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bralko85
Junior Member
USA
343 Posts |
 Posted - 08/25/2011 : 15:26:56
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I've read several places that the significant recoil from these featherweight snubbies CAN (not WILL) cause the lighter bullets to unseat from their cases, possibly causing cylinder lock-up.
Details about it are out there on the interwebs, but I can't remember where I read this. |
"The difference between death and taxes is that death doesn't get worse every time Congress meets." |
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indgramp
Starting Member
USA
40 Posts |
Posted - 08/25/2011 : 15:57:41
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| The 360 manual addressed the light load problem. I've had mine about 8 months and have about 150 rounds of various .38/357. It can be a handful with heavier .357 loads. I carry it in a pocket holster when I can't anything else. In colder weather fits into about any jacket pocket. |
Carry .45 Kimber, G36, G26 and/or Taurus 85, Taurus 817, or S&W 360 |
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Scammajamma
Starting Member
USA
1 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2012 : 23:52:21
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I have to admit that I don't own a S&W 360PD, but plan to buy one later this year. I first became interested in it after buying a Taurus 851SSULT, which I absolutely love to carry. It is very similar to the 360PD in that it is a snubbie that has a titanium cylinder, but in an aluminum frame. Unfortunately it only fires 38 Spl+P, but I love the fact that it has a shrouded hammer similar to a S&W 638. I have never liked the DAO snubbies.
So after owning this Taurus for a while I started to be interested in a .357 mag in a similar configuration. I did some research and found out that Taurus used to make something similar (titanium cylinder .357) but it was discontinued due to problems w/ the .357 eroding the face of the cylinder if .357 mag rounds were fired from it w/ bullet weights less than 124 gr. I checked with a gunsmith friend and he told me he had a customer that this happened to and he sent it to Taurus and they replaced the titanium cylinder with a stainless one and sent it back.
Oh, and apparently no one makes an airweight .357 mag snubbie w/ a shrouded hammer. I would love to be wrong on this information so someone please correct me if that's the case.
Now why this erosion of the titanium cylinder occurs in the .357 mag with bullet weights less than (approx) 120 gr is anybody's guess. My gunsmith friend theorized that a lighter bullet would exit the case faster with more unburnt powder combusting under high enough pressure to exit the gap in front of the firing cone of the breech end of the barrel, and thus causing the erosion of the cylinder. But a quick check shows that titanium has a melting point around 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and 416 stainless around 2,800. So in my mind that still doesn't explain it adequately. Perhaps it has more to do with hardness and wear resistance of the different metals.
Nonetheless, the answer to the question of why no bullet weights less than 120 gr in the .357 mag is because for some reason it will erode the face of the titanium cylinder near the gap. That is why S&W doesn't include the same warning on the 360 version that has a stainless cylinder. So I guess if you really like the lighter weight bullets then that's the one to go with, but you'll give up a couple of ounces weight advantage in the process.
I hope that helps clarify the issue a little and maybe someone can add some more info to explain this further. |
Don't forget to watch your six! |
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modernswords
Junior Member
USA
428 Posts |
Posted - 06/30/2012 : 08:10:00
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| Good review DG, Thanks. It is good to see others that have snubbies and do not have an issue with a hammer. My 637-2 is a constant companion of mine, especially in the summer. Carried in a Desantis 02, it has never had a problem coming out of my pocket rapidly. I can see where a bobbed hammer or protected hammer may completely eliminate any chance of hanging on an un-tucked shirt, but I have not experienced problems in my own carry process with the hammer. |
 
"...he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one."
“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”- Amendment II, U.S. Constitution |
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yankeejib
Advanced Member
USA
3029 Posts |
Posted - 06/30/2012 : 08:22:43
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| Methinks DG must be working a bumper crop lately. Haven't seen him here or there..... |
Sincerely,
Professor Stu Padasol
"Doing what others find difficult is talent. Doing what others find impossible is genius."
"Why be difficult when with a little more effort, you can be entirely impossible."
I carry a gun because I can't throw a rock 1250 feet per second.
God did not create all men equal, Sam Colt did.
"The next best thing to being clever is being able to quote someone who is."
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zonker1986
Advanced Member
USA
8190 Posts |
Posted - 06/30/2012 : 14:40:15
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quote:
Originally posted by yankeejib
Methinks DG must be working a bumper crop lately. Haven't seen him here or there.....
hope he's on vacation....the heat in SC will take its toll. |
...7 Round Mag Limit? Silly Politicians!! |
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deadguy
I see dead people
7297 Posts |
Posted - 07/01/2012 : 16:37:11
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Been on a cruise to Bahamas. Got back today. Celebrated 10th anniversary.
Woooohooooooo!!!
Oh yeah, and buy a 360. Great pocket roscoe |
People are getting fatter everyday. 10mm isn't just for bears anymore. |
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Review: S&W 360 .357 mag
