which to buy

[hornet]

dear brothers; what do you advise ihave the option of buying a russian tough looking.380 or usa make .357 magnum differance is .380 is around 6k and magnum8k which one toselect .380 is pistol and .357 magnum is rev.please give your advise.

[dr.jayakumar]

are you in india?have you seen the .357 magnum revolver in person?

[The Doc]

option of buying a russian tough looking.380 or usa make .357 magnum differance is .380 is around 6k and magnum8k which one toselect .380 is pistol and .357 magnum is rev.

Aha, the never ending debate between a pistol and a revolver ! I am afraid this decision is rather personal and you yourself have to decide whether you want a pistol or a revolver , depending upon whether you want it for every day carry or home defence etc. The .357 magnum is a more powerful round and the revolver would in most certainty be bulkier. Can you please tell us what "make" are these pistol and revolver?

are you in india? have you seen the .357 magnum revolver in person?

The .357 magnum revolver is not exactly a Spix’s Macaw, you know ! There are some IFG members (in India) who are proud owners .

best,
Rp.

[dr.jayakumar]

doc i haven't seen one yet recently!

[GreenBeret]

The .380 ACP is compact and light, but has a relatively short range and less stopping power than other modern pistol cartridges. Its lighter in weight and has a manageable recoil.

.357 revolvers have a high stopping power than the .380 pistol. Revolvers in .357 Magnum caliber have the advantage of being able to fire .38 Special ammunition, with its lower cost, recoil, noise, and muzzle flash.. They have a even more flatter trajectory.
PISTOL VS REVOLVER:

>Motor Skills
A very quick explanation of “motor skills”:

Gross Motor skills – Large muscle groups: Walking, running, etc.
Fine motor skills – Can be defined as requiring use of fingers: Shooting.
Complex Motor skills – Multiple muscle groups and hand-eye coordination: writing etc.

It is a simple fact that the stress of being shot at or attacked by someone showing lethal intent will cause deterioration in complex motor skills first. If the stress increases, then your fine motor skills will deteriorate next, and lastly your gross motor skills.

Revolver: Fine motor skills required to fire the weapon, (drawing from the holster and pulling the trigger). Complex motor skills required to reload, (opening cylinder, rotating forearm and hitting ejection rod, looking at cylinder, inserting speedloader into cylinder and twisting, closing cylinder). This also requires removing your master hand from the weapon, which is not a preferred thing to do when being shot at. Note that you HAVE to take your eyes off the threat to reload.

The immediate action of the revolver not firing is simply pulling the trigger.

If you are not able to count your shots, which is normal during combat, there is no indication that the revolver is empty, meaning you can waste valuable seconds conducting the immediate action drill with no bullets.

Pistol: Fine motor skills required to fire the weapon, (drawing from the holster and pulling the trigger). Fine motor skills required to reload, (master hand stays on weapon whilst thumb hits magazine release, weak hand rips mag out and drops, grabs new magazine and inserts, then rack slide). No complex motor skills involved, and the master hand stays on the weapon. With adequate training, the entire reload drill can be completed without looking at the weapon.

The immediate action of the pistol misfiring is hitting the base of the magazine, racking the slide, and then pulling the trigger, (if necessary).

If you are not able to count your shots, which is normal in combat, you know the pistol is empty when the slide locks to the rear, saving valuable time assessing your weapon’s status.

The main points here is that whilst the reloading of the revolver requires removing the master hand from the weapon, taking your eyes off of the threat, and the use of complex motor skills, the pistol does not. Whilst the immediate action of the revolver is simpler than the pistol, the reloading problem, (and recognition), with the revolver far outweighs the benefit of the IA drill.

Reload

The reload is what I describe as needing to replace expended ammunition with fresh ammunition, without having fired all your rounds. Think of having fired a few rounds at a threat, and then taking cover. You still have rounds in your weapon, but the threat is still not yet neutralised.

Revolver: The only way of successfully doing this in a lethal threat environment is by conducting a full reload, which requires the use of complex motor skills, removing your master hand from the weapon, and taking your eyes off the threat.

Pistol: The reload for a pistol is again, exactly the same as a normal reload, which only requires fine motor skills, keeping your master hand on the weapon, and eyes on the threat. There is also a round still in the chamber, and the weapon can still be fired even if you have not had the time to load a magazine.


If the purpose is for self defence, go for .357 magnum..

Regards,
GB

[shooter]

The .380 ACP is compact and light, but has a relatively short range and less stopping power than other modern pistol cartridges. Its lighter in weight and has a manageable recoil.

.357 revolvers have a high stopping power than the .380 pistol. Revolvers in .357 Magnum caliber have the advantage of being able to fire .38 Special ammunition, with its lower cost, recoil, noise, and muzzle flash.. They have a even more flatter trajectory.
PISTOL VS REVOLVER:

>Motor Skills
A very quick explanation of “motor skills”:

Gross Motor skills – Large muscle groups: Walking, running, etc.
Fine motor skills – Can be defined as requiring use of fingers: Shooting.
Complex Motor skills – Multiple muscle groups and hand-eye coordination: writing etc.

It is a simple fact that the stress of being shot at or attacked by someone showing lethal intent will cause deterioration in complex motor skills first. If the stress increases, then your fine motor skills will deteriorate next, and lastly your gross motor skills.

Revolver: Fine motor skills required to fire the weapon, (drawing from the holster and pulling the trigger). Complex motor skills required to reload, (opening cylinder, rotating forearm and hitting ejection rod, looking at cylinder, inserting speedloader into cylinder and twisting, closing cylinder). This also requires removing your master hand from the weapon, which is not a preferred thing to do when being shot at. Note that you HAVE to take your eyes off the threat to reload.

