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Old September 7, 2012, 09:16 AM   #10
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Join Date: July 20, 2005
Location: Indiana
Posts: 9,728
This is why i think there is room for this thing in the overall realm of gun/cartridge line ups.

The .357 works for me,. . .

Me too. I don't need this new gun, but it would attract me like a cat to a laser! 357 mag is good, but pressures in real 357 mag rounds is high, so extraction can be sticky. Are there downloaded 125 - 135 gr HP SD loads which exit a 2 - 3" gun at 1000 - 1200 fps? Also, when it expands, it is a super round. If it does not expand, it is a pretty small bullet, just punching a hole. Just thinking out loud. I see this argument isn't solid.
SAAMI maximum pressure for .357 Magnum and .40 S&W are the same at 35,000psi, so any sticky extraction problems that you might have with .357 Magnum would also be just as likely with a .40 S&W.

Also, there are downloaded .357 Magnum loadings which meet your criteria. Speer's 135gr Gold Dot Short Barrel loading is advertised at 990fps from a 2" barrel. Likewise, Remington's 125gr Golden Saber is advertised at 1250fps from a 4" barrel and typically runs 1100-1150fps from a 2-3" barrel in nearly all the chronograph tests I've seen.

Finally, .357 Magnum is one of the most reliably expanding handgun cartridges available. Because it's not typically limited by the feeding cycle of a semi-automatic, semi-jacketed bullets with very soft lead noses can be used which expand aggressively even at snubnose velocities. However, as I mentioned earlier, if you don't trust any bullet to expand, you can get a .44 Special into essentially the same size package which is even larger in diameter than the .40 S&W is to begin with. Not only that, but .44 Special is lower pressure than .40 S&W, .357 Magnum, or even .38 Special (SAAMI maximum for .44 Special is 15,500psi), so your chances of sticky extraction are reduced.

Admittedly, this is not much of a benefit over 357 mag, but if you have neither. . .357 mag ammo is already pricey, so this could be price competative and offer a slight advantage.
While .357 Magnum ammunition is more expensive than .40 S&W, a .357 Magnum revolver can also fire .38 Special ammuniton which is pretty comparable in price to .40 S&W. Also, .38 Special could be used as a lower recoil alternative as it would likely generate substantially less recoil than a .40 S&W of the same size (all reports I've read about the Charter Arms Pit Bull describe the recoil as rather "brisk" or "snappy").

Don't we have 41 cal S&W & Ruger Revolvers???

We do. Do any of these have CCW packability? Also, 41 mag is a serious round. Maybe too much recoil for SD in a 3" gun. Yea, a 170gr bullet at 1800 fps is too much heat for me to CCW.
Taurus has made their 415 five-shot .41 Magnum for years though I think the recoil of said gun would probably be pretty vicious. Also, Winchester's 175gr Silvertip is an excellent .41 Magnum self-defense loading as it's advertised at 1250fps from a 4" barrel. A revolver such as a 4" S&W M57 or M58 loaded with Silvertips would be a very reasonable cold weather CCW in my estimation.
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