths, Rugers, Charters, etc.

When you do, remember:

Remember, only believe half of what you see and one quarter of what you hear. That goes double for what you get from the internet. Even this post.

Do your own independent, confirming research when ANYONE gives you new facts on the web.

Also remember, even the idiotic stuff might have a kernel of truth buried in there somewhere.

Lost Sheep

quote:

Originally posted by onefunzr2:
...some folks chime in with "buy Ruger" like they have stock in the company! Talk about short sighted and tunnel vision. Harrumph.

I understand the tunnel vision, I think. But I have puzzled over the short-sighted part all day. Can you explain to this tunnel-visioned myopic?

Lost Sheep

I went thru this same process last year. I ended up purchasing the Taurus however mine is in 38. I really liked the Smith, however I don't carry the gun everyday and it was hard to justify the extra expense for something that only gets used once in a while. The gun shoots fine I have had several Taurus pistols and revolvers over the years they all seem the function just fine. While not as concealable as the smith I have found no real problems normally I just keep it in my front pocket in a sheath or ankle rig, weight is not too bad either.

Of the two, the Taurus is th better quality. I would also look into the Ruger SP100, very shootable & in 357s, tough as a tank. I would not want a snubby for HD, use the 686 you already have.

colt 45 slimmer & easier to carry , plus hits much harder.

Consider a used S&W or Ruger over a new Taurus. The retained resale value alone will make it worth the difference.

quote:

Originally posted by SGraves155:
(Edited for brevity and focus) One gets a longer effective barrel length with a semi-auto than with the same oal in a revolver.

Remember, because revolver barrel lengths are measured from the cylinder/barrel interface to the muzzle and that of other action types from the breech face to the muzzle, you have to add the length of cylinder to a revolver's barrel length to get a valid comparison. For .357 Mag, that's an extra 1.6 inches. So a 4" revolver compared to a semi-auto should be recognized as 5.6" from breech to muzzle.

On the other hand, ballistically, you probably want to measure the distance from the bullet nose to the muzzle. So a 4" barreled 9mm would have a 2.83" barrel. (Approximately the distance the bullet has available for acceleration before it exits the barrel, or if you prefer, the actual length of the rifling) Or you could argue that you have to include the length of the slug, too. But let's compare apples to apples, however we do it.

Lost Sheep