I just got two HKS 51-J speedloaders for my new to me 4" 651. I like to keep defensive ammo accessible for all of my revolvers either moonclipped or in speedloaders - 'just in case'. I have found CCI 40gr HP MaxiMags everywhere - including at WallyWorld. I also found a box of Remington '22 Win Mag 33 gr Accutip-V'. Which would be better from it's 4" barrel in self defense? Is there a Speer Gold Dot available? Suggestions? Thanks!

Stainz

Two loads for .22 Magnum that were designed for self defense, rather than shooting tiny varmints, are the Hornady Critical Defense, and the Speer Gold Dot Short barrel.

Critical Defense Ammo 22 Winchester Mag Rimfire (WMR) 45 Grain Flex Tip eXpanding Box of 500

Speer Ammo - Short Barrel

Will these speedloaders work with the 351PD?????

No - they are for the original 6-shooter 51/651 models, not the 7-shot 351 series.

Stainz

One would THINK with the popularity of S&W's little 351PD that SOMEONE would make a speedloader for it......HINT! HINT! Are you LISTENING HKS and Safariland????

I dont think it would really matter which .22 mag would be best. See which expanding soft or hollow point shoots best in your gun and go with it. If your depending on a .22 mag for defense (which I personally wouldnt) shot placement is king , regardless of your load.

Stick with the heavier bullets - last thing you want is underpenetration. There was an article in this month's Shooting Times about a couple of new .22 WMR loadings, but here are some data for the caliber out of a 4" tube:

Bowen Bearcat .22 Magnum, 4" barrel

43° F, 5950'>sea level, c. 45% humidity
CCI 40-gr TMJ: mean 1214 fps/ Extreme spread 30.41 fps/Standard deviation 13.26 fps
CCI 40-gr JSP: M 1311/ES 105.8/SD 57.55
Win Super-X 40-gr JHP: M 1421/ES 66.33/SD 27.67
Fed Champion 40-gr FMJ: M 1296/ES 60.87/SD 26.68
Win Dynapoint 45-gr HP: M 1129/ES 99.46/SD 38.41

54°F, 5950'> sea level, 20% humidity
Win Super-X 40-gr FMJ: M 1385/ES 61/58/SD 25.80
Rem 40-gr JHP: M 1271/ES 74.71/SD 32.48

77° F, 5950'>sea level, 40% humidity:
Winchester Supreme 30-gr JHP: M 1653 fps/ES 205.8 /SD 82.35
Winchester Supreme 34-gr JHP: M 1611/ES 79.69/SD 30.29
CCI 50-gr GDHP: M 1271/ES 67.35/SD 21.95

Accuracy, of course, is going to vary out of your gun so test a number of them. I found that some loadings gave me patterns, others were accurate indeed.