.357 mag... Too much for me

[Joe13]

I will be keeping the .357 loads in it for worst case and hope that never happens.

 

[Joe13]

I can hear it now:
"By the way, this is a 357 MAGNUM. Powerful and pretty darn loud ... here are some ear plugs for you <toss earplugs>. With this caliber, even I just wing ya, they will be big holes and you will probably bleed out, so I am going to put my earplugs in too - so I don't have to listen to your screaming"

Something to that effect would be a great door sign. I think I know a guy who could do that...

 

[Three Bars]

You just have to consider which trade offs work for you.

I slept with a .357. for years, it's hard to beat for a home defense round.

If it was me, and I decided to not use the .357 I would go back to the 9mm you mentioned...more stopping power than the .38.
I don't have anything against .38s, but they are what they are, and that's not as strong as a 9mm.

I carry a .38 when I'm wearing a T-shirt, but truth be known, that's because it's the only gun I have that will fit in my pocket.
Even with +Ps and a speed loader I feel slightly under gunned.

I would also suggest you have this conversation with your wife being that her hearing is partially what concerns you.

 

[Three Bars]

The subject of potential temporary blindness due to muzzle flash has come up a couple of times, as it should, being a real concern.

I address that a couple of ways; first, I keep a low light on in the family room that also illuminates the hall to the bedrooms.
Secondly, I train using a high power tactical flashlight that I keep with my weapon on the night stand.
Together these go a long ways to reduce noticeable muzzle flash, and the effects there of.

 

[Joe13]

It has certainly been an interesting conversation we have had over it.

She (right now) is more of the opinion that guns are "my thing".

I am hoping to change that soon. We have not been up shooting together since before my daughter was born.

BUT,

We have a shooting day scheduled in 2 weeks, so I will be doing everything I can to entice her interest; gently

 

[Tony617]

For HD I use 38 SPL +P rounds instead 357 magnum rounds since 38 SPL rounds I can control better. I do have a few boxes of 125gr and one box of Speer Gold Dot 158gr, 357 magnum rounds and they are great at the gun range.

 

[40calruler]

There is just something that makes .38 not so "special" for me. Reading about the round and 9mm being more powerful as many say...some dare say a .380 is at least as powerful with the current defensive rounds. .357 to me is all I will use in my revolver for defense. There is a darn good reason .357 accounts for more one shot kills than any other caliber year after year. Not that I will rely on my first shot being the only one I have to take but it says a lot about the devastation of the round.

 

[JRuby]

I was curious about "some saying that a 380 is as powerful as 38 Special" have never looked at a reloading manual. Just looking at numbers in Speer reloading manual #13. Where the 380 has the advantage is number of rounds in the pistol. The bullets for a 380 is around 95gr. the lightest I found for a 38 is 110gr. Got to be careful about what some say.

 

[Three Bars]

A quick look at ballistic tables (www.ballistics101.com)
Using Hornady as the common denominator using only ft lbs of energy.
.380- 200 ft lbs
.38 spc- 199 to 290 ft lbs
9mm- 271 to 369 ft lbs
.357- 548 to 644 ft lbs

 

[Tony617]

There is just something that makes .38 not so "special" for me. Reading about the round and 9mm being more powerful as many say...some dare say a .380 is at least as powerful with the current defensive rounds. .357 to me is all I will use in my revolver for defense. There is a darn good reason .357 accounts for more one shot kills than any other caliber year after year. Not that I will rely on my first shot being the only one I have to take but it says a lot about the devastation of the round.

I used to use a 357 magnum for HD but now I am using a 40 S&W 180gr Speer Gold rounds in my semi-auto pistol. But when I only had a revolver I used 38 SPL +P rounds for HD. I still have that revolver and have ammo for it.

 

[ikemay]

Perhaps a .44 Magnum capable revolver and load it up with .44 Special rounds. I find .44 specials to be easy shooters and they don't have the "crack" of a .357 Magnum round.

Best of luck with your quest,
Mike

 

[JRuby]

There is no doubt a 357 Magnum will out perform a 38 Special or 38 Special +p. I will never argue other wise. I will say that there are some real benefits to the 357 for those than can handle it in a carry gun. In a full size pistol such as in my model 28 it cant be beat as an all around cartridge - however in a snub nose I will stick with a hot 38 Special +p.

 

[MikeE]

I think about shooting from the ground with someone kicking the crap out of me, or in, what SouthNarc calls a 'FUT'(f'd up tangle). I can shoot a .357 one handed but i'm faster with a 38+P or 9mm...

 

[JRuby]

Now shoot that 357 magnum out of your opposite hand or an injured arm. I know it can be done last time I was at Memaloose my neighbor shot a 500 S&W at the same time he was shooting 460 S&W, one in each hand and no they weren't downloaded.. He did it because he wanted to but I bet he could not hit the broadside of a barn shooting like that. In the end carry and shoot what "YOU" feel comfortable with.

 

[Joe13]

I'm fairly ambidextrous; I can shoot off hand almost as well as my main. The gp100 isn't too large for me and it handles the .357 well. That's probably not the case for everyone though.

I've never tried akimbo... I figured it was for video games and movies. Maybe I'll give that a go next week.

 

[Three Bars]

ikemay
That's what I have in my down stairs safe (I keep a loaded handgun in both safes)) 180 grn 44 special xtp's going @ 1000 fps, 400 ft lbs....real comparable to defensive 45 ACP loads.

 

[cookie]

All a 357 does is teach a shooter how to flinch. Practice with semi wad cutters.

 

[Certaindeaf]

All a 357 does is teach a shooter how to flinch. Practice with semi wad cutters.

SWC's were and are traditionally loaded to full power.. think and thank Elmer Keith. Also, someone said they use some "158's" for defense.. nothing really wrong with that but realize that many are like the old school soft nose and hollowpoint 158's.. they'll act like a solid even if shot into gravel.. they're good for hunting deer perhaps but not stopping people.. the .357 "stopper" everyone is talking about is the old school 125gr hollowpoint that doesn't stay together exceptionally well but will sure tear you a new one.
And be aware that factory 9mm can be easily had with exceptional bullets that yield 530-550fpe with a 115gr.. a weight grain (and velocity) not far from the touted and lauded 125 in .357 magnum.
And remember, many (most?) velocity charts for .38 and .357 are for a 6" revolver.. not the commonly carried 2-4".. at least they're still not doing the old unvented 8"+ barrel thing anymore (they did that for decades).

 

[Three Bars]

As far as barrel lengths go, there are a number of ammo manufacturers who are making loads designed for shorter barrels, low muzzle flash, and in some cases, less felt recoil.

There's so much new stuff out there that a guys brain could vapor lock trying to assimilate it all.

 

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KelTech P-40, almost a P-11 sized gun with a .40 cal barrel, although they produced an optional .357SIG barrel too. Pretty much a handful with the full house .357 SIG's in it. Sure gets attention at the range and you better not be afraid of recoil. Used to be my carry weapon, but now I'm much happier with a Kimber in .45.

Deen
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