What Does It Weigh? .357 Magnum Edition...

After seeing ZerCool's excellent dissertation on the weights of different carry set-ups, I dusted off an idea I'd had kicking around for a while in the deep nether recesses of my brain. Being a big fan of the .357 Magnum cartridge, I have many different configurations of revolvers chambered therein, and was curious to see how the guns varied as far as weight goes. I tested four of my five .357 Magnums - the Colt Lawman III is a brick and would have skewed the results - and here are the results.

Shown heaviest to lightest:

Ruger Security Six

The Ruger's the largest and heaviest .357 Magnum revolver in the armory, with a 6" barrel and the heftiest weight of 2 pounds, 10.2 ounces.

Smith & Wesson model 19

Here's the larger of the two mid-sized Smiths, the 4" barrel Model 19. This is a K-frame with a square butt, so there's a bit more weight in the grip, for a total of 2 pounds, 7.0 ounces.

Smith & Wesson model 13

And the smaller of the two K-frames, the 3" barrel Model 13. This has a round butt grip as well as fixed sights, which interestingly enough only shaves 3.6 ounces off the weight from the Model 19 - the 13 comes in at 2 pounds, 3.4 ounces.

Smith & Wesson model 360PD

And, lastly, the smallest-framed, lightest .357 Magnum, the Model 360, A.K.A. The Snubbie from Hell™. It's got a scandium frame, a titanium cylinder, and a 1 7/8" barrel, and tips the scales (barely) at 2.1 ounces less than one pound, nearly a third the weight of the next-closest revolver.

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It's no surprise that the 360PD comes in the lightest; it's designed (and priced) to be ultra-lightweight. It's also - no big surprise - the hardest to shoot, with the feather weight yielding wicked follow-up times and the short barrel burning a fair amount of that precious power out the end. What was surprising to me was how close the three mid-sized guns were - less than half a pound separates a 6" barrel, square-butt, adjustable sights Ruger from a 3" barrel, round butt, fixed sights Smith & Wesson.

Now if I only had a 1991A1 Commander, I could do the same comparison with 1911s...

That is all.