ammo for home defense

[j1]

I have ben reading a lot about revolver versus auto loader but here is a new one that has been of great interest to me. If person had a 357 revolver which would be the best choice of ammo for home defense. At the short ranges shot in most home would the extra muzzle blast be worth it? Or would 38 & P be a better choice? The great thing about a 357 revolver is the many options of ammo available.

 

[loadedround]

If I were dependent on a 357 for home defense and also assuming that there were nearby neighbors; I'd load it with the old standard FBI load. This round consists of a 38 Spl case and a 158 gr LSWC bullet loaded to almost +P pressure. This way you would have an excellent man stopper and a bullet that won't go through two or three layers of wall board and hit one of your neighbors. I believe this round is still factory loaded, but if not one of the older Speer manuals gives you loading information. JMHO.

 

[j1]

Loadedround the nearness of neghbors is unimportant. Thank you for your response. What do you think ot the 125 grain jacketed hp plus P round.

 

[RaceM]

j1- For up close & personal the 125gr JHP will do just fine. I've got my GP100 currently loaded with 38's, and two speed loaders with full house magnums. Just remember it's not so much the round, but shot placement that'll get the job done. Practice, practice, practice, until putting lead on target is more point & shoot (instinctive) than conscious thought.

 

[rcmodel]

The speer 135 grain Short-Barrel Gold Dot load is the most impressive light bullet load I have found in +P .38 Spl.
Many other 125 JHP bullets don't expand much at .38 Spl velocity.

They also load it in .357 Mag at reduced velocity and although I haven't tried it, it should be a good'n!
http://www.speer-ammo.com/ballistics/detail.aspx?loadNo=23917

If you don't want to use 158 grain SWC-HP FBI load, get that.

rc

 

[Tony_the_tiger]

I'm partial to the speer gold dot 125 grain JHP. However, you may be deaf and blind for a little while after ... Its better than dead. that's the nature of the beast with magnum loads. In .38, I like the corbon DPX +P round. .44 special is a great caliber for self defense too... Low pressure, high wounding potential.

 

[barstoolguru]

I am sure there are more knowable people on here then me but a 38 will kill just as good as a 357 mag. at 20 ft. What you have to tell yourself is when picking a caliper how much sheetrock will the bullet pass through before stopping.
Just a little story from back in the day; when dirty harry came out every one wanted a 44 mag. well a friend got one and used it for home defense. As the story goes on night he had a B&E at home and he came down the stairs with his gun and started shooting as the burglar is running out the front door.
He empties the gun and goes outside to see if he had hit the guy. As he steps into his from yard he looks around and nothing so he turns to go inside and what does he see? He blew 6 major holes in the front of his home so big that he could see the light from the house coming out them.
Needless to say with repairs and rebricking the front of his home I cost him just under $10,000. Just as easy he could have shot in a different direction and killed one of his own.
Morel of the story; pick a round that’s not going to devastate you when you miss and always know your backstops. Sheetrock is not a bullet stopper

 

[loadedround]

J1: 125 gr JHP will work just fine as long as penetration is not a problem. Having said that, I'm of the old school that big and slow works just as well if not better. That's why my HD gun is a 1911A1 with 230 gr FMJ ammo. It just works for me.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

As said by others, for HD the FBI Load is probably a good choice. (158gr LSWC/HP .38 Special +P) It's a time tested load that's accurate and will work well in almost any 38/357 revolver. My S&W M&P is loaded with them all the time for HD...

 

[Gtimothy]

My GP-100 loves Speer gold dot 125 grain JHPs in .357 MAG so that's what I have loaded for HD.

 

[redbullitt]

Mine has a 3 inch barrel, and I am liking the speer short barrel 38 +p. Nice looking bullet that will probably expand.

 

[Tony_the_tiger]

My GP-100 loves Speer gold dot 125 grain JHPs in .357 MAG so that's what I have loaded for HD.

Mine too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7w4M-LNXuQ

Enough said.

 

[SabbathWolf]

I have ben reading a lot about revolver versus auto loader but here is a new one that has been of great interest to me. If person had a 357 revolver which would be the best choice of ammo for home defense. At the short ranges shot in most home would the extra muzzle blast be worth it? Or would 38 & P be a better choice? The great thing about a 357 revolver is the many options of ammo available.

In 357 mag...the 125 gr JHP has the best street/track record for personal defense.
That doesn't mean 38+P won't work.
But me personally, I always kept my 357s loaded with 357.
Otherwise....I would have just bought a 38 to begin with.

