Looking for ideal .357 and 9mm revolvers. Thoughts?

1
Since we don't know WHAT will happen in NJ now, and I just got the first of 2 new handgun purchase permits (30 days after the first, the second is automatic--if you applied for 2), I'm looking to use them to buy 2 revolvers. I'm looking at .357 magnums and 9mm's. And I'd also prefer 8 round capacity, though 7 would be OK if there is moon-clip capability. Prefer DA.

9mm is because both my hand guns and rifles are 9mm so I have ammo for them and it's possible that the Ruger and Chiappa M1 will be legal IF the proposed AW changes actually become law.

.357 is because there are a) more revolver choices, and b) there are lever-action rifles that take .357 but none that use 9mm.

I'm not interested in budget handguns--I have an H-K VP9 and a Sig P320 RX. I've heard VERY mixed things about Taurus and Century Arms, so I'm leery of them.

In .357, I'm leaning toward Ruger, though there are S&Ws that are interesting. But Ruger does have 8 round models.

In 9mm, it seems the best choice is S&W, though there are some Chiappas that are interesting.

Don't know much about what's available in Uberti and other brands.

There is a VERY interesting Ruger line that has 2 revolvers, in .357 and 9mm and can use both calibers, but it's SA, 6 rounds max, and no moon clips.

I may be completely off base in these two, but I'd like to hear other people's experiences with them.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: Looking for ideal .357 and 9mm revolvers. Thoughts?

3
I've owned both Smiths and Rugers. Smiths have the best triggers. There's something about the triggers on Smith revolvers I just love. Rugers can take more abuse though. Those guns are tough. I used to cart around a stainless Service Six in the woods when I grew weed back in the 80's. It spent the rest of the time rattling around in the trunk of my car. Never let me down, saved me from a pack of feral dogs one time. I'm more inclined towards Smiths these days, but I don't shoot so much anymore.
"Only voluntary, inspired self-restraint can raise man above the world stream of materialism. Our lives will have to change if we want to save life from self-destruction." ~ Alexander Solzhenitzyn

Re: Looking for ideal .357 and 9mm revolvers. Thoughts?

4
Given your other taste in guns, go smith not ruger. Rugers are solid and reliable but lack elegance and are notorious for sharp edges.

Swapping Smith cylinders is a one screw operation, so you could maybe get a custom 9 cylinder for your 357.

There are a lot of cool choices, but if I had to pick one revolver for combat available from any maker, it’d be the TRR8.

If you’re sure you want a second revolver in 9, I’d do the 986 or 929.

For a carry gun, the 3” 686+ is an excellent not quite full sized choice.
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Re: Looking for ideal .357 and 9mm revolvers. Thoughts?

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Thanks, folks. What I've heard / read is that Ruger pistols aren't "sexy", tend to be heavy, but are reliable and solidly made. I'm not nearly experienced enough to be as trigger-sensitive as you practiced shooters are. At this point, I can only sort of feel the difference in my Sig, but not enough to truly care. Kind of like my 13 year old isn't quite yet ready for a Bach Stradivarius or Conn Constellation trumpet, or an intermediate guitar player doesn't go for a $6000 Taylor or Martin.

I've seen mostly positive but some mixed reviews on the S&W 9mm, such as an occasional minor factory flaw--too big a gap between the cylinder and the barrel..is that right?
Carry of any kind is out of the question in NJ. You have to have a demonstrated need, be a LEO, or a security guard to carry outside of your property, So I'm thinking between 4+ to 6" barrel length.

Chiappa is a weird-looking gun, but, again, people either love or hate them, with the "upside-down" barrel arrangement. Senorgrand, why did you hate it? And are they solid, reliable revolvers?

I DO want to try things out, naturally, but there's not much rentable at the two local ranges, RTSP and GFH, and neither have 9mm revolvers for rent.

GFH has only one Ruger, the GP100, but I don't know which one. They have 5 S&Ws 19 (?), 60 (5 rd), 327 (that's the TRR8?) , 627, and 686, but again, I don't know which.
RTSP has the Ruger LCR (5 rd), Blackhawk (SA, 6 rd), Police Service 6(???), and the S&W 686.

Unfortunately, you only have 90 days on the permit but it can be renewed once. GOT to get out to the range.

But I do like Marlene's idea that a 9mm cylinder could be put in a S&W simply with one screw.

If semi-auto handguns remain legal, I'll wait for Sig to release the p320 .357 x-change kits. I don't know enough about .357 cartridges to know why you can't just use a .357 magazine and a .357 grip with the 9mm slide assembly, if you can use a 9mm cylinder in a .357 revolver, but I'm 99.99% sure you need the full x-change kit.

I'm hoping like hell that S2299 proposed bill in the NJ Senate dies (that's the one that virtually outlaws almost all semis as "assault weapons") but it doesn't seem to have a helluva lot of support, unlike the new 10 round magazine limit bill pushed by the Senate Majority leader. I've already bought OEM 10 round mags in advance, anticipating its passage.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: Looking for ideal .357 and 9mm revolvers. Thoughts?

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Testing's a pain in the butt because you have to pay for the range time, pay for the rental, and pay the exorbitant, extortionist range rates for ammo. At least RTSP lets you exchange as many handguns of the same caliber for the single price. Not sure GFH does that because they give you a locked case the RSO has to unlock and re-lock for you on the range.

