38's or 357's for lever gun home defense?

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BlueHeelerFl

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Would there be enough (or any) benefits to loading 38 special SD rounds in a lever gun vs 357 mag rounds for home defense?

357 is far more powerful of course, but 38's gain a decent amount of energy from a rifle. Would that and the benefits of less recoil, less indoor noise and muzzle flash, be adequate?
 
If you have a .357 use .357. As mentioned for reliable feed but the power too. How may times have you heard perps getting shot multiple times and keep on going. Weather it's from being on drugs or these days body armor. Thats why LEO hand guns have increased in power from the .38 Spcl days. Me I keep a 12ga w/00 buck handy along with a Mini 14 and 30.. jmo
 
I would think that .38 might be the better call if over-penetration is a concern. I don't think shooting full-house .357 out of a long gun would be particularly safe for surrounding neighbors in an apartment building.

Past that - I agree with everyone else that .357 will bring more horsepower.


For the record, I don't think you would be able to expect any meaningful velocity gain from .38 unless it was RNL. Even then, that's a "maybe". The long barrel might actually cost you velocity in many cases (especially FMJ), but again - not a substantial amount, if any. If you have access to a chronograph, you could confirm this one way or the other for yourself.
 
I own 2 lever guns in .357 Magnum. A Winchester 94AE Trails End and a Marlin 1894CB.
The Winchester is finicky about .38 Special. By “finicky” I mean shoots it great unless I need it to. Then things go wrong.
My Marlin 1894CB shoots .357 and .38 equally well. I would never trust my life to .38 functioning well in it even though I am sure it would be fine.
I would load .357 Magnum and I would shoot a lot of what I plan to use for home protection to make sure it functions well under fast action.

If you are concerned about over penetration with .357 you could try Black Hills .357 Cowboy loads. 158 grain hard cast lead RNFP at 900 FPS from a handgun. You can add 200 FPS from an 18-20 barrel.

I would never use handloaded ammo for self defense.
 
I admit to being a troglodyte when it comes to home defense. I think the obvious choice is 99 times out of 100 12 gauge 870 loaded with 9 pellet 00 buckshot. That one time is for a woman who can't handle a 12 gauge pump. That one time becomes a 20 gauge 1100 loaded with 2 3/4" # 3 buckshot.
 
In my 1894c at least, .38's only feed reliably if I take it slow. If you speed up and really "lever" the rounds through they start to jam.
 
I've never shot a .357 rifle but I know short barrel .357 revolvers have more muzzle flash than longer barrel revolvers. Does shooting a .357 in a 16-inch plus rifle have a significant muzzle flash?
There isn't the huge pressure wave, but there is a significant difference in volume.
Think shooting a 410 shotgun vs 7.62x39 without muffs. Neither are fun.
 
One word: experiment.

More words. Tube magazine guns tend to be a bit sensitive to cartridge OAL, so solve that problem first. Then find out what your rifle likes, accuracy-wise. In self defense, reliability and accuracy always have priority over terminal performance because only your hits count. Any JHP at .357 carbine velocities, or even a JSP or SWC, will be more effective than a 9mm from a short barrel.

BTW, you should consider adding a weapon light to a home defense carbine, since you'll need both hands to work the gun.
 
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Mine feeds 38 147gr +P+ 100%. It gives me about 500 ft/lbs of energy. Once you've completely penetrated the target all that extra energy goes with the bullet downrange.

Just something to think about.
 
Congrats.

OP asked a question, I answered with my suggestion.

Nobody is talking about not testing stuff... 'cept you
lol

and you.....with your comment on feeding reliability alone.

and yet we see several posts stating that people have no issues.....wonder how they figured that out.....perhaps tested it.
 
Honestly, I'd be skeptical of using any lever action for home defense because of the risk of short-shucking it under life-or-death pressure. We can discuss mechanical factors of reliability like cartridge length and bullet shape all day, but the part I don't trust is the human element.
 
I think the Hornady XTP suggestion is a good one. There was a series of videos on YouTube comparing various self defense rounds for the 380. At the end, the author had five commercial loads that he recommended. In his tests, they all outperformed long-time favorites, such as Gold Dot. The punchline: All five had one thing in common. They all used the Hornady XTP bullet.
 
Honestly, I'd be skeptical of using any lever action for home defense because of the risk of short-shucking it under life-or-death pressure. We can discuss mechanical factors of reliability like cartridge length and bullet shape all day, but the part I don't trust is the human element.

Assuming one practices enough with their gun, I don't see that as an issue. I've had all sorts of people say the same thing about pump shotguns, but in nearly 20 years of hunting small and large game (and a few sporting clays competitions) with my 870 that's never been a problem.
 
Honestly, I'd be skeptical of using any lever action for home defense because of the risk of short-shucking it under life-or-death pressure. We can discuss mechanical factors of reliability like cartridge length and bullet shape all day, but the part I don't trust is the human element.
Unless there is some legal reason you are stuck with something like that.
 
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