|
|
06-10-2018, 07:58 AM
|
Member
|
|
|
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
Liked 7 Times in 4 Posts
|
|
SW 686 good defense ammo
New here and new to 357/38 ammo. I just got a SW 686-6 pistol which has a 3" barrel and 7 shots. I'm looking for a good defense round for home use. I've read that the 38 special +p round might be better than a 357 round for home defence.
What a good round to get. I'm using Remington UMC 38 special 130 gr. FMJ for target shooting. I have not tried any 357 rounds yet.
Thanks Harold
|
06-10-2018, 08:36 AM
|
|
Member
|
|
|
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Cochise County, Arizona
Posts: 390
Likes: 230
Liked 311 Times in 136 Posts
|
|
Full power .357 magnum ammo will certainly work, but indoors it will be real hard on the ears and may have a blinding flash after the first round goes off. In revolvers I use the Speer 135gr. short barrel .38 Special +P or the Speer 135gr. Short Barrel .357 load. That .357 load is pretty mild mannered yet effective.
YMMV
|
06-10-2018, 08:46 AM
|
|
Moderator
|
|
|
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 26,785
Likes: 938
Liked 18,879 Times in 9,241 Posts
|
|
Welcome! Both of the above are excellent choices; another that comes up frequently mentioned is the Remington Golden Saber .357 load. All are not loaded to full .357 pressure levels but should do the job if needed.
__________________
Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220
|
The Following User Likes This Post:
|
|
06-10-2018, 09:33 AM
|
|
Absent Comrade
|
|
|
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Upstate SC
Posts: 12,990
Likes: 17,229
Liked 41,503 Times in 9,146 Posts
|
|
Federal C357B is my standard HD/SD round in all my 686s, including the 3", unless I load for game on woods walks. Shoots to point of aim with the tightest groups of any ammo I've tried.
|
06-10-2018, 12:35 PM
|
|
US Veteran
|
|
|
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Reno Nv
Posts: 13,376
Likes: 3,183
Liked 12,712 Times in 5,669 Posts
|
|
Being that you have a longer 3" barrel revolver, it will do well with any ammo.
Both the 38 +P or the .357 ammo will work but as mentioned
the 38 is a lot nicer on the ears and eyes in a dark room condition.
If you get a chance to shoot in a dark place, see if you like either one....... but use ear protection each time, if possible.
Both have their place.
|
06-10-2018, 12:43 PM
|
Banned
|
|
|
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: USA
Posts: 1,285
Likes: 1,112
Liked 1,609 Times in 660 Posts
|
|
I own a 4" 686 and in all honesty I feel that 357 magnum loads should be used under certain conditions such as a sidearm companion when out hunting/camping/field/bowling pin matches. For self defense IMHO I feel something simple such as Remington G&W box 38 special 125gr +P will get the "job done".
For practice/plinking/target. Again, Remington G&W box 130gr FMJ's are a great choice.
|
06-10-2018, 02:45 PM
|
Member
|
|
|
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
Liked 7 Times in 4 Posts
|
|
Thanks everyone
|
06-10-2018, 05:35 PM
|
|
US Veteran
|
|
|
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: R.T. P, area NC
Posts: 9,701
Likes: 29,455
Liked 22,969 Times in 5,777 Posts
|
|
Underwood Ammo makes a hard cast 158Gr semi wadcutter in 38 special +p. It's rated at 1,200 FPS with 550 FPE. This round is easy to shoot in any K or L frame.
__________________
Always Stay Strong!
|
The Following User Likes This Post:
|
|
06-10-2018, 10:59 PM
|
|
Moderator SWCA Member Absent Comrade
|
|
|
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Northeast PA, USA
Posts: 8,877
Likes: 1,029
Liked 5,070 Times in 2,660 Posts
|
|
Most of the name brand .38 Special SD ammo available today will do a good job if necessary. Find the one that is most accurate in your revolver and go with it.
Speer GDHP, Federal HST, Winchester PDX1, Hornady Critical Defense and Service ammo and others will all work well IMO.
