Single Action .357s

[Driveout02]

I am looking (have been for a while) into getting myself an Uberti or Ruger single action. I own a K frame Smith in .357, so I suppose the logical choice for caliber would be .357 as far as ammo interchangeability goes. But I keep telling myself that's kind of against the whole spirit of getting a cowboy action revolver. I'm just curious if anyone else has felt this way. (not dogging anyone who chose to go with that caliber for their single actions, BTW)

~Jake.

 

[10-96]

Yeah, that whole Cowboy shooting thing has me scratching my head as well. A few of those folks have been known to download ammo to the point that sometimes does not make it all the way out of the bbl. I think this might be done to gain an edge as far as quicker followup shots(?).

There are .357 Cowboy Action loads available for commercial sale that I suspect are downloaded quite a bit from standard velocities. I'm just guessing here, but I think they are in the neighborhood of .38 SPL+P in a longer case. This would allow you to shoot a .357 cal bullet at the reduced power for competition and then load up the regular stuff for day-to-day duty around the farm and ranch or hunting/camping trip. I don't much care to shoot shorter .38's out of my .357's due to the carbon ring it leaves in my cylinder holes. If I ever end up with a .44 Mag- I'll definitely be reloading lead ball over .44 SPL velocity/energy levels in the Mag cases since off the shelf .44 Anything is quite expensive these days. Plus, I generally don't go to places that have critters that need to be shot on a regular basis with cartridges such as the .44 Magnums. As far as I know, everything I've shot with the .357 here in the Tx Panhandle is still dead.

 

[MrBorland]

But I keep telling myself that's kind of against the whole spirit of getting a cowboy action revolver.

Yet, buying a gun you don't really want simply to satisfy some arbitrary correctness seems to go against the whole spirit of shooting. The Ruger's not a SAA clone anyway, so you might as well get the .357 and have fun with it. CASS shooters would likely agree that the main thing is to have fun. Good luck!

 

[629 shooter]

Owning a few Smith 357s myself adding a Ruger SA 357 was a natural choice for me. Gives me another option of shooting my favorite revolver cartridge.

 

[Dmanbass]

Hello, here's my experience on exactly what you asked. I bought the Uberti 1873 Cattleman in .45LC... I love it as it's very impressive and with a beautiful fit and finish. I have two other .357 revolvers (one SA & one DA) but I went with the .45 with the Uberti. I wish I hadnt. Wish now I had got the .357. Cheaper! That's the only reason for me. I like the .45 colt cartridge a lot but can't afford to shoot it as much as I would like.

That's what happened to me. Hope it can help.

 

[bigboredad]

since you already have a .357 why not try the .45 yes it cost more to shoot and may have a little more recoil but there is something special about the .45 it kinda makes you feel like a kid again isn't that what shooting is all about

 

[Dmanbass]

A word about the Single Action recoil in .45. I was very surprised to learn that it is very comfortable to shoot out of my Uberti 4-3/4" barrel. It feels lighter than the .357 for sure and just wee bit more than the .38 special.

Heck, buy em all. Ya only live once

 

[Laz]

I keep telling myself that's kind of against the whole spirit of getting a cowboy action revolver.

Maybe not completely authentic, but why not look at your downloaded .357 as a .36 caliber, which it is. There were plenty of folks using .36 caliber handguns in the Old West. Seems some guy named Hickok did well with his. Maybe a little stretch, but the whole CAS thing is a stretch. It's all for fun, anyway. I don't do CAS but have several .357 single actions because the caliber works for me the best all around. Were I starting from scratch, maybe I would go bigger bore and maybe not.

 

[Doogle]

I have a Uberti Cattleman in .357mag, but...>

...I got it intending to shoot pretty well only .38 spl in it. I think the .38spl is more in line with what these pistols were originally intended for, particulary in terms of ergonomics. Of course the Uberti has the extra robustness of being proofed to handle the .357mag, which is good for piece of mind. The downside to this is the extra fouling that can come with shooting .38spl rounds in the longer .357 chambers, but I'm happy enough to deal with that. If the Cattleman had been available in .38spl only (and IF I could get one - supply is very limited where I am) I would probably have opted for that.

