I want