trigger job on old Ruger Police Service Six

[OldBroad44]

have you ever fired a full power .357 in low light without ear protectors?

I did once - in a freinds barn about 30 years ago

the two of us were blind for almost 30 sec and deaf for atleast 3 Min

if it's coyotes or cougars, a .357 will discourage them from coming back for weeks

I don't need 17 rnds of 9mm for self defense in my lifestyle

first, I'm not anticipating car loads of gang bangers invading my property

even if it's just 2, the muzzle blast from a 4" .357 is going to blind them and concussion will deafen them

and IF one was to miss them, they are still disabled and not able to continue aggressive action towards you

I shoot 9mm weakly because it's cheep, but would use a .357 with 158 gn semi wad cutters if it was a defense situation

These days most SD ammo is loaded with powder that is flash suppressant. About 30 years ago when that started to be a thing, I tried some ordinary and some flash suppressant ammo out one night from a 4" Colt .357. HUGE difference. The flash suppressant ammo gave a flash about two feet long but did not interfere with vision after. The regular ammo was blinding. From then on I bought SD ammo with flash suppressants. These days most manufacturers load their SD ammo with flash suppressant powders.

I've shot plenty of .357 mag outdoors in the open without hearing protection. Just a round or two, because I figure what you can do on the first shot or two is way more important than on the remaining rounds in a practice session. So I used to practice lots of first and second shots. And for these, without hearing protection. (However even one round of .44 mag full loads makes my ears ring, so I use hearing protection for even one round of .44 mag.)

However, shooting .357 mag in a confined space is capable of temporarily or permanently damaging hearing, shattering eardrums, etc. Yankee Marshal has a YouTube video about it. He was in one of those cubicles at a firing range. On the last shot he had a hang fire with his revolver but didn't realize it. He set the supposedly empty revolver down on the bench pointing toward the targets and took his hearing protection off. The .357 went off. The bullet just went downrange, so no harm. But the noise ruptured his eardrum. He had damaged hearing and tinnitus for at least weeks. Don't know whether he had permanent damage.

After seeing that video I went on the internet to get noise data on various calibers. Turns out that 38 sp, 9mm, .45acp, .45colt, and .44sp as commercially loaded all generate roughly the same amount of noise. But the .357 mag generates twice as much or more. Its even noisier than a shotgun or deer rifle loaded with non magnum calibers. I carry a 686 as EDC. I used to carry it with full .357 loads. After finding out about the potential for damaging my hearing if shot indoors or from inside a car I switched to Buffalo Bore .38 sp hard cast full wadcutter. I chose that because we have bears in my neighborhood, and that bullet supposedly will penetrate 12" of mammalian bone and flesh. Good enough to get through a bear skull. I also bought some .38 sp Speer gold dots for use if I ever find myself carrying mostly in the city instead of my home, yard, or rural neighborhood.

By the way, don't count on the noise or flash protecting you by scaring or blinding the bad guy or a serious predator. In a shooting scene outdoors the noise is no big deal. And most SD ammo these days has flash suppressants whether they say so or not. For several years I actively defended my duck flock with my 686 with full .357 loads. Mostly against raccoons, possums and skunks. the first time a predator came after my ducks I put a shot in the ground next to him. If he came back I shot him. About 2/3 never came back About 1/3 did. Those who came back usually came back two nights later.

 

[rjmt]

These days most SD ammo is loaded with powder that is flash suppressant. About 30 years ago when that started to be a thing, I tried some ordinary and some flash suppressant ammo out one night from a 4" Colt .357. HUGE difference. The flash suppressant ammo gave a flash about two feet long but did not interfere with vision after. The regular ammo was blinding. From then on I bought SD ammo with flash suppressants. These days most manufacturers load their SD ammo with flash suppressant powders.

I've shot plenty of .357 mag outdoors in the open without hearing protection. Just a round or two, because I figure what you can do on the first shot or two is way more important than on the remaining rounds in a practice session. So I used to practice lots of first and second shots. And for these, without hearing protection. (However even one round of .44 mag full loads makes my ears ring, so I use hearing protection for even one round of .44 mag.)

However, shooting .357 mag in a confined space is capable of temporarily or permanently damaging hearing, shattering eardrums, etc. Yankee Marshal has a YouTube video about it. He was in one of those cubicles at a firing range. On the last shot he had a hang fire with his revolver but didn't realize it. He set the supposedly empty revolver down on the bench pointing toward the targets and took his hearing protection off. The .357 went off. The bullet just went downrange, so no harm. But the noise ruptured his eardrum. He had damaged hearing and tinnitus for at least weeks. Don't know whether he had permanent damage.