 

[FMF Doc]

Couple of factors to consider:
1. Are you worried about 2 or 4 legged intruders? And what about snakes? If you are as likely to be mauled by a cat or bear as you are a thug, then you might want to look into something that penetrates a little deeper. My mountain home gun is a GP100 with 158gr+p wide mouth lead casts. They go DEEP, which is important if you need to shoot a cat or bear, and will get the job done on 2 legged predators too.

2. What type of gun are you shooting. I would not want to shoot 125gr .357mag out of a scadmium j-frame, but 4-5" 686 is another story. I like my SP101 with 3" barrel, small enough to carry, big enough to shoot, heavy enough to handle some stout .357 loads, and you can shoot .38+p all day.

3. Do you reload? I don't advise using reloads for home defense, but if you can make you own load to duplicate your factory defense load, you can practice shooting "the same load" for a lot less. .357mag is expensive. I hear a lot of people say "I practice with .38 but carry .357." That is not the kind of suprise you want when the hammer falls.

4. Really, if your only threats are on 2 legs, any load will work if you can put it where it needs to be. If you can do that better with a standard preasure .38spl, then that is a much better option than "the best, hottest, fastest, heaviest" .357 mag load that you couldn't the broad side of a barn with.

5. Do not underestimate the blast--audio and visual--from a .357, especially indoors. The range I shoot at has a lot of LEOs that do their annual quals there. They no longer do lights out shoots with .357 backups after 3 deputies got medically retired from hearing &/or night sight loss. It is intense, and anyone who says "you won't notice the blast in a real deffensive situation" has never been there. You notice!

 

[sixgunner455]

A .38 Special 110gr Fed Hydrashok *will* pass through at least 2 internal walls (4 layers of sheetrock) as if they aren't even there, unless it impacts a wall stud on the way through one of them. The wall stud will *probably* stop that bullet. Your ears will not thank you for this, either.

Heavier bullets will probably do more penetrating.

Be aware of your bullet direction and backstop - besides hitting your target, that is of tremendous importance. Bullets don't stop or disappear just because they didn't hit the bad guy.

 

[j1]

thanks

Gentlemen, first off thanks to one and all for your answers. Home defense in my situation does not include bears or snakes. I did once see a 650 pound bear outside my bathroom window though, but he stayed on the lawn. If he seemed agressive and threatening then some rifle would have gotten loaded up, if I had the time. Just had another good thought there should be ammo easily available for a rifle should I ever need it. I live in the country and do not have to worry about shooting any neighbors. Naturally I have to keep my wife's location in my mind. I feel that the 357 is a great revolver but question needing the extra power of the magnum rounds at such short distances. The distance across my bedroom is about ten or twelve feet. I think that this board is a really great site with many very knowledgable members. It is a difficult question though, how much power is enough, and how much is too much.

 

[Lawdawg45]

j1,

I'll also recommend the Speer Gold Dot in .38+P. Expansion = stopping power, and brands like Hornaday fall seriously short in that category.

LD

 

[barstoolguru]

It is a difficult question though, how much power is enough, and how much is too much.

The best thing is to get on you-tube and look up some tests for the ammo you are thinking about and see that looks like it will work for you. Keep in mind that hollow points will expand on impact to them will be a better choice because they retain more ft lbs of energy when impacting. If they hit a wall they will slow down as well and not continue outside (hopefully) and do some damage to someone else.

I heard of a man that shot a 9mm fmj in his house and it went through his house and into a neighbor's house and finally stopped in the bedroom of the second home in the wall. The neighbor was not to happy

 

[mdauben]

If person had a 357 revolver which would be the best choice of ammo for home defense. At the short ranges shot in most home would the extra muzzle blast be worth it? Or would 38 & P be a better choice?

I used my .357 as a bedside gun for years but I always loaded it with .38 +P ammo. Just the idea of the muzzle blast of full bore 125gr .357 loads going off in an enclosed space, and me probably w/o hearing protection, made me wince!

As far as penetration, any worthile SD/HD round is going to go right through interior walls with still enough power to be potentially deadly on the other side. You best bet is to try and preplan "fire lanes" that are most likely to miss your neighboors.

 

[gk2410]

My house guns start out with two chambers of plain old full wadcutter match ammo (less flash, recoil, and penetration). The next two are .38+P HP's (assuming the situation is escalating), and the final two are .357 SP's (to reach out and penetrate if necessary). Not for everyone, but comfortable for me.

 

[Loosedhorse]

Or would 38 [+P] be a better choice?

Take about 100 rounds each of hot .357 loads (maybe 158s, but I like 125s), some easier .357s (Golden Saber) and some .38+P and .38+P+. What's that--400, 500 rounds we're up to?

