Ammo Confusion S&W 586 4" barrel

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DigiRebel

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I've seen (and read!) a few threads regarding the "best" type of ammo for my new (to me) 586.

I plan to practice/target shoot with it regularly. .38 Wadcutters seem to make the most sense for that. (I am looking at Bitterroot Valley ammo for sale on Cheaper Than Dirt, to try and save some bucks on practice.)

For home defense, I live in a suburban area with houses all around. In addition I have two small children in the house. Overpenetration is a *HUGE!* concern for me. Enough so that I am somewhat worried about putting .357 magnum rounds in the gun even for home defense purposes.

I've seen stuff suggesting frangible rounds (don't even know where I'd find them) I've seen shot rounds (which remind me of the shot rounds I had for snakes when I worked on a Boy Scout Rifle range in the 90's), I've even seen people suggesting just using the same wadcutters.

Well gurus, what's your take?

I've not ordered anything yet, and want to make an informed first purchase.

Thanks much!!
 
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With over penetration an issue you may be well served buy continuing to use wadcutters for HD. A few other benefits of wadcutters is low recoil for faster follow up shots, low muzzle flash for your night vision, and lower noise levels for indoor shots without hearing protection. Another very controllable HD round is the .38 special 158 grain SWCHP FBI load. More powerful than the target load, but not up to the stout .357 levels.
 
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Thanks Smith357!

I suppose my concern is how important is the stopping power of the .357 round in this case...

Its a catch 22, I know, but its all about finding that balance I suppose.
 
Plenty of good .38 Special +P home defense rounds out there from the major manufacturers, especially out of a 4" gun. I would stay away from the shot loads and full house .357 loads. There are a couple of .357 reduced power loads like the Remington Golden Saber and Gold Dot Short Barrel .357, but these still are quite a bit more than I'd want in my home setting.
 
All handgun bullets run the risk of penetrating thin sheetrock and hollow core doors. I suggest the following:

NO shot shells. These are strictly for small animals, not SD.

NO solid bullets; FMJ, round nose lead, lead semi-wadcutters or even target wadcutters unless these are your ONLY CHOICE. All these loads are highly over penetrative in humans AND sheetrock/hollow core doors.

Some of the best choices in 38Spl caliber are the 135gr+P Speer Gold Dot (GDHP) and 125gr+P GDHP, Winchester 130gr PDX1, 125gr Remington Golden Saber.

In 357Mag: the 125JHP by Federal, Remington or Winchester is KING in stopping ability but you have heavy muzzle blast & recoil, 110JHP by either Fed, Rem or Win, or 145gr Win Silvertip.

Pre-fragmented loads by Corbon/Glaser, Exterme Shock and MagSafe are an "iffy" proposition because of their lack of street proven stopping ability.
 
As stated DO NOT USE shot shells for HD. I've shot snakes that
we're not even killed with shot shells from a .44
I would second exactly what Smith357 has said.
My model 36 in my bed side table has the FBI loading
mentioned and i am very comfortable with it if needed.

Chuck
 
Worry about a miss more than 'over penetration.' Hate to point this out, but there is no ammo available that won't penetrate sheetrock walls, flimsy doors, etc., if you miss.
 
I would also suggest, and I use the FBI Load in my home defense revolver. It's a time tested round which is much less likely to over penetrate than any .357 Magnum load. (not to mention the noise levels)
 
Housing Development /Apartments,
357 for H.D. not a good choice.

A 12 gauge, 7 or 8 shot to the head.

Stopped the Fight/Intruder, so says Clint Smith the Director
of Thunder Ranch, addressing a crime scene from his LEO days.

It was the worst looking living room Aggressor he'd ever encountered after arriving on the scene.

The homeowner had prevailed with his shotgun.
 
All my carry and home defense handguns are loaded with Glaser Safety slugs. I've seen the damage they do as did my doctor during his time as an ER intern in Philly. They are VERY effective at close range with no danger of richocet or over-penetration. He described it as a .410 shotgun contact wound with massive tissue damage and rapid blood loss. Most magnum rounds use heavily constructed jacketed bullets are meant for hunting and have been known to sail right thru. I personally have shot 2 large charging dogs with my .380 and Glasers and it took the bark as well as the bite right out of them.

Too many people think about having to defend against a 6'2" 320lb steel-pumper , but in our area , it's more likely to be a 5'10"125lb crack-smoking 'skinny'. Read about one such a few years ago , took 5 .45 230gr Hydra-Shoks center mass and ran away. They passed right thru with no expansion or effect.

Yes , they can be expensive , but ya don't really need to test reliability with a revolver.
 
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Thanks for all the responses!! (Took me a few days to get back to it, with the holiday and all (aka a wonderful chest cold that Santa dropped off for me...)

cp1969 is correct a miss is a bigger concern for me than overpenetration. Obviously, my first objective is to get out and get comfortable enough with my gun that I can reduce the chance of a miss as much as possible. (This is the main reason I went with a 586 revolver, I wanted something that would be fun to shoot too.) Its also pretty obvious to me that its better to not shoot at all in a home defense situation... I hope that the fact that I am armed and ready to defend my family would be enough to send anyone packing without having to fire at all.

That said... I'd rather have a gun and never need it, then need it and not have a gun, and so minimizing the risk to family and neighbors is my next priority.

Of course, now I am down to picking between the FBI loads and the Glaser Blue rounds (I was looking at the glaser blues initially because of the low chance of riccochet) The stuff I've seen on the FBI loads is impressive as well

The wadcutters I think will be what I keep in there in the short term though. I figure that I should keep what I am practicing with loaded until I find a better option. (and then practice with that too)
 
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