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The wife fired the new .357 last night

849 views 5 replies 6 participants last post by  BAC 
#1 ·
Got the sp101 3" delivered so I wanted to take it to the range and experience my first revolver. The wife, who has her CHL, decided to come with me and experience her first time shooting a load this big. Oh my gosh, I almost died laughing but had to stifle every bit of it. Her EDC is a XD9sc and she is very good using it however the look on her face as the hammer fell on that magnum round was priceless!! Her wrist lifted up and she yelled " Oh crap" as she layed the gun down and backed away giving me an evil look. Range time is so much fun:wink:
 
#3 ·
It's amazing how subjective recoil is...

I find a nice all steel .357 like your SP101 to be quite mild. I took some friends shooting last week, and they felt that my 6" M29 (.44mag) with some mild hand loads was way too much recoil. Those were my plinking loads... (180g LSWC over a mild charge of 2400) my 15 year old, 90lb daughter shoots them just fine!

I've got a friend with a .460, it's too much for me... but I love the .500mag's that I've shot. The .460's blast is absolutely bone shaking, where as the .500's had more kick, but less blast. It's easy to ignore a short, sharp push to the palm, but having your eyes pushed in and your teeth rattle in their sockets is more that I'm willing to deal with (well, not for more than a few rounds at a time, anyway!)
 
#4 ·
Recoil - semiauto vs. revolver

I don't know what load you were using in the .357 magnum that your wife shot, but her reaction to the recoil points up the difference in recoil "feel" between a semiauto and a revolver. You said she is quite accustomed to the recoil of her polymer 9mm subcompact. Depending on load, the 9mm may fire a round of similar size, weight and velocity to the .357, so you'd think she would be okay with the .357. But she saw a big difference between them.

I suspect her reaction is a result of the different mechanics of a revolver and a semiauto. When you fire a revolver, the recoil is transmitted backward from the cartridge base to the revolver frame surrounding the firing pin. The force is sharp and sudden, with no moving weights or compressing springs to smooth it out. It feels a little like you are holding a steel plate in your hand and somebody gives the plate a rap with a hammer.

In a semiauto the force of the cartridge base moving backwards serves to compress a recoil spring and accelerate a steel weight (the slide) backwards. The force is applied more gradually and spread out over a short time. So it may feel quite different and a little more gentle than with the revolver, even though the total amount of the force is similar.

I suspect that your wife is simply unaccustomed to the feel of a recoiling revolver, and has mainly fired semiautos. I think that if she were to practice with the revolver she would quickly get used to it and master it.
 
#5 ·
I suspect that your wife is simply unaccustomed to the feel of a recoiling revolver, and has mainly fired semiautos. I think that if she were to practice with the revolver she would quickly get used to it and master it.
100% agreement. I have never understood how people talk so much about the .357 magnum recoil. I always felt that revolvers were milder on recoil. I think it is psycological in many ways.
 
#6 ·
My first time on a .44 magnum revolver scared the poop out of me in single action, but after a couple dozen rounds it got pretty fun to shoot. I wouldn't mind owning one, were it not for the price and my more immediate need for a carry gun.

Let your wife shoot it more, she may come to like it OR it may make her XD feel even easier to shoot (boosted confidence and more control). Who knows.


-B
 
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