.357 Snubbies

This is one of the finest, strongest .357 fixed-sight service snubbies ever made by anyone...Colt Lawman Mark III (and the later Mark V). A bit on the heavy side for a snubby but designed to withstand nearly unlimited use of .357 rounds. The downside is now these are no longer a real secret to collectors and values are beginning to climb. The Colt engineers used to call this the "Wax Model" as that's what exited your ears when shooting full power .357 rounds from its 2" barrel.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/856710832

Missed this one by $275! SOB...

Too rich for me.

I got a S&W J frame, a Model 442 Airweight. It is a good shooter with only 1 7/8 inch barrel in .38 Special. But a 2 inch barrel .357 Magnum is brutal, loud, and not fun to shoot. Plus you lose a lot of power going out the muzzle in a big fireball. A 4 inch K frame is the thing.


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Ammo Jon said:

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/856710832

Missed this one by $275! SOB...

Click to expand...

Holy ****!! It actually sold for that much?!?

Wow.

I love the .357 cartridge and I bought the Ruger SP-101 in the 2.25-inch because the 3-inch model had the damn underlug, which I despise. Besides, I have two .357 Ruger Speed-Sixes with 3-inch barrels. They came into the world as .38 Specials and were reamed out to take the .357 cartridge. Sandy Garret, over in Virginia, did them for $65 each, and he's a stickler for precision, so when I take six 125gr bullets and drop one into each chamber, they don't fall through onto the table. They stay in the cylinder. It's not a hell or high water thing -- I can never shoot to that type of accuracy. It's just nice, as most .357s don't have that kind of attention to detail.


The Ruger SP-101 (top) doesn't have six rounds, but
it's size is for concealed carry. The Speed-Six has an extra
round and is still compact for comfortable carry.

TheOriginalMexicanBob said:

I think a .357 snubby is not the best envelope for the cartridge...full disclosure...I own several .357 snubs myself. The short barrel increases blast and recoil and is hard to manage in many guns...and the size and weight to achieve controllability often makes them ill suited for concealed carry. That being said...these handguns can use .38 Special and are quite controllable and very reliable. Two fast hits on target with a .38 Special can outweigh a loud miss with a .357 that you have to pull down out of recoil. The loss of velocity in the short barrel often brings them down to .38 Special velocities.

Today we also have loadings for many calibers made for short barrel handguns...both revolvers and self-loaders.

In the end...choose whatever type and caliber handgun you can best carry concealed and use competently. Practice...tactics...train...repeat.

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Great advice - couldn't agree more!

TheOriginalMexicanBob said:

This is one of the finest, strongest .357 fixed-sight service snubbies ever made by anyone...Colt Lawman Mark III (and the later Mark V). A bit on the heavy side for a snubby but designed to withstand nearly unlimited use of .357 rounds.

.

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How would you compare it to my Ruger Speed-Six pistol (previous post)? How much does your Colt Lawman weigh (loaded)? Can you add more photos? The Speed-Six also is becoming a collectors piece, though I don't know how reaming the .38 chambers to take .357 affected its value. Don't matter, though, 'cause I ain't selling either one!

How's the recoil on your Lawman? Those Tyler T- Adaptors were great back in the day. They sold for $4.65 while Pacmayrs were $16. Now the adaptors sell for more than the Pacmayrs.


Here's my Ruger Security-Six 2.75-inch with a
Tyler adaptor. The slimmer the barrel, the better I
like them. I don't like weight.

Cheers!

..

This is as snubbie as it gets for me! S&W 686+ Deluxe. I swapped the grips with Altamont boot grips. Yeah it’s a bit heavy but it shoots great and the weight absorbs the recoil of 357’s pretty well. Don’t think it would be very comfortable for IWB carry though.

Sandy Garrett is long gone from the business. He was out in the early 2000’s when I went there to have some work done on a SIG (his son screwed it up, overcharged me for “cleaning” and refused a refund) . When did he work on your guns? It must have been in the late 1990’s.

CrazySanMan said:

I really think my 3" SP-101 is the best out there for concealed carry, for me.

The SP-101 is much more comfortable than a bulky square clock inside the waistband.

The 3" barrel on the SP-101 gives better ballistics than the 2 1/4" or 2 1/2" barrel snubbies and I'd trust a .357 in 3.06 barrel to hit harder than a 9mm from a 3.46" barrel.

I get a much better grip on the SP-101 than I do on the Glock 26.

The Ruger doesn't have FTF, FTE, etc. Just point and shoot.

I've reworked the trigger on my Glock and I like it but the SP-101 with the hammer cocked is better.

I've got arthritic hands and have no trouble at all with the recoil from hot 357 rounds in the SP101.

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SanMan, what holster do you use for the SP101? What position do you carry? Appendix, back?

I have a 38 Special Speed Six snubbie. Ruger has stated that there is no difference between the 38 Special and 357 Magnum chamberings other than the chamber depth. Several gunsmiths still offer to rechamber the Rugers to 357 Magnum.

Rather than ream the cylinder to 357 Magnum I reload practice ammo for this gun using 38/44 reloading data. Practice ammo is well under the 38/44 top end and is a bit hotter than 38 +P. It is intended to match the recoil of my carry ammo which is Buffalo Bore 38 +P soft LSWCHP at about 1000FPS. I keep those reloads in a red box with warning labels to keep them out of the regular 38 Special guns. These are way below the famous Skeeter or Keith 2400 loads. I do not recommend using Keith or Skeeter loads except in a 357 magnum and I do not recommend that anyone ever exceed reliable published data.

