Hard-Hitting Handful: The .357 Magnum

.357 Magnums
From top: Ruger LCR .357, Rhino 200DS, Charter Arms Magnum Pug.

There was a time when the .357 Magnum was more than the average shooter could stand, or so the experts said when it was introduced back in 1935.  Now, to be fair to the shooters of the day, they were expected to shoot one-handed, as the Weaver stance was 20-plus years in the future.
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And in those days, the original 158-grain load (sources vary on this point) exited the muzzle at around 1,500 fps. Ouch. It didn’t help that grip shapes that worked just fine with a .38, and were tolerable in a .44 or .45, were not at all suited to the snap of a .357. As a brand-new caliber, the magnum was available only as a special-order item, and S&W was back-ordered right up to WWII. Your Registered Magnum came as you specified, and there were buyers who ordered theirs as snubnose revolvers. Well, a snubbie by the standards of the day, perhaps. I don’t think anyone today would consider a 31/2-inch square-butt N-frame a “snubbie.”
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