I finally made it to the range (Trigger Time in Flowery Branch GA) with my new Taurus 617. Almost all my shooting in the past has been deer hunting with a 308 hand-loaded Nosler and a scope. Many a deer has met its demise as a result. But now I'm feeling a need for a more practical means of self defense and home defense, so I'm jumping into the revolver arena.
My Taurus 617 is a stainless steel, seven-shot 357 magnum revolver (both singl action and double action) with a 2" barrel. Taurus calls it a "compact frame" but I think it's comparable to the S&W K frame in size. It weighs 28.5 oz (29.5 with the Hogue grips), about double what a lot of popular snubbies weigh these days. After reading the experiences of others with the lightweight 357 snubbies, I decided I wanted the extra weight to absorb recoil, at the cost of additional weight when carrying.
Based on recommendations I purchased Hogue grips to replace the factory grips, so that's the configuration I shot yesterday.
I brought several types of ammo to the range:
I got the Buffalo Bore rounds as a best available approximation of Speer's 135gr Gold Dot 38 special +p load, which seems to be sold out everywhere. Based on what I read, the Buffalo Bore version produces nearly the same ballistics and performs very similarly in ballistic gel.
I shot only a few of the commercial defensive rounds (they run around $1.50 a round!) but enough to get a feel for the recoil. I want to find a hand load recipe that gives the same feel for $0.15 or so per reload, to use in practice. Of course I'll keep the gun loaded iwth the commercial load for SD / HD.
First I shot a couple of cylinders of the Winchester range rounds. Those were pretty mild (on a scale of 1 to 10, about a 3). I was shooting them a couple of inches low at 7 yards.
Then I alternated between a couple of rounds of 357 mag reloads and a couple of rounds of one of the commercial SD ammo. Here's how I rated the recoil of the various ammo:
357 handload: 7
Corbon DPX +P: 5
Buffalo Bore 38 sp: 6
Corbon DPX 357: 8
Speer GD 357: 7
Then I shot a couple of cylinders of the 38 special reloads. They felt about like the Winchester range ammo, very mild after the 357's.
All that was done with single action shooting from a rest. Then I tried standing with both single and double action. My shot placement was much better using the single action. My double action rounds were hitting the paper, but that's about the best thing I can say. I need more practice. Self defense is probably going to be with the double action trigger pull.
I was pleasantly surprised with how manageable those 357's are in this little gun. I know the Corbon and Speer 357's are not full power 357 but IMO they are real options with this revolver.
For home defense I plan to keep the Taurus loaded with the Corbon 38 special +P or the Buffalo Bore 38 special's, mainly due to concerns about permanent hearing damage from firing 357's indoors with no hearing protection. For outdoor protection, I may consider carrying 357. OTOH I'll probably end up indoors at some point while carrying. Hmmm....
I'm very happy with the Taurus 617. It gives me the flexibility of 38 special rounds or 357 rounds. It's small enough to carry without being too light for sane 357 magnum usage. No problems at all in my first day at the range. Well, except that I need more practice.
My Taurus 617 is a stainless steel, seven-shot 357 magnum revolver (both singl action and double action) with a 2" barrel. Taurus calls it a "compact frame" but I think it's comparable to the S&W K frame in size. It weighs 28.5 oz (29.5 with the Hogue grips), about double what a lot of popular snubbies weigh these days. After reading the experiences of others with the lightweight 357 snubbies, I decided I wanted the extra weight to absorb recoil, at the cost of additional weight when carrying.
Based on recommendations I purchased Hogue grips to replace the factory grips, so that's the configuration I shot yesterday.
I brought several types of ammo to the range:
- Corbon 38 special +P 110 gr (Barnes X bullet)
- Corbon 357 magnum 125 gr (Barnes X bullet)
- Speer 357 magnum 135 gr Gold Dot
- Buffalo Bore 38 special 125 gr Speer Gold Dot bullet
- Winchester 130 gr range bullets
- Handloaded 357 magnum 158gr SWC with 4gr Bullseye
- Handloaded 38 special 158gr SWC with 3.5gr Bullseye
I got the Buffalo Bore rounds as a best available approximation of Speer's 135gr Gold Dot 38 special +p load, which seems to be sold out everywhere. Based on what I read, the Buffalo Bore version produces nearly the same ballistics and performs very similarly in ballistic gel.
I shot only a few of the commercial defensive rounds (they run around $1.50 a round!) but enough to get a feel for the recoil. I want to find a hand load recipe that gives the same feel for $0.15 or so per reload, to use in practice. Of course I'll keep the gun loaded iwth the commercial load for SD / HD.
First I shot a couple of cylinders of the Winchester range rounds. Those were pretty mild (on a scale of 1 to 10, about a 3). I was shooting them a couple of inches low at 7 yards.
Then I alternated between a couple of rounds of 357 mag reloads and a couple of rounds of one of the commercial SD ammo. Here's how I rated the recoil of the various ammo:
357 handload: 7
Corbon DPX +P: 5
Buffalo Bore 38 sp: 6
Corbon DPX 357: 8
Speer GD 357: 7
Then I shot a couple of cylinders of the 38 special reloads. They felt about like the Winchester range ammo, very mild after the 357's.
All that was done with single action shooting from a rest. Then I tried standing with both single and double action. My shot placement was much better using the single action. My double action rounds were hitting the paper, but that's about the best thing I can say. I need more practice. Self defense is probably going to be with the double action trigger pull.
I was pleasantly surprised with how manageable those 357's are in this little gun. I know the Corbon and Speer 357's are not full power 357 but IMO they are real options with this revolver.
For home defense I plan to keep the Taurus loaded with the Corbon 38 special +P or the Buffalo Bore 38 special's, mainly due to concerns about permanent hearing damage from firing 357's indoors with no hearing protection. For outdoor protection, I may consider carrying 357. OTOH I'll probably end up indoors at some point while carrying. Hmmm....
I'm very happy with the Taurus 617. It gives me the flexibility of 38 special rounds or 357 rounds. It's small enough to carry without being too light for sane 357 magnum usage. No problems at all in my first day at the range. Well, except that I need more practice.
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