357 Snubbie/Taurus 605 or Charter Arms

[rednecksport]

Im in the Market for a 357 Snubbie at a reasonable price Which one do yall suggest and why.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[ws76133]

My EDC since 1997 has been a Taurus .38 snubbie. It's been completely reliable and shoots well.

[atctimmy]

The 605 is the best product Taurus makes. I have carried one for years.

[Hiram25]

Charter Arms.

[WoodLark]

My wife carries a Taurus 605 and I have a 650. They have both been trouble free.

[Kerby]

Between thoose two I am in the Taurus camp.............

[bunker]

My taurus snub is in 357 magnum... has the shrouded hammer for crisp single action, and has enough weight, i think around 23 ounces to absorb the stiff recoil of 357 loads. i love it.

[1 old 0311]

I have them both, like them both. The Charter is a bit lighter that makes carry easier, but shooting a bit tougher on the hand.

[bsnow]

My Taurus 605 .357 rocked until my wife shot it. I have not seen it since. Great little shooter. I guess I'll have to go buy another one and hide it from the Boss!

[old guy 2]

I have two of each, two charter bulldog pug .44 spcl. and a taurus 85 .38 spcl. and a taurus 605 .357 mag., the 85 & the 605 are the same frame different cylenders. I find the tauruses to a bit more refined than charter arms. ymmv

John

[rednecksport]

Thanks for the Input guys , I was kind of leaning towards the Taurus anyways,but now I have another dilema, my LGS has the Smith 637 airweight , 38 special for $399, so its now pretty much a Taurus 605 357 or the Smith 38, which one do yall prefer, I can pick up the Taurus for $349.

[Ivan]

The Smith is a much better gun overall, so you need to decide two things: 1) Do you REALLY intend to shoot .357s, or do you plan to use .38+p like many do in a .357? If you must have a .357, then the choice is made. There are many who would argue that in such a short barrel the .357 doesn't have a very great advantage over .38+p. 2) Is the $50 price difference worth the higher quality that Smith offers? I would suggest that a couple years down the road spending a few extra bucks for a higher quality gun will not be something you would regret.

[Ghettokracker71]

Shooting .38SP+P is quite a hot load in a snubbie. I haven't shot a .357MAG in such a small package, I can imagine its quite the "handful". I've found myself wanting the S&W M&P340, which is a .357MAG J-Frame snubbie, but I often wonder if its worth it?? (I've thought about picking up a Taurus .357MAG snubbie b/c they are rather inexpensive.)

As far as I know--Charter doesn't offer a .357MAG thats hammerless? (Correct me if I'm wrong.)

[houndawg75]

I've been carrying the 605 since 97. I read an article by Masaad Ayoob on it which made my mind up. Never looked back.

[bunker]

I did not find any difference shooting a full magnum 357 load out of the Taurus snub (weighing in at 23 ounces) than shooting 38+P loads out of my Smith airweight 642/442. I carry any one of the three combos at any given time. Buy the Taurus, you will end up shooting it more than the Smith... even if its just practice with 38 special reloads. Save the $50 and use it to get a nice sideguard holster!!!! Bunker