The immediate action of the revolver not firing is simply pulling the trigger.

If you are not able to count your shots, which is normal during combat, there is no indication that the revolver is empty, meaning you can waste valuable seconds conducting the immediate action drill with no bullets.

Pistol: Fine motor skills required to fire the weapon, (drawing from the holster and pulling the trigger). Fine motor skills required to reload, (master hand stays on weapon whilst thumb hits magazine release, weak hand rips mag out and drops, grabs new magazine and inserts, then rack slide). No complex motor skills involved, and the master hand stays on the weapon. With adequate training, the entire reload drill can be completed without looking at the weapon.

The immediate action of the pistol misfiring is hitting the base of the magazine, racking the slide, and then pulling the trigger, (if necessary).

If you are not able to count your shots, which is normal in combat, you know the pistol is empty when the slide locks to the rear, saving valuable time assessing your weapon’s status.

The main points here is that whilst the reloading of the revolver requires removing the master hand from the weapon, taking your eyes off of the threat, and the use of complex motor skills, the pistol does not. Whilst the immediate action of the revolver is simpler than the pistol, the reloading problem, (and recognition), with the revolver far outweighs the benefit of the IA drill.

Reload

The reload is what I describe as needing to replace expended ammunition with fresh ammunition, without having fired all your rounds. Think of having fired a few rounds at a threat, and then taking cover. You still have rounds in your weapon, but the threat is still not yet neutralised.

Revolver: The only way of successfully doing this in a lethal threat environment is by conducting a full reload, which requires the use of complex motor skills, removing your master hand from the weapon, and taking your eyes off the threat.

Pistol: The reload for a pistol is again, exactly the same as a normal reload, which only requires fine motor skills, keeping your master hand on the weapon, and eyes on the threat. There is also a round still in the chamber, and the weapon can still be fired even if you have not had the time to load a magazine.


If the purpose is for self defence, go for .357 magnum..

Regards,
GB

good one. can you state the refrence(s).

[vinay singh]

hi friends,,i guess the tough looking russian .380 would be a BAIKAAL I J 70 or more commonly reffered to MAKAROV. if thats the case then i think its a decent weapon,

[Priyan]

Go with the .357 magnum revolver. IMO self defense weapon should look tough so when you point at people they would get freaked out. It would get your job done without firing a single round. Looking at the current price of ammo and the attitude of lawman here, trust me you don't wanna shoot someone unless in extreme danger. lol I hope one doesn't have to be charged with 302 for shooting a punk in the head.

[timmy]

Personally, I feel that the notion of being able to wave a gun in the air to deter a criminal is a mistake. I think that, before you are willing to pull a gun on an individual or group, you must be prepared mentally to follow up to the ultimate extremity. If not, you risk having someone disarm you while you think about whether you are going to do something about the situation. It may be that the weapon does not need to be used, but the event is no time to be thinking about whether you are going to use it or not.

It may be that a .357 looks more fearsome than a 380 auto, I can't say. I will tell you that the time a person pointed a 380 in my face from about 4 feet away, the barrel look big enough for me and my friends to climb down it and have a party inside. I will tell you that I was very fearful, and that's putting it mildly. Whether a 357 would have increased that fear level or not, I cannot say.

And furthermore, if the person on the other end of your gun is under the influence of drugs, you could point Big Bertha at him and it wouldn't make a bit of difference...

In other words, I don't recommend getting a gun to scare people. If you are going to get a gun to protect yourself, you are going to have to be prepared to use it for what it's meant for. This is a sobering thing to think about , I agree, but when a situation arises, that is not the time to be second guessing what you are going to do or not do.

[Priyan]

Personally, I feel that the notion of being able to wave a gun in the air to deter a criminal is a mistake. I think that, before you are willing to pull a gun on an individual or group, you must be prepared mentally to follow up to the ultimate extremity. If not, you risk having someone disarm you while you think about whether you are going to do something about the situation. It may be that the weapon does not need to be used, but the event is no time to be thinking about whether you are going to use it or not.

It may be that a .357 looks more fearsome than a 380 auto, I can't say. I will tell you that the time a person pointed a 380 in my face from about 4 feet away, the barrel look big enough for me and my friends to climb down it and have a party inside. I will tell you that I was very fearful, and that's putting it mildly. Whether a 357 would have increased that fear level or not, I cannot say.

And furthermore, if the person on the other end of your gun is under the influence of drugs, you could point Big Bertha at him and it wouldn't make a bit of difference...

In other words, I don't recommend getting a gun to scare people. If you are going to get a gun to protect yourself, you are going to have to be prepared to use it for what it's meant for. This is a sobering thing to think about , I agree, but when a situation arises, that is not the time to be second guessing what you are going to do or not do.

I wasn't referring to the .380 mentioned here. I was talking about the .32 pistol that IOF makes.

I say you should be ready to fire but if possible scaring them away would be better as killing one of them means harassment to you by the cops. Hell, you may even face imprisonment. This in India man, here laws are made but neither enforced nor respected. BTW if that guy was high on crack it would take about 3 shot of .380 to bring him down unless your name is Bob Munden. How long you can expect to battle the thugs with the 20 round ammo you have?

[vrohan59]

Are you referring to the Makarov?What cartridge is it chambered for,9mm Makarov or .380 ACP?I would personally go for the revolver,but as has been pointed out its all a personal choice.

[to_saptarshi]

Did you say 6K for .380ACP and 8K for .357 Mag ???? May I know the make and location ?