Which of these .357 for Home defence?

[gac009]

I am trying to decide what ammo to use for HD, I was thinking about either this

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/65104-7802-151.html

or this
http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/63231-8843-151.html

First off, dose anyone have any expierence with the first one listed? Is it particulary loud, or heavy recoiling? Have you ever taken anything down with it?

Second which would you want in your revolver at 2am and the door crahes open?

And third what ammo would you put in a .357 for a small woman who isnt very strong at all.

I sold my revolver, that was in my moms room for HD, and with it I sold the bullets. Part of the deal I got ended me up with another revolver so I need to decide what bullets for my mom to use, as well as some for me.

Any advice?

 

[Majic]

Second which would you want in your revolver at 2am and the door crahes open?

And third what ammo would you put in a .357 for a small woman who isnt very strong at all.

.38 spl 158 grain +P depending on the revolver is not one of the fly weight models.

 

[gac009]

A 6" security six, its my moms new HD gun.

 

[Doug.38PR]

I wouldn't use a .357 magnum round for home defense *CRACK!!!!* indoors If you want to use a .357 I would use 158 gr LSWCHP Remington .38 Special +P or Glazers (this might be a little more ideal for a woman, but on the other hand I keep my mothers M-10 loaded with 158 gr LSWCHP +P)
But I would definately not use any Magnum round for an indoor defense gun.

 

[gb_in_ga]

Which of those 2 for indoor defense, especially in the hands of a small female?

Neither of the above. FWIW, that Winchester load is better suited for use as a hunting load, and that Speer load is geared more for that purpose as well, although some do use that round for SD.

I'd go with a high quality load in .38 Spl +P. For that matter, that is what I've got loaded in both my bedside .357 Mag (4" S&W 686) and SWMBO's bedside .38 (4" S&W 15). Georgia Arms 125 gr Gold Dots, to be specific. Nothing says that you have to use the heaviest loads possible, after all.

A high quality .38 Spl +P will still get the job done, and get it done with with less flash, less damage to the ears, and a lower potential of shooting all the way through the house into the neighbor's. Add to that lower recoil for better controllability and faster follow-up shots. Not only that, but there's the added tactical bonus in our case of the 2 revolvers being able to use each other's reloads in a pinch (never mind that the speedloaders are not the same size).

As for what I'd want in my revolver when the door crashes in at 2AM? See above, because I could load my revolver with just about anything and I choose a high quality .38 +P.

My second choice to the Gold Dots would be a .38 Spl +P 158 gr LSWC-HP, of which I also have a supply of on-hand. My only qualms with that load is that it has a bit more recoil than the Gold Dots, it might not perform all that well through heavy cloth, and it is prone to lead fouling -- but it does have a long track record of proven effectiveness.

 

[Nanuk]

The first one is a hunting load, too much penetration for HD. The second one, well 158 JHP's from 357's almost always over penetrate. I would go more for 145 STHP, 125 JHP or what I carry is the 135 short barrel GD. Corbon DPX is also excellent but very expensive. Shot placement is most important, everything else is secondary. the only reason not to load 357's in a 357 is if you shoot 38's better.

 

[Freetacos]

You can get hearing damage just from using cheap earmuffs when shooting a .357. Go with a .38.

 

[TacticalDefense1911]

I would suggest going with a load that has a lighter bullet. The 125 grain loads have been the gold standard in defensive .357 ammo. Federal, Remington (Remington Express) and Speer all make good 125 grain loads. The Speer load has the most modern bullet of the three, using the GoldDot HP.

Another option would be to go to a .38 load but you give up alot of effectiveness when you do so, but the tradeoff is less muzzle flash, sound and recoil. The CorBon 110 grain +P DPX load is very good as are the Speer 135 grain GDHP +P short barrel load and the Winchester 130 grain SXT +P. All have recoil that is easily managed.

 

[75thRangerRegiment]

Some other nice .38+p choices might be:
PMC Eldorado Starfire HP 125gr. +p (American made PMC brand) lethal!
Magtech Guardian Gold HP 125gr. +p (gets positive reviews by critics)
Remington Golden Saber HP 125gr. +P (extensive law enforcement use proven)


Mountain scalers, Taliban whalers!
the best lead the rest! hoooahhh

 

[Gonzo_308]

You can get hearing damage just from using cheap earmuffs when shooting a .357. Go with a .38.

I'd rather ask the judge to speak up than have the Coroner comment in my autopsy report that my ears appeared undamaged.

THe 180gr. 357 will over penetrate most targets at the home defense range. you don't want to waste energy on walls when you cvan use it all on bad guy.

Go with a lighter weight load.

Also, If you're in an apartment, you don't want to have a round that will over penetrate.

Think lighter, faster load characterisitcs.

