Seriously, if you haven’t shot one, stay away, they are seductive as hell.  We are talking Angelina Jolie in bouncing off a chain link fence or Gwyneth Paltrow being “unmummified” kind of seductive.

In the era of Wonder Plastic Pistols, there is something to be said for this crafted chunk of steel. The feel in your hand is that you will demand respect and you will get it. It is Old School-Been There-Done That feel that you get once you shot a couple of hundred rounds. The old “Making Rounds Count” takes on a new and important meaning since you can’t spray and pray out of the situation. Only hits count goes from a cute saying to a way of life. Even the most ferocious .45 caliber aficionado, the usual critic of any caliber “that does not begin with a 4” will bow his head to a .357 Magnum. It is the spatha of the post-Industrial Age.

I finally shot an IDPA match last Saturday with my trusty S&W Mod 65-2 (4″bbl) with 357 Magnum reloads instead of the .38 specials and by all the gods of burning sulfur, I loved it. I know that it is not the recommended thing to shoot in competition because of the recoil, but I don’t really give a darn anymore. It is a joy to see the Safety Officers being caught unaware and jumping just a little at the boom-noise, to see the dirt geyser erupting out of the berm and see the darn steels being knocked down with authority, not as a suggestion.  And I am not even loading the darn cartridges to max specs but they do shake the props and release curses from the mouths of nearby shooters.

I am gonna be so much more hated at the club from now on. 🙂