I don't need to try to load 38 to 357 power levels. If you want 357 power get a 357. All I'm looking to do is to build affordable practice ammo. BB ammo is hot but it is too expensive to shoot extensively.

I sometimes carry a 3" SP101 357 Magnum with a milder loading such as Remington Golden Sabers. I have been using a IWB kydex/leather hybrid holster such as a Foxx or Crossbreed or Alien Gear.
I did just switch to Pachmayr laminated rosewood grips. The rubber grips are more comfortable to shoot but they stick to fabric and print.

Cold Steel said:

How would you compare it to my Ruger Speed-Six pistol (previous post)? How much does your Colt Lawman weigh (loaded)? Can you add more photos? The Speed-Six also is becoming a collectors piece, though I don't know how reaming the .38 chambers to take .357 affected its value. Don't matter, though, 'cause I ain't selling either one!

How's the recoil on your Lawman? Those Tyler T- Adaptors were great back in the day. They sold for $4.65 while Pacmayrs were $16. Now the adaptors sell for more than the Pacmayrs.


Here's my Ruger Security-Six 2.75-inch with a
Tyler adaptor. The slimmer the barrel, the better I
like them. I don't like weight.

Cheers!

..

Click to expand...

The Lawman weighs 36.5 ounces fully loaded with 125 grain rounds. That's no lightweight. As far as comparing it to your Ruger, that's tough...my experience with the Security-Six is very limited and years ago. I do know the Security-Six series is much missed as it is and was an extremely fine and robust revolver. While Ruger's GP-100 is certainly a fine revolver I believe the Security-Six series was a more practical revolver for its size.

The Lawman is a pretty easy to shoot piece...the 2" barrel is not the best for a .357...too much lost velocity and added blast. Even with .38 Special ammo it has a audible blast unlike other revolvers...no idea why. I have a Python snubby that's more pleasant to shoot but it has a 1/2" longer barrel...but I admit the Lawman will shoot Magnum ammunition without fear of excessive wear compared to the Python...the original Colt V-spring action is a fine action but will suffer from continuous use of magnums due to its closely hand-fitted design. The Mark III and Mark V Colts were designed for nearly unlimited use of full-power magnums.

When I was a LEO and restricted to revolvers, on-duty I carried the issue piece but off-duty I usually carried either a Colt Detective Special or Cobra...most often the Cobra due to its light weight. I was restricted to .38 Special so I saw little reason to carry a revolver chamber for a .357 though I admit that once in a while I would carry the Python snubby.

Reaming the chambers on your Speed-Six would concern me unless Ruger could verify the revolver is heat treated for .357 pressures and not .38 Special pressures. Most gun makers heat treat their frames and cylinders for the chambering it's intended for...they won't spend the time and money to heat treat beyond what's needed. Value-wise...I can't say. That's up to a potential buyer.

Here's a few more pics...the finish is electroless nickel which Colt called "Coltguard" which was an optional finish towards the end of the production run. I had a bright nickel Lawman snubby but sold it after only a few months as my eye had trouble picking up the front sight. This revolver is much better in that regard.

Check out the Buffalo Bore loads in the 3" barrel.

3" is the ideal snubbie, IMHO.

CrazySanMan said:

Empty, the SP-101 is heavier than the Glock 26. When both are fully loaded (5 .357 vs 11 9mm) the Glock comes closer to the Ruger weight. I'll have to weigh each when I get home to see what the difference is when they are both loaded. When it's in a comfortable IWB holster I often forget I'm wearing the Ruger.

I've never had trouble with the hammer snagging when I practice drawing and shooting. Cocking the hammer as I am drawing for a hair trigger first shot is second nature now also, which I believe makes for a more accurate first shot than the Glock does.

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Many people advise against SA firing in a defense scenario for law reasons. And they further expand to having DAO to defeat any claims that the CCW pre-meditated instead of evaded with that conscious thought to cock the hammer.

For that reason i front pocket carry a 642-1 in a DeSantis super fly.

brentona said:

Many people advise against SA firing in a defense scenario for law reasons. And they further expand to having DAO to defeat any claims that the CCW pre-meditated instead of evaded with that conscious thought to cock the hammer....

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How about the 'conscious thought' that goes into switching from 'safe' to 'fire' on most other firearms? "Constructive Premeditation"?

brentona said:

Many people advise against SA firing in a defense scenario for law reasons. And they further expand to having DAO to defeat any claims that the CCW pre-meditated instead of evaded with that conscious thought to cock the hammer.

For that reason i front pocket carry a 642-1 in a DeSantis super fly.

Click to expand...

Think it is more a problem with a negligent shooting. Hammer cocked. 3# pull, jerk on the trigger, involunary movement. Bang. Oops.

I have 2 Tyler T-grips for saleif anyone is interested. Both for a Colt detective special/Cobra. Pics upon request.

tomrkba said:

Sandy Garrett is long gone from the business. He was out in the early 2000’s when I went there to have some work done on a SIG (his son screwed it up, overcharged me for “cleaning” and refused a refund). When did he work on your guns? It must have been in the late 1990’s.

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Ouch! When I took my guns in for work, it was in the late 80s, I think. He was very well respected but not very well liked. When work was completed, he called you; he didn't very much like to be called to find out when it would be ready. He wasn't chatty at all and on the phone he was big in awkward silences. His work was top notch, but he was a bit eccentric at times.

I never met his son (to my knowledge), but why did he refuse the refund? Is the son still in business?







The Ruger Speed-Sixes I had reamed were 3-inchers. The
barrels were a bit beefy for my taste, but some people
like them that way. The actions are light and crisp.





The Ruger Security-Sixes come with square grips, but can be rounded
easily enough.

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