But, like test driving cars, you gotta do it.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Looking for ideal .357 and 9mm revolvers. Thoughts?

8
Have you considered a used revolver? A gently-used model 27 or 28 S&W would serve you well. No option for a 9mm cylinder but, other than ammo cost, I don’t see why you need the option. You can always shoot .38 Spl, normal or +P if you want a gentler load.

I have not shot a lot of revolvers but I am impressed by the S&W quality and excellent triggers.

For a slightly more eccentric option, you could consider a Dan Wesson. Easily interchangeable barrels if you ever want a snubbie or a 12-inch hand cannon.
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Re: Looking for ideal .357 and 9mm revolvers. Thoughts?

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I have nothing against a well-maintained used firearm, as it's been fired-in already. I just haven't seen any locally.

If only the 6 expected bills go through, it's less problematic. Looking to see if "California Compliance" adaptations to my rifles will keep them legal--Kydex covers that make them no longer pistol-grips. (That's one of those rules that makes zero sense to me--even less sense than outlawing 2nd front grips, which I kind of get.

Maybe it's an idiosyncrasy, but I like the idea of as few types of ammo, and as few types of mags as possible. Unfortunately there are few standard handgun mags. About the most universal are Glock and Beretta, but even they aren't really. Currently, everything I have is 9mm. At least my PCCs share 92fs magazines.

I have to look at S2299 again and re-read it.... :angry: :evilmad: :no: :sad: :weep: :thumbsdown: :thumbdown: :wall: :see_stars:
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: Looking for ideal .357 and 9mm revolvers. Thoughts?

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I couldn't get used to the Rhino trigger...it just felt weird. And the 9mm trigger was very heavy.

Check out tk customs...they can mill a 357 cylinder to accept 9mm.

I looked at 9mm revolvers for quite awhile and found them all to be lacking. I now own a 357 rifle to pair with my revolvers.

9mm revolvers are sort of a round peg in a square hole.

Oh, and yes, lots of reported problems with the 929s.

Good luck...I spent about a year on this quest without any suitable solution. Hopefully you'll fair better.
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Re: Looking for ideal .357 and 9mm revolvers. Thoughts?

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Wow! Lots of great insights from everyone and I thank you!

I'm a pretty solid size: About 5'10" and (now) in the low 190s, down from 230s. I swung a hammer for a living when I was younger and have run a frame gun all day, too. Try shooting a 1000 16d nails into 2x4s, 2x6s, etc all day!

What I need to do is go SHOOT the damn things (that are available) at a range--When I was buying my first, there were highly recommend striker semis that I HATED, which surprised me.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: Looking for ideal .357 and 9mm revolvers. Thoughts?

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Not sure if you carry concealed, if you don't then small compact revolvers should be of no concern. If you are mostly interested in self defense of your home then DA pull is paramount, in fact it should be the mainstay of all of your practice. At the very least a set of snap caps when you go to try different guns would be called for, I can't see a gun dealer not letting you dry fire a gun with snap caps.

Re: Looking for ideal .357 and 9mm revolvers. Thoughts?

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Is there any particular reason that you want moon clips? I don't care for them at all, I find speedloaders much more user friendly than the fragile moon clips. I would either stick with .357 or get a revolver that didn't require the use of moon clips (S&W 547 for example) to use 9mm.

As far as revolvers go you have several options depending on your intended purpose. Personally, as far as revolvers go, I have a dozen or so Smiths, 3 Rugers and a couple of Dan Wessons and I find that they all seem to be well-built and have their own "personality". I agree with the others who said it might be a good idea to try out a few different models if you have the opportunity, might narrow down the candidates a bit.

If I could only keep one it would be a close decision between the 3" 686+ and the DW 15-2.

Re: Looking for ideal .357 and 9mm revolvers. Thoughts?

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eelj wrote: Sun Mar 18, 2018 4:59 pm Not sure if you carry concealed, if you don't then small compact revolvers should be of no concern. If you are mostly interested in self defense of your home then DA pull is paramount, in fact it should be the mainstay of all of your practice. At the very least a set of snap caps when you go to try different guns would be called for, I can't see a gun dealer not letting you dry fire a gun with snap caps.
NJ. No.

I like the idea of .357 snap caps. Got 9mm ones already.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: Looking for ideal .357 and 9mm revolvers. Thoughts?

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I'm in this same boat right now, trying to decide between the gp100 and the 686 with 6" barrel. I finally got to a store that had both (well the ruger was a 4" barrel, but it was useful) and pulled the triggers and groped them a bit. The Ruger was definitely a really solid chunk of metal, a guy at a gun store I was at the other day was talking up how solid it was and it really did feel that way. The 686's trigger was MUCH nicer though it felt much shorter and snappier to me. Online there only seems to be an $80-$100 difference between the two and I think I've settled on the 686, unless I win this Nagant Revolver on gunbroker in which case I'll probably hold off.

Re: Looking for ideal .357 and 9mm revolvers. Thoughts?

21
I'm waiting for Taurus to release their 692 9/.38/357 revolver into the wild. 6.5" SS is my preference. This is on their Tracker series frame and since I already own 992's & M17 already holstered.

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