Hi All,

I want to get some defensive ammo for my new revolver. I am confused in that people say NOT to use light grain 357 ammo in my K Frame. So is it ok to get , lets say 158 gr. magnums for it? I would have thought heavier bullet would be more damaging so I guess I dont quite understand.

Also, please let me know what you guys carry in your K Frames....I know some people rely on 38 +P's and I thought that I should go with Magnums as that is the reason for buying the gun.. Yes I will practise mostly with 38's but for defense I would like Magnums.

Also, I can get some old stock Black Talons in the 180 gr. range (357)....any thoughts on this ammo?

Thanks

Hi,
I have a 66-4 4 inch revolver. The K-frame magnums were design to use 158G ammo. The FPS on most 158G is about 1100 to 1200 FPS. The K-frame won't have a problem with this ammo. Hear is some suggests for ammo for defense. Remingtons Golden Saber 125G HP. This round has 1220 FPS. Another good round is the Winchester Silvertip 145G HP. It has 1290 FPS. These are lower power rounds that don't have the recoil but much better that a +P 38 special round. The bottom line is you want to stay around 1100 to 1300 FPS. The full house magnums in 125G and lighter come in at 1400 to 1500 FPS. This are the rounds that are the hardest on the forcing cone area of the K-frame. With my K-Frame I stay with either of the two above if availiable. A good +P 38 special will work if you can't get any in 357. I would only use the Black Talons for practice. You don't need that heavy of a weight for personal defense.
Good luck,
roaddog

Thanks for the great info. I just went and got some 158 gr jhp for PD. It was Blazer so not great stuff but only what I could find for now until I can get something else.

I just shot some Blazer Aluminum 158gr JHP's. They most definitely felt very underpowered. Not much different that .38's.

But yes stick with 158's or +P .38's in your K-Frame. Buffalo Bore makes some great .38 loads. And like others said you don't need 180's for self defense and they would likely overpenetrate.

I like the Speer Gold Dots, but honestly In .357mag any premium self defense ammo is going to work well.

A "kind of, sort of" rule of thumb is anything 130 grains and above in bullet weight for .357 Magnums in a K frame (66) have less chance of causing the most common types of damage. I'd likely not go any higher than 158 in weight for two legged? Lot's of good loads have already been suggested. I've run about an 80%/20% .38 Special's to .357 Magnum loads in our M-66 for 15 years now W/O issues. A four inch barrel 66 with night sights is my Wife's bed side gun. It's currently running Buffalo Bores .38 Special +P 158 LSWCHPGC load.

A 158gr JHP or cast SWC loaded to 1250fps is my preference in the '66. If I need more power I plan to use the handgun to get me to my rifle!

I load any 158gr in my M66,as far as good defense loads I'd look at the 158gr Gold Dot as well as any of the others mentioned.

And yea the Blazer 158's are NOT full power,just try them in a Desert Eagle and watch what happens but I'd have to say any .357 158gr JHP is gonna hurt!

Have fun with yer blaster

K frame: 38 Special +P 158 grain Lead Hollow Point (the so-called FBI Load).

In Model 13/66:

.38 Special - Federal 125 gr. Nyclad

.357 Magnum - Winchester 145 gr. Silvertip (flash retardant and recoil is not as nasty as 125 gr.)
I suggest you don't bother with 110 gr. - but you may be able to pick-up as "close-out"/on-the-cheap for practice.

I keep my PC-13 loaded with Nyclads with an additional Nyclad speedloader and a "reserve" speedloader full of Silvertips. I don't know about everyone else, but I'm most definitely faster with the .38 compared to .357. No matter how much I've practiced, those Magnums slow me down. I would estimate that an accurate Magnum "double-tap" takes me 1.5X longer than with Specials.

But I got to tell ya, your revolver may be particularly accurate with some off-the-wall load - just like my Model 13 - it gives best accuracy/groupings (consistent 3" - 4" @ 25 yds.) with PMC .357 158 gr. Semi-Jacketed Hollow-Point (that I was able to buy cheaply in quantity) versus W-W 145 gr. Silvertip (relatively expensive and hard-to-find) provides "only" 5 inch groups (consistently).

IMHO I suggest you try running as many brands/loadings as is practicable. Always remember, you will have greater load flexibility with your 66's adjustable sights. My PC-13 has rather small fixed sights - but some would argue that is as it should be on a "fightin'" revolver - that are factory adjusted for the 158 gr. bullet.

Don't be an idiot like me - Oh, I knew better - I didn't listen to those that knew. As a greenhorn I tried to get 1" - 2" groups at 25 yards out of a 3" PC-13, simply because it was a Performance Center gun. Wrong. Stupid Is What Stupid Does - I Guess.

I like the old 357 Magnum Winchester Super-X Silvertip in the 145gr weight. The Silvertip is an oldy but a goody.

I always carry an N frame, but like the Ks.

Also look at the Federal .38+P+ 147gr Hydra Shocks or the 38 FBI load.

I really like the speer gold dots in 158 grain but at the moment I am loaded down with Hornady 158 grain rounds. They seem to be very accurate.

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I tend to agree with Dan above me. I have shot pretty much every grain load and type in my K-frames and (knock on wood ) haven't had any trouble. Although, for me there is just something great about the win silvertip bullet..I love em! For me they shoot great, straight, and have a good level of penetration. And as an added bonus they look all kinds of nasty! Although to be fair, I buy the silvertip bullets and load them myself, so I can't speak on the effectiveness of the factory rounds.

I load with Remington 125 JHP .357 magnum. There is a man named Evan Marshall who use to write for magazines. He also did an exhaustive research on police shootings. He found the 125 JHP for .357 as one of the most effective rounds. I am not suggesting shooting hundreds or thousands through a K frame. I practice with 158 grain .38 special. I don't think carrying a hotter load should hurt the gun.

The 125 grain JHP in the .357 Magnum loading has the statistically highest one-shot stop capability of any handgun cartridge, according to several people who have exhaustively tracked this for years.

I carried a Model 66 to work from 1981 to 1991, and except for a short period during which I carried Silvertips, it was loaded and shot with Federal 125's. I put several thousand factory and equivalent handloaded rounds through one of mine and never cracked the forcing cone.

I figure that if the purpose of carrying the gun is to stop fights if called upon, I should carry it with the ammo most likely to render the best results.

Were I carry a .357 Magnum again today, it would still be with Federal 125's. Sight in with them, shoot a cylinder or three when you go practice, but do the majority of your shooting with something else and you should be fine.

since i'm on a tight budget and needed something a bit better then a 38+P I tried the Blazer 158gr.JHP and found them to work very well in both my M65 4" and M66 2-1/2"
they are rated at 464ft.lb. at the muzzle from a 4" vented barrel, so out a 4 regular barrel and a 2-1/2" barrel they have proven to be a good round with some hitting power that is still double the power of a 38+p.
I have shot over 2000 rounds between the 2 guns with out a problem with the Blazer round.

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