__________________
Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437
|
06-10-2018, 11:29 PM
|
|
US Veteran
|
|
|
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Colorado
Posts: 7,518
Likes: 19,273
Liked 32,340 Times in 5,474 Posts
|
|
Anyone who has ever been forced to fire a handgun inside a structure or enclosed space is unlikely to want to repeat that experience. A 3"-barreled .357 magnum revolver might be the ultimate proof of that simple fact. Muzzle blast, muzzle flash, recoil will all be extreme, probably physically damaging to the shooter whether or not he hits what he is shooting at.
There is no portion of my home that offers a greater distance than about 30 feet indoors. I live in a residential area of a city with neighbors on all 4 sides. My home is of frame construction. All of these factors dictate against high-performance or magnum ammunition of any kind.
In the 3" L-frame I would lean toward either 148-grain wadcutter target loads or 158-grain lead semi-wadcutters, at standard pressures and velocities (not magnum, not +P loads). Enough is enough, and too much can be way too much.
YMMV.
|
The Following 2 Users Like Post:
|
|
06-11-2018, 12:08 AM
|
|
Member
|
|
|
Join Date: May 2006
Location: U.P. Mi
Posts: 2,060
Likes: 8,959
Liked 1,270 Times in 693 Posts
|
|
I have no neighbors within a quarter mile, or more. My hearing has been damaged from 50 + years of shooting without appropriate protection, and Rock in the 60-70's. I try to conserve what I have left, hence home defense is now all suppressed. As for the 686 many great loads- I would recommend Speer Gold-Dot short barrel in 38+p, 135gr or it's big brother Gold-Dot short barrel in 357 mag, 135 gr, both have a good reputation in LE and civilian reports. As Lobo said, you need to go into a dark structure, with hearing protection, so as to have some idea as to what will occur when you pull the trigger- it is different than a outdoor sunny day. If you need the indoor target a 14" X 16" box fill with telephone books makes a good back stop and will stop 300 Blackout 220 gr subs without problem. Also please have 2 lights, for when the first one is no longer bright- you need to see what you may be shooting at. Be Safe,
__________________
I BACK OUR BLUE
|
06-11-2018, 01:30 AM
|
Member
|
|
|
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 88
Likes: 23
Liked 62 Times in 34 Posts
|
|
Ammo is so good right now compared even to what it was 10 years ago, let alone 20 years ago, and there are tons of reviews and gel tests on the internet. But that 3" barrel is long enough to get most anything to expand and perform well. As mentioned by many others, any 357 round set off inside is going to be deafening and maybe temporarily blinding, so 38+P is probably the way forward. But there are SO many good choices it's hard to go wrong. 135 gold dots, 125 golden sabers, the 129 winchester loads, any of the 158 FBI loads....you're in good shape. All will do the job well.
|
06-11-2018, 06:13 AM
|
|
Member
|
|
|
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: (outside) Charleston, SC
Posts: 30,918
Likes: 41,503
Liked 29,153 Times in 13,781 Posts
|
|
For inside.....
.38 Special or .38 plus p.
Remington Golden Sabers, Federal HSTs. Speer Gold Dots. most any of the known brands have quality stuff.
If you want spend money on whopper .38 loads, there's Buffalo bore.
__________________
"He was kinda funny lookin'"
|
06-11-2018, 10:14 AM
|
|
US Veteran
|
|
|
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Biloxi, Mississippi
Posts: 2,022
Likes: 9,101
Liked 3,216 Times in 1,123 Posts
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by LoboGunLeather
Anyone who has ever been forced to fire a handgun inside a structure or enclosed space is unlikely to want to repeat that experience. A 3"-barreled .357 magnum revolver might be the ultimate proof of that simple fact. Muzzle blast, muzzle flash, recoil will all be extreme, probably physically damaging to the shooter whether or not he hits what he is shooting at.
Enough is enough, and too much can be way too much. YMMV.
|
Ray is correct, if you miss them with the bullet, you can burn them to death with the flash.
The pictures are of a full-house .357 mag. in a 4 inch gun at night.
Your 3 inch would be slightly worse.
__________________
CSM, U S Army(Ret) 1963-1990
|
The Following 3 Users Like Post:
|
|
|
Thread Tools |
|
Display Modes |
Linear Mode
|
Posting Rules
|
|
|
|
|