2" snubby + 158gr 357 Magnum = Sore hand

[Canyonrat]

Wow, I had seen people comment about a "stinger" or say their hand was sore the next day after shooting 357 Magnum from a small revolver. But my right hand near the base of the thumb is sore and so far not improving. Wondering if I just seriously irritated the joint, or if I could have a minor fracture.

Story behind this is I got interested in the Kimber K6s, and settled on a 2" with the enclosed hammer and stock rubber grip. This was to use as an alternative to my typical compact 15-rd 9mm type of semi-auto, possibly more comfortable to carry. At the range I tried .38 special first, no prob in the K6s. So I had some old 357 Mag RWS range ammo, FMJ round-nose 158 grain. Got through about 30 rounds I think. The first couple cylinders hurt, but of course I told myself to "man up" and shoot more. This was a week and a half ago, in certain directions of stress the base of my thumb is still really complaining.

So, I am 6'4", 210lbs and have really big hands, to the point where most XL gloves are too small. I shot a bunch of 357 Magnum out of my GP100 just a few weeks back, no issue. I have never had hand-pain after shooting in my life, and I have shot some big rounds like .45 Super out of an HK USP and never noticed anything afterwards. It seems like a combination of that short grip on the K6s and the completely exposed backstrap did a number on the base of my thumb. I have the "Control Core" grip ordered and on the way from Kimber but they are slow to ship. Probably a good thing, and also good that the range I belong to was closed for de-leading this week or I would have been abusing my hand with some other pistol. Big Dummy.

[RJ]

Damn. Sorry to hear.

I am a wimp. I only shoot Federal GMM Wadcutters out of my .38 Ruger LCR. I shot a standard .38 round out of an Airweight J frame once. I did not like it. I can't imagine what a .357 out of snubby would feel like.

[SiriusBlunder]

Damn. Sorry to hear.

I am a wimp. I only shoot Federal GMM Wadcutters out of my .38 Ruger LCR. I shot a standard .38 round out of an Airweight J frame once. I did not like it. I can't imagine what a .357 out of snubby would feel like.

I found out this morning.

While I was shooting up 25 rounds of old carry ammo (GD .38 Special+P 135s) in my LCR .357, my buddy was shooting 158 .357 Mag FMJs in a SAA.

I don't think the GDs are too bad in this LCR, but 25 rounds of +P at one time is plenty for me in a 17 oz snub as I have some nerve damage (probably from 20 years of shooting .40). I just had to try the .357s, though.

I was done after the first 2, but I had to fire the last 3 so as to not look wimpy (his cute trophy wife was there, too). Never again, unless it's the zombie apocalypse and .357 is all I can find. Even then, I may have to think about it...

For the OP, hope it gets better soon. I shared your pain for 4-5 hours today.

[BehindBlueI's]

Like high-fiving a sledge hammer...

[FrankB]

I carry Federal Micro HST .38 Special in my J frame revolvers. Lucky Gunner did some pretty extensive testing with tons of defensive loads, and used both 2” and 4” revolvers:
https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/rev...llistics-test/
I know it’s not only ballistic gel, but it’s also clear ballistics gel. It does give us a peek into how these various rounds perform, however. I solved this problem last week, when I bought an N frame .357 magnum.

[Stephanie B]

Like high-fiving a sledge hammer...

This guy?

[Canyonrat]

This guy?

Hahahaha! Nope, I didn't do any flippy tricks before firing. But I also clearly did not know what I was doing (to myself).

[gato naranja]

Wow, I had seen people comment about a "stinger" or say their hand was sore the next day after shooting 357 Magnum from a small revolver. But my right hand near the base of the thumb is sore and so far not improving. Wondering if I just seriously irritated the joint, or if I could have a minor fracture.

Story behind this is I got interested in the Kimber K6s, and settled on a 2" with the enclosed hammer and stock rubber grip. This was to use as an alternative to my typical compact 15-rd 9mm type of semi-auto, possibly more comfortable to carry. At the range I tried .38 special first, no prob in the K6s. So I had some old 357 Mag RWS range ammo, FMJ round-nose 158 grain. Got through about 30 rounds I think. The first couple cylinders hurt, but of course I told myself to "man up" and shoot more. This was a week and a half ago, in certain directions of stress the base of my thumb is still really complaining.

So, I am 6'4", 210lbs and have really big hands, to the point where most XL gloves are too small.

I'm 5'9" and shrinking, have medium hands and am close to retirement. Around the year 2000, I took a new Contender with a .44 magnum 10" barrel out for sighting in with some factory JSP and proceeded to have WAY less fun than I expected. I got rid of that rig within the month and have increasingly avoided the painful stuff ever since. Once in a while I get fooled by some sadist into trying his new "soft kicking" shooting iron or delude myself into touching off something that turns out to be unpleasant, but .357 Magnum in medium or hot loads out of any 2" or light 3" revolver are off my list. Rubber grips with lots of area are my friend, though any grip protruding below my pinkie finger is wasted.

I had some serious bruising after a session a few years back when I tried to tough out an unfortunate session trying out some recommendations, but nothing was fractured or broken. The real damage was a hearty new flinch that took a while to get over. I don't "man up" anymore, and if somebody gets their jackass on about it, I just grin and ignore it, knowing I will not be the one going home to put one hand in a bucket of ice while wondering which physical therapist I will end up with.

[Rick R]

Once upon a time our Chief Deputy ordered a Scandium S&W snubby as a T&E with the goal of issuing everybody one as an off duty / backup gun. He also ordered a case of 125gr .357 Gold Dots.

The testing sessions all ran like:
1) load gun with 5 rounds
2) fire two rounds
3) turn to next person in line
4) carefully hand them the loaded gun from your now numb hand while saying
5) “here you finish it”

That little blaster went back to S&W


My wife’s.38 LCR isn’t bad with 158gr standard loads but +P anything are kinda obnoxious. I wouldn’t want to shoot magnums in the same format gun.

[Baldanders]

125 grain full-power .357 out of my 640 is an experience I have promised myself I won't repeat.

Hi-fiving a sledgehammer is about right. My preferred comparison is laying out your hand to take a baton strike to your palm.

Remember, pain is a signal you're doing something bad.