Salvo, what a great old Flattop with the plumb colored loading gate. The pic of its 50th Anniversary relative with the casehardened frame is also nice. I have a pair of New Vaqueros in .357 that I shoot in SASS matches.
This thread does my heart good in this world of polymer guns. When I got interested in shooting in my teens, the .357 revolver was king for all the reasons you folks know.
I do wish that you guys would refrain from posting pictures of six inch blued Pythons. That was what I wanted for my first .357 but I couldn't afford it (the sound you hear is me kicking myself). Now that I can afford one, I can't afford one because the prices are crazy.
In the spirit of "dance with the one ya brung", I'll nominate my first centerfire revolver, a six inch stainless Security Six. It is stock except for a Trapper spring kit (remember those?). It was not as flashy as the Python but it has digested uncounted thousands of rounds of .38 and .357 loads with nary a bobble. I came really close to buying a six inch Model 19 instead (my first revolver was a Model 17) but that was when all the talk about K frame .357s shooting loose was going around. Plus the Ruger was less expensive.
I used to shoot the Ruger in IPSC competition with hard cast bullets in reasonably stout .357 loads. The trigger was not as smooth as a Python but it did not stack. It shot better than I did.
A couple of years later Smith & Wesson introduced the L frame and I purchased a four inch 686. I've shot that gun a pretty good bit as well but Smith kind of spoiled it by introducing the "plus" model. At a recent gun show I ran across one of the five inch 686 plus guns with the full lug barrel and hi-viz sights. I was thinking that would round out my collection nicely.
OK, so that covers six, five, and four inch .357s. Now to find a three inch Model 13....
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