​

 

[zxcvbob]

I bought a polished stainless Taurus Gaucho in .357, and I really like it now that I've had a local gunsmith fix all the problems that it never should have left the factory with. (was not very expensive, but was very aggravating at the time)

This summer I'm going to experiment with using black powder in it, with .357 brass for the extra case capacity.

 

[garryc]

Look at it this way. The 357 is 38cal and CAS loads aren't any faster than a 38lc.

 

[Dmanbass]

Doogle.... Aint she sweet? I never seen a prettier revolver as Uberti's. That may get a few Colt folks up in arms but I love em. Got me one in .45 and the fit, finish and beauty is 2nd to none! IMO

 

[44 AMP]

Ruger SAs, and ...the rest

I have Ruger Blackhawks in .45Colt/.45ACP, and in .357 Mag. Also a Super Blackhawk in .44 Mag. Built like tanks, cpable of taking any max load (and for the Rugers the max is often higher than other guns), AND they have adjustable sights. This means after I decide on which load I want to shoot, I can adjust the gun to hit so that point of aim and point of impact are the same. This is important to me.

I had a Ruger Vaquero (.44 mag) for some time, and wound up trading it for the Super Blackhawk, because I wanted a gun with adjustable sights. I don't play the cowboy game currently, and when I do get around to it, I will get another Vaquero (or maybe even a Colt, or a clone) and tailor the ammo for the gun, but until then, I want my guns to hit where I aim.

Many years ago a friend had a .357 SA gun (I can no longer remember the exact brand, Cattleman, I think) and with its fixed sights it shot perfect point of aim at 20 yards with 158gr .38Spl ammo. Every .357 round tried in it shot high and left (about 4 inches at 20yds). If you decide to go with a fixed sight gun, remember that it will only be on target for one load, at one range. For eveything else, you will have to learn the hold off, in order to hit. Cowboy games are played at short range, so this might not be as big a problem in the game as it is when shooting for real, but it is something you will have to live with.

I have my own issues with the rules for cowboy shooting, like not allowing certain guns in certain classes, even though they are chambered for 1873 era cartridges, and also allowing ultra light loadings (I think they should require the full power factory loads of the era, in smokeless equivalents), and a coupld of other things, but what the heck, it is only a game, and if I want to play their game, I will abide by their rules. Gives me an excuse to get some more guns, anyway.

If you want the best shooting (most practically useable) for the money, get a Ruger Blackhawk. If you want something to play games with (with less real world untility) get a Vaquero, or something else that looks and feels like a Colt SAA. If you get one cheap enough, you can spend the money you save on your costume! Or, maybe, ammo! If you spend it on ammo, you just might be able to learn where your fixed sight gun actually shoots, which may or may not be where the sights look. Either way, good luck, and have fun. After safety, that's what it is all about.

Oh, yeah, the other plus of the Ruger(s) is that they can safely be carried with six rounds loaded, unlike the original Colts and some of the clones.

 

[Jim March]

SASS rules say that the all-lead bullets can't go faster than 1,000fps. This is for safety reasons when shooting at steel plates.

That speed is from the CARBINE.

So: a "357" load hitting about 1,000fps from an 18" barrel is likely doing 600 - 700 out of a 5" barrel wheelgun.

Forget 38+P, we're barely into 38Spl territory...

 

[huchahuchax]

I have a Taurus Gaucho in .357 that I initially had some problems with. I'm thinking it was the thread lock they used to secure the screws in the grip frame flaking off and jamming up the action. Anyway, I quit shooting .357 ammo out of it for awhile and now I can't get the carbon rings out of the cylinder from the .38 ammo, so I basically use it ONLY as a .38 (and it works well in that purpose).
I also have a Ruger Blackhawk that has never had a .38 round in the cylinder. It works flawlessly every time, is a blast (literally) to shoot with full magnum loads, and is a damn fine looking gun (6 1/2 inch barrel, blued with black pearl lite grips and silver skulls laser etched in). It is probably my favorite gun and I shoot it well. If I were looking for a single action .357 just for the sake of having one, the Blackhawk is the way to go in my opinion.