.30 Carbine vs .357 Magnum

[Art]

There have been discussions in the past about the comparison between the .357 Magnum and the .30 Carbine cartridges. The comparisons have all included .357 magnum pistol velocities though. Well I did some research and got the ballistics for commercial .357 Magnum ammunition fired from a rifle.

The results are:

. 357 Magnum Rifle M.V. 1830 fps 100 yds 1427 fps 200 yds 1138 fps
158 gr. soft point M.E. 1175 fp 715 fp 458 fp

.30 Carbine M.V. 1990 fps 1567 fps 1236 fps
110 Gr soft point M.E. 967 fp 600 fp 373 fp

The .30 Cal carbine does have a noticibly flatter trajectory, but not enough to make a huge difference until you pass 200 yards

In other words the two cartridges are more or less equivalent.

Information

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[Jim Long]

Yes, the 357 really comes alive out of a rifle. Many are used for deer hunting now days..
I do find it interesting though that if one assumes a two handed combat stance with a pistol ( say a 357 ) and compares the distance of the muzzle of the pistol to the muzzle distance of a shouldered m1 carbine, that the carbine muzzle is closer to the shooter than that of the pistol. To see the difference place the pistol muzzle ( unloaded ) against a post.. set the pistol down and shoulder the carbine..

[JimF4M1s (Deceased)]

I have a Ruger No.1A in .357 magnum. Got it in 1981 or 82. It has the Calif highway patrol logo on it. My friend retired as a Lt. They were offered a revolver and a rifle with matching serial numbers that also matched their badge number. I think it was for their 50 year of operation. He kept the revolver but sold me the rifle.

I think as a single shot .357 rifle it is only good as a novelty. I have never shot it. I thought one day he might want it back to go with the revolver, maybe give it to his son, but 28 years later it is still in my safe taking up space. Anyone know a value on it, might be time to sell it?

[Art]

I have always thought the M1 carbine was a good idea at the time for its intended purpose. I think the M2 carbine was a great "submachinegun" since it's cartridge almost duplicates .357 magnum velocities from a rifle and therefore gives it a longer effective range than 9 mm Parabellum, .45 ACP or 7.62x25 submachine guns.

[oscars]

If you are serious about hunting with the .357 magnum, then buy/use Buffalo Bore Heavy .357 - 2153 fps out of an 18.5 inch Marlin 1894P - over 1500 ft lbs energy.

[ThatDude2013]

Alright ladies and gents. I know we all have our answers to this. I own a SW 686 .357 revolver, and I love it. I've also owned a .30 Cal Carbine and I love it. Now I've been trying to find a nice pea shooter pistol. I own the .357 with a 4.2" barrel and its very nice. I also own a Ruger LC9 9mm, and its nice as well.

I've been looking into a pea shooter pistol. A buddy of mine has one of those nice looking .22 LR semi-auto pistols and I knew I wanted just a little more power, so that I could potentially carry as well. Does anyone know how good the .30 cal carbine pistols are? I am not going to say I want an AMT III, but I want something similar. Since I can't find a semi-auto in full .357, and I already own - or unfortunately did own a .30 cal carbine and sold it - dumbest mistake ever and now I miss it. I am hoping to get a pistol. I've seen what the .30 cal carbine can do to a squirrel at 40 yards and I know a .22 cannot do the same thing and I doubt my 9mm could do the same. With my .357 mag there would be nothing left from my revolver but the .30 cal carbine left a lot. There was a mini entrance hole and a more than 4x exit hole. The carbine served its purpose well and I really think for pistol defense it would be good. What say you?

[Johannes54]

I was a combat soldier in RVN, I was 11E and in an Armored Cavalry outfit in I Corps. I was issued an M16 upon arrival to the 9th ID and we had two M3A1s on our tank (my favorite weapon for APs and LPs). However, though I saw many an ARVN soldier carrying the little M1carbine I never laid a glove on one until about two years ago when I got one on special from Fulton Armory. The first time I took it out to the range with two boxes of ammo I began to wonder where this little beauty had been all of my life, and why isn't our military still using these things........

No kidding! This little five pound wonder is really a gem, I was popping steel targets and I found that even with these somewhat mature eyes, I can own anything out to three hundred meters! In short, I can do anything with this little carbine that I used to do with my wartime M16.

I am a retired twenty-nine year veteran cop (Sgt) and for the last ten years on the job I carried my issue Colt LE carbine (or should I say that it was carried in the rack on the floor next to the radio tree) and it was far from impressive from my perspective. It had a much thicker and heavier barrel than my wartime M16 and even thoiugh it was compact and had a telescoping stock, loaded with a thirty round magazine (with a spare in the stock pouch) it weighed more than an anchor. Of course all of the wetnoses in my department (none of them combat vets of course) mounted all the bells and whistles on their carbines which must have made them weigh even more. However, my little M1 with a fifteen or thirty rounder in the shute and a stock pouch with two fifteen round mags weighs a heck of alot less.

When you consider that the little M1 carbine can do anything the current configuration of the M16 can do, why do you suppose the Pentagon doesn't go back to it? Heck, you can make about four M1s for the price you can buy one AR from Colt and why not employ the M1 for it's original purpose? Why not issue them to support troups at a bargain and keep the expensive stuff for the front line guys?

Make sense to anyone?

[shadycon]

Carbine pistol! I have a Ruger .30 Carbine pistol [6" barrel]and a S&W .357 mod 19-3, [4" barrel], Tarus .357 with a 6"barrel. They are all fun to shoot. In my opinion the .30 carbine is hotter than the .357 with the lighter-faster bullet. But I feel the .357 has more knock down power at close range in the woods with 158 gr. jhp's. .02 GK

[JimF4M1s (Deceased)]

Three year old thread.
It wouldn't be a pea shooter pistol. The only one I know of (also have) is the amt. It is not small or light. I also have the Ruger revolver. Both have one heck of a flash out the muzzle. Not a carry piece for sure.

[DaveHH]

When I was there they were in the Delta. Black Horse was down by Saigon (one of the great outfits in the Army). I was there in 1966-67 II Corps. I'm not a big fan of the grease gun beyond the novelty of it.

I suspect that the M16 is just a lot easier to train folks with. If I am in a shootout, I'd take an M16 1/12 w/55gr any day over a carbine. I hate the sights, in fact the whole rifle seems stupid but it works and it is infinitely better from an accuracy perspective.