I am looking for a new revolver, that will get plenty of carry time. I like smallish handguns- Ruger sp101, G23/27 etc. Anyone tried the S&W M&P .357 revolver? Just looking for quality, smallish, carry revolvers in .357. Opinions appreciated.
I have a couple of S&W wheel guns. My favorite is the 442 Air weight for pocket carry. If I lost it today, I would be at the gun shop tomorrow getting another.
That M&P version is brutal to shoot .357 Magnums out of…I’m pretty sure I’d rather get kicked in the nuts than shoot 50 rounds of .357’s though it.
.38 +P’s would be my round of choice in that package.
I carry a 442 w/Lasergrips as my backup every day.
I carry a pre-lock 642 with CT lasergrips all day, every day. I also own and shoot about 25 different S&W K and N frame revolvers. Don’t even call yourself a pistol shooter unless ya have some old school Smiths to shoot!
I strongly advise against carrying an aluminum, titanium, or scandium frame compact revolver with 357 Magnums. Particularly with old school loads like Remington’s violent 125 grain semi-jacketed hollow point.
Recoil will be severe. Muzzle flash will be extreme. And follow up shots will be slow.
If you want a compact revovler in 357 Magnum, I suggest Smith & Wesson’s Model 60 or Ruger’s SP101. Both are all steel (stainless) and will handle the recoil better. Even then, these are sub-30 ounce guns and I suggest using milder 357 loads like Remington’s 125 grain Golden Saber or Cor Bon’s 125 grain DPX. Both will stay under or around 1200 fps, rather than the 1450 - 1500 fps of the more traditional 125 357s.
If you want to carry full house Magnums, I would steer you in the direction of a stainless steel, mid size revolver like S&W’s Models 65, 66, or 686. Concealment is not an issue even if you are a regular size guy. IME, revolvers, with their smooth curves and shorter grips are way easier to hide than semi autos.
I normally carry this (a S&W M65):
in this (A K&D Holsters Cochise Defender):
all day long in complete comfort and I am 5’8"/185.
Another good load is Buffalo Bore’s 158 grain lead semi-wadcutter hollow point 38 Special +P. This thing clocks almost 1200 fps out of a 4" gun and 1000 from a 2" snub. I am a firm believer in heavy loads for caliber in handguns and the 158 grain lead semi wadcutter HP has a long history of working when it should.
I also carry this S&W Model 637 when even more discreet concealment is necessary, loaded with 38+P 158 semi wadcutters (Remington or Buffalo Bore).
This gun is so light (16 ounces loaded) that I can forget I have it on.
S&W 642 when I carry a wheel gun.
xxxxx
342 PD is my every day carry…
I am in the market for a DOA wheel gun, small, and light.
The search continues…
I carry a S&W 640 in .357 Mag as a back up to my main gun. I use to load it with either Federal 125 gr JHPs or Remingtons 125 gr JHPs. Currently, I’m using Buffalo Bores 125 gr Gold Dots.
My old duty 1911 (KImber Gold Combat Custom Shop pistol) and back up (S&W 640 .357 Mag).
I have / use Colt trooper Mk 3 .357 good solid handgun.
I’m think about going back to a wheel gun on duty.
Blasphemy! Why???
Just curious here. Is the Ruger KRH-444 being carried by anyone here? How about for concealed carry? I don’t know the size in relation to the Ruger SP101, but it fits and feels just perfectly fine in my hands. Of course the R.KRH-444 is on my wish list. 
I carry a .38 taurus ultralight at work and it feels like your shooting a .357 magnum out of it because of the weight, but doesn’t weigh down your shorts in the summer. I also have a stainless, ported 5 shot .357 taurus snubby and it shoots much, much nicer. The porting helps considerably. But for quality get an old s&w. I have a model 60, it’s nice.
I carry a charter undercover in 38 spl as backup.light weight/low cost works for me.
It’s not the gun or the gear. It’s the skill of the man handling the gun.
I’ll always remember long ago when I was starting my career shooting. A then NIS(now NCIS) agent(old timer) was at our range when I went down to shoot my new SIG P225. I thought I was pretty good and I remember thinking to myself “look at that old guy with that revolver!” He must have picked up on it, because the look he gave me with a grin after a few drills and I was looking at his target and mine and his speed with it.
I had to say, he was pretty good with it.
Alpha Sierra, A joke and to qoute Bill Jordan-that unshrouded ejector rod might get bent if someone bangs thier head on it.
Nice piece!
Mark