Quote:
|
I carry Federal LE 158gr+P LSWC-HPs that will go through fabric and rip a half inch hole out of five water jugs. That is roughly ten inches of penetration in gel. At the time why would I have sunk good money in to an unproven round that was costing as much as $40 a box in some places?
|
Personal preference.
People that liked the cartridge put their money behind it, and brought the price down for everyone else. Sometimes, it sucks to be a beta tester, but we got what we wanted, and didn't have any problems (and it's obvious that we don't regret the decision). The last 2 years were really rough for ammunition and component availability, but that's because it was selling so well - not because no one was making it. Ammunition and component demand absolutely eclipsed what the manufacturers had predicted for the cartridge, and they just couldn't keep up.
If it's not worth it to you, to 'sink money into an unproven round', with 'expensive' ammo... then don't do it. That's all there is to it.
I think the .357 Mag is a superfluous cartridge for revolvers, with the advances we've made with powders, bullets, and metallurgy (a hand loader can get .38 Special to
safely do nearly anything factory .357 Mag will do); but I understand why so many people keep buying the firearms and ammunition. It's cheap, and widely available. (But so is .327 Federal, in my area. - .327 Ammo is now
cheaper than .357, and on the shelves in every shop; and the firearms in .327 are very reasonably priced.)
.327 Federal is about as far as I see the .32 bore size going, for a
useful power level, in revolvers. But it's justifiable. The .32 H&R case can't quite provide the same performance (evidence of which, are all the .32 H&R revolvers being converted to .327).
The .32s aren't for everyone, but many of us have found amazing versatility that just isn't found elsewhere.