After seeing that video I went on the internet to get noise data on various calibers. Turns out that 38 sp, 9mm, .45acp, .45colt, and .44sp as commercially loaded all generate roughly the same amount of noise. But the .357 mag generates twice as much or more. Its even noisier than a shotgun or deer rifle loaded with non magnum calibers. I carry a 686 as EDC. I used to carry it with full .357 loads. After finding out about the potential for damaging my hearing if shot indoors or from inside a car I switched to Buffalo Bore .38 sp hard cast full wadcutter. I chose that because we have bears in my neighborhood, and that bullet supposedly will penetrate 12" of mammalian bone and flesh. Good enough to get through a bear skull. I also bought some .38 sp Speer gold dots for use if I ever find myself carrying mostly in the city instead of my home, yard, or rural neighborhood.

I don't disagree with anything in you posting - I also have the same Buffalo Bore ammo for my wife for her SP101 and Smith 686

in my lifestyle on remote property, a starving cougar is more of a threat than a car full of gangbangers
after I found a striped dear carcass only 100 yrds from the house, my wife has insisted I carry my .357 when I walk in our woods
get that - my wife INSISTED I carry a .357 when I go for walks
I carry the same Buffalo Bore .38+P in the cylinder, but have full power .357 is a Velcro pack on my Alaska Rig holster

 

[OldBroad44]

I don't disagree with anything in you posting - I also have the same Buffalo Bore ammo for my wife for her SP101 and Smith 686

in my lifestyle on remote property, a starving cougar is more of a threat than a car full of gangbangers
after I found a striped dear carcass only 100 yrds from the house, my wife has insisted I carry my .357 when I walk in our woods
get that - my wife INSISTED I carry a .357 when I go for walks
I carry the same Buffalo Bore .38+P in the cylinder, but have full power .357 is a Velcro pack on my Alaska Rig holster

View attachment 1174749

I agree that full 357 mag hps are a good choice against cougars. We have a resident cougar who never bothers anyone but helps greatly with the deer overpopulation problem and leaves kill sites around regularly. I've read a grown cougar takes about one deer per week.

Yeah. Like you I don't walk around the neighborhood unarmed. and I don't walk in the woods at night any more. And like you, I think I'm more likely to need to deal with a bear or cougar than a bad human or car full of gangbangers.

 

[rjmt]

I don't disagree with anything in you posting - I also have the same Buffalo Bore ammo for my wife for her SP101 and Smith 686

in my lifestyle on remote property, a starving cougar is more of a threat than a car full of gangbangers
after I found a striped dear carcass only 100 yrds from the house, my wife has insisted I carry my .357 when I walk in our woods
get that - my wife INSISTED I carry a .357 when I go for walks
I carry the same Buffalo Bore .38+P in the cylinder, but have full power .357 is a Velcro pack on my Alaska Rig holster

View attachment 1174749

as for raccoons, we have semi pet racoons that come up on the porch every evening for cat food
will stand at the glass storm door and rap with their paws if I'm late with their dinner
I've gone out to shoot a shotgun in the air to chase off coyotes and notch ear, Peaker and his sister just sit on the porch and watch me
I walk through this group every night to get my glass of wine
notch ear is a 3 year old female who bring her new litter up to introduce them every May
I can sit on the deck listening to mellow Jazz and she'll sit just 2' from me for an hour
we have great discussion on politics and music

 

[rjmt]

I agree that full 357 mag hps are a good choice against cougars. We have a resident cougar who never bothers anyone but helps greatly with the deer overpopulation problem and leaves kill sites around regularly. I've read a grown cougar takes about one deer per week.

Yeah. Like you I don't walk around the neighborhood unarmed. and I don't walk in the woods at night any more. And like you, I think I'm more likely to need to deal with a bear or cougar than a bad human or car full of gangbangers.

I love to walk in the woods at night, but I don't smell like a human
work in the dirt and chicken compost for gardening, now that I'm retired, never use deodorants or smelly soaps
my Carharts are well seasoned
my Danner boots are well coated in Obenaufs leather treatment
I can clear a couple seats when I walk into the local bar for a glass of wine in Woodland
don't have to worry about anyone steeling my Chevy truck - the seats smell like me
my wife tolerates me, but not my carharts - they have to stay outside at night
the creatures of my woods just consider me one of them

 

[Lennie]

as for raccoons, we have semi pet racoons that come up on the porch every evening for cat food
will stand at the glass storm door and rap with their paws if I'm late with their dinner
I've gone out to shoot a shotgun in the air to chase off coyotes and notch ear, Peaker and his sister just sit on the porch and watch me
I walk through this group every night to get my glass of wine
notch ear is a 3 year old female who bring her new litter up to introduce them every May
I can sit on the deck listening to mellow Jazz and she'll sit just 2' from me for an hour
we have great discussion on politics and music

It is good to have a friend that listens.

 

[wafisherman]

Anyone know of a good holster for a short barrel Security 6? Link?