If you have a shot timer, great. Even if you don't, load cylinders and shoot on target as rapidly as you can.

If you're like most people, you will notice that it takes you more time to get back on target with heavier recoiling rounds. You may find that some rounds don't pull you off target at all and you can empty the cylinder, all "A", under 2 seconds (world record for 8 shots is 1 second).

You may find that full-house .357s slow you way down. Or not at all.

And you will have your answer. Your answer is yours, for your particular gun. My answer is .38+Ps or Golden Saber .357s. Took me about 5 long days of shooting to get my answer.

 

[SabbathWolf]

Take about 100 rounds each of hot .357 loads (maybe 158s, but I like 125s), some easier .357s (Golden Saber) and some .38+P and .38+P+. What's that--400, 500 rounds we're up to?

If you have a shot timer, great. Even if you don't, load cylinders and shoot on target as rapidly as you can.

If you're like most people, you will notice that it takes you more time to get back on target with heavier recoiling rounds. You may find that some rounds don't pull you off target at all and you can empty the cylinder, all "A", under 2 seconds (world record for 8 shots is 1 second).

You may find that full-house .357s slow you way down. Or not at all.

And you will have your answer. Your answer is yours, for your particular gun. My answer is .38+Ps or Golden Saber .357s. Took me about 5 long days of shooting to get my answer.

I dunno?
With handguns, I never really worried too much either way about rapid fire to be honest.
Most times it "is" better to slow down just a little.
One well placed shot that brings the fight to an immediate end is 100 times better than 10 or 15 rapid fire wild misses or merely inflicting superficial wounds that still allow the other guy to keep shooting at you too.
But that's just "my" approach to it.
"Slow is smooth and smooth is fast."
YMMV

 

[Frank V]

J1

I applaud your decision that a rifle is better for a Bear, it most certainly is. Time constraints might dictate a handgun, but if not use the more powerful gun. If large four legged predators become a problem, you could keep a rifle handy.

As for home defense, we'll assume it's two legged predators, I use Remington factory 125gr short jacket hollow point .357 ammo. The 125gr bullet is what the .357 made it's street reputation with & that's not an idle reputation. I use factory ALWAYS for defense. This has been kicked around for years, but in todays willing to sue over anything climate, I'm going to eliminate one possibility. I do practice & hunt with handloads, I just don't use them for defense.

Good luck in finding a defense load.
Frank

 

[j1]

There have been many good points made. I do not want to shoot any bear. I like bear. The unlikely case of self defense needs no answer really. The question of me or him will be answered by a person who is not yet ready to die or be mauled.

I have never tried to shoot extremely rapidly. I will try it. An accurate first shot followed by several timed fairly rapid follow up shots with the last being to the head ought to end most self defensive situations. I am going to shoot more, starting later today. I do NOT shoot enough. I must remember to get out some rifle ammo to have it handy in the extremely unlikely event of an agressive bear attacking.

Talk about strange things seen my neighbor once said come on over there is an ostrich running around. I did not believe him at first but did drive over and there was what looked like an ostrich running around. It turned out to be an emu which looks just like an ostrich. Soon a truck with a couple of guys caught it. It turned out to be theirs as they were raising them at the time. The longer you live the more things you will see, including some strange things.

 

[suemarkp]

I think part of the answer ties into to what is barrel length of your gun? If it is a little 2 or 3 incher, it is going to be loud. With a full up 357 load, it will be really really loud and bright.

As some have said, any decent round is going to penetrate your exterior wall and that of a close neighbor's regardless of what bullet weight or configuration you choose (except for shot shells or perhaps lead round balls). But you imply that neighbors are far away, so can scratch that worry.

One consideration I did not see mentioned was penetration. Are you in are area where an intruder could be wearing a heavy coat? If so, I'd go for a heavier round (140gr or more).

You could also stack the cylinder with progressively heavier loads if need be.

For your situation (short range, inside the house only, people not animals), I think the FBI load (described earlier) is a good choice, especially if you have a 4" or longer barrel. A 38 +p load should be fine, and perhaps better if you have a 2" barrel. The 125gr 357 load is quite effective, but loud and bright. May not fully penetrate a large person with a heavy coat. For that, I'd go with heavier 38 or 357 loads.

The 357 is a mixed blessing. The higher velocity creates more expansion which makes a larger hole. But it can reduce penetration if expansion is excessive. If expansion fails, then all the extra velocity is wasted. To get that higher velocity, the gun makes more noise and flash. A 6" barrel helps, but a 4" is loud and bright, and a 3" or shorter is like a flash bang grenade with 357 loads.