Ruger LCR 357

[PattonWasRight]

Have the Ruger 357 and even shot it in IDPA BUG (back up gun which includes semi auto's) and managed not to come in last even, that's versus magazine fed guns. You can get fairly fast with speed loaders but you'll still be about two to three times as long as a semi auto load. Still, it's not as slow as some would think. The course of fire had 10 shots at 15 yards. I had no misses on a torso sized target, shooting at speed, but had about a fourth of the shots in the -1 area (outside of center mass)

That said, per the FBI stats, a reload in a defensive gun use is really, really rare. So I'm okay carrying a revolver in many cases

I carry the LCR a lot. I carry a 38 +P round with solid copper hollow point bullet. I think the buzz about it being intolerable in 357 is not warranted. No, you wouldn't want to shoot a box of 50 full power 357s, but 5 rounds of it isn't a thing at all IMO. If you have arthritis, then no. I don't carry 357 for the reason that if you shoot defensively indoors with unprotected ears, it's like a stun grenade ... the shock will disorient you. That's true of most rounds, but even more so with 357. Worse yet with AR pistols. People have little idea what those blasts will do to your senses.

With practice anyone can handle +P in a snub and shoot at speed and hit a pie plate at 7 yards

There's times when a concealed hammer snub is a great choice for carry. Plus, there's things that can't go wrong with it versus a semi auto

As you can tell, I'm a fan of the snub revolver ... IMO they will always be relevant for self defense use