 

[The Terminator]

Gonzo,
Didn't I read in another thread that you have a 44? If so, why not load specials in it and be done, that is my suggestion. Around here, I keep a shotgun first, and a Glock 23, 40 cal, next. I'm planning on putting the 44 Mt. Gun in the truck with specials in it as a truck gun. Best - Ted

 

[BillCA]

+1 on what others have said about using .38 +P ammo instead of .357.

The 180gr .357 Mag will split cinderblock wall at close range (less than 20 ft).
The 158gr GHDP will certainly penetrate through 3 rooms worth of sheetrock and likely exit the stucco exterior wall unless you're lucky enough to hit a 2x4 stud.

I'd also avoid going to ultra-light 95 to 110gr rounds since they may not penetrate deeply enough after passing through heavy winter clothing.

Good .38 +P self defense loads include;
Winchester 130gr SXT HP
Winchester 125gr Silvertip HP
Remington 125gr Golden Saber HP
PMC 125gr Eldorado Starfire HP (Note PMC is going or already out of business)
Federal 129gr Hydrashok HP (+P version)

For budget restricted folks, you shouldn't feel undergunned with;
Winchester/USA 125gr JHP
Remington 125gr SJHP (Semi-Jacketed HP)
Fiocchi 148gr JHP
Remington 158gr LSWC-HP (+P)

 

[gb_in_ga]

For budget restricted folks, you shouldn't feel undergunned with;

Bill -- that's the nice thing about the Georgia Arms SD ammo. You get the bullets and performance of the high end ammo (Specifically, that of the Speer Gold Dot line), but instead of getting a 20 or 25 round "Boutique Box" for the price, you get a 50 round baggie instead. Best of both worlds -- performance and low cost. From what I've seen, the only difference is that the Georgia Arms stuff has a bit more muzzle flash.

 

[BillCA]

GB,

I've heard good things about Georgia Arms ammo, however I don't have any experience with it, so I can't personally recommend it.

I like the fact that they have some of the more unusual cartridges available (.32 H&R, .41 Mag, .45 Auto-Rim and 9x18 Mak.

To save on some shipping charges, folks in the western U.S. might want to try some ammo from Load-X Ammo. Instead of the Gold Dot, they use the Hornady XTP bullet.

 

[wolverine350]

Federal 125 grain jacketed hollow points, very hot and hit hard steve

 

[Amendtwo]

Another vote for Speer GDHP 135 and Winchester SXT 130 in .38 +P.

 

[Gonzo_308]

Gonzo,
Didn't I read in another thread that you have a 44? If so, why not load specials in it and be done, that is my suggestion.

No, I don't have a 44, I have several 45's but my true love is the .357. Sorry for the confusion.

However, regardless of what I would have available to me, it wouldn't help the guy with the question.

Personally, I use the 45 for home defense because I fear over penetration but if the guy only has a .357 available to him....go with what you got.

Noise isn't an issue for me under the circumstances of a home invasion.

Or at least it's so far down the list it isn't a factor.

Some of us are too certain we're going to survive.

 

[Tokamak]

Remington 125gr SJHP (Semi-Jacketed HP)

Remington 125gr SJHP (Semi-Jacketed HP)

This is what I use. It expands to about 50 cal when shot into jugs of water and only penetrates 3 jugs deep - actually it went through the first 2 jugs and burst the back wall of the third but did not exit, it was on the bottom of the 3rd. I used standard milk jugs lined up one after the other.

Someone hit with this is going to have a BAD day.

 

[blume357]

Lord help us, not a caliber war but weight war

I still can't figure out how a smaller (lighter) bullet is better in defense. Where did this 125 grain is supreme idea come from...

but anyway....

for what the guy was asking about...my vote is:

158 grain 38 specials in a 'hydro shock' type. I think 357mag is too much for the situation and 125 grain in either is too small and fast.

Oh, and nothing against 'cheaper than dirt' but if buying a box or two of this expensive ammo... I'd go down to the local gun shop... if you include the shipping from a mail order place... local has got to be less expensive or not much more.
"Know where your money goes, Keep it local if you can."

 

[Hook686]

I use both the 180 grain Partition HP, and the 158 grain Gold Dot HP, for personal defense. Both are high blast, high noise and high energy rounds. The way I look at it, a round that goes through an outer winter coat, a heavy wool shirt, a tee shirt, then penetrates 10-12" in a 350 pound BG, departs all its energy in the BG, but the round that penetrates the same clothing, then penetrates the same 10-12", plus then an additional 8-10", on its way to exiting the body, I believe that extra 8-10" results in qadditional energy dump, before exiting the body.

Thus, exiting the body I look upon, as a plus, simply because additional energy is utilized, thereby 'maximizing' the energy dump to the BG.