Need .357 mag and .38 +P for a S&W Model 66

[.cheese.]

I am going to get some ammo for my father's Model 66. His ammo is in poor shape and so I'm pulling the bullets. Plus, it was not a good modern HP.

He had 50 rounds of .357 mag and 50 rounds of .38 special +P both Remington.

I want to get him at least 100 rounds of each. Short barrel is not necessary as his has I believe a 4" or 6" barrel (I haven't measured and am bad at eyeballing length).

I'd rather stay away from Speer as I don't want to get his ammo and my ammo confused (the short barrel which I have and regular which he needs look identical).

I was thinking:

Federal HST, Remington Golden Saber, or Winchester Ranger or SXT. HST I have only had in .40SW, it works well at least in that caliber. I assume they make revolver versions, but I don't know for sure. I'll check the ATK site. Golden Saber only seems to come in boxes of 20, I've never seen a box of 50. Winchester Ranger or SXT I know little about.

Also, I am going to get some frangible ammo as he has always said he is afraid that the bullet would go through the wall and hit somebody else in the family if he every had to use his gun in HD. Safety Slugs? Do they sell a pack of 50 of those? I only ever see it in a pack of 7 or something.

In any case, I want an even balance of power, but low recoil as he never practices, so I'm not sure what kind of recoil he can manage. So, I'm thinking a light bullet weight for faster velocity, but just to make sure it has radical expansion to avoid over-penetration (not a worry with the frangible ammo fortunately - but I want to get him both regular and frangible so he can choose what to use).

Also, with the rosewood grips I've installed on his refinished gun, there is less recoil absorption, so it is a consideration.

Thanks.

ETA: Primary usage is HD. He is anti-hunting so he'll never use the gun for hunting.

 

[lanceman193]

For home defense I like Georgia Arms 38 special 158 gr +P lead semi-wadcutter hollow points,velocity 900 FPS.Price $10/50 plus shipping,virtually no recoil,and if you have to shoot one inside the house you will maintain your hearing.Also cheap enough to practice with.My guess is almost any .357 mag 158gr HP will do the job.My last purchase was aluminum cased Blazer which was not expensive and shot to point of aim with a fixed sight gun.

 

[RustyShackelford]

good home protection loads...

I'd buy some factory fresh CorBon DPX 110gr +P .38spl, Speer Gold Dot 135gr +P JHP .38spl, Buffalo Bore 158gr lead SWC-HP +P, or maybe the Magsafe MAX load in .38spl.

For the .357magnum, I'd choose a Remington Golden Saber 125gr JHP. If that's not handy, get some Corbon 125gr JHPs.

Rusty S

 

[Deleted member 66305]

I second Buffalo Bore 158-gr LSWCHP +P. Hard to find except online (just got some from MidwayUSA), and I also like Remington Golden Saber, but they're lighter bullets.

 

[rklessdriver]

The best .38+P load out of a 4" gun is the Remington 158gr LSWCHP. End of discussion.

The best .357 Mag is going to be Remington, Federal or Winchester 125gr SJHP. This is the round that caused all of those "he went down like he was STRUCK BY LIGHTNING" stories you hear about. DO NOT shoot them out of that Mod 66 on a regular basis. Fine to shoot a couple of times a year and keep in the gun for SD, but a heavy diet of them COULD crack the forcing cone.

Just FYI the Georgia arms 158gr LSWCHP should be used as practice ammo only. The lead is far too hard to use in a SD situation.
Will

 

[wnycollector]

I have all of my revolvers (and autos!) loaded with doubletap ammo. I use the +P 125gr gold dots in my .38 snubs and 125gr gold dot .357's in my Security Six and S&W 28-2.

 

[.38 Special]

Just to amplify on rklessdriver's post, the 66/19 really isn't meant for a lot of .357 use, and the hotrod 125 JHPs didn't exist when it was developed. Extensive use -- up to several thousand rounds -- of lead bullet .357 loads appears to be okay, but there are too many reports of cracked forcing cones with 125 JHP stuff for me to be comfortable with it in my guns.

FWIW, there is evidence that a big part of the problem is using JHPs after having fired lead loads. Apparently firing the jacketed bullets through a leaded forcing cone can raise pressures. </rumor>

 

[RustyShackelford]

125gr .357magnum JHPs...

Back in the day, as the kids say , the great 125gr JHP .357magnum had a one shot stop/power rating of around 94-96% in documented LE incidents in the USA. When the Federal 125gr JHP round was used it had a good chance of a 1 shot stop but most major brands did about the same...

RS

PS: this is also why I like the .357sig load for duty/CC/protection.

 

[kmrcstintn]

.38 spl +p...

old school: Remington 158gr lswchp (aka FBI load); whipper-snapper: Speer 135 gr Gold Dot (aka NYPD load)

.357 mag:
old school: full bore load: Remington or Federal 125gr sjhp (aka 'manstopper'); lighter load: Winchester 110gr sjhp (WWB defense load)

new school: too many to recommend, but I like 2 different ones...full bore load: Winchester 145gr Silvertip jhp; lighter load: Remington 125gr Golden Sabre jhp

BTW: ditto on not using lots of light-n-fast magnum loads thru the K-frame guns due to the compromised forcing cones; sumthin like this...back in the day, the heavier N-frame guns hosted .357 mag & .44 mag; a guy named Bill Jordan, a big S&W proponent & LEO asked S&W to chamber their lighter K-frame revos for .357 mag cuz it would make for happier LEO's to have a ligter gun on their hip; if you take a look at the forcing cone, you see a straight cut into the bottom that allows the cylinder yoke to tuck into the frame...this is the area in question; the K-frame was originally designed for .38 specials (notably loaded hotter than today's specs, but not as bad as the 125gr & 110gr .357 mag loads of the day); the hotter & faster burning powders associated with the lighter magnum loads cause erosion faster & weaken the forcing cone in the flattened area; if you choose the lighter loads (125gr or lighter), then limit the gun's exposure to them; you can get more trigger time with magnums by using 158gr loads which use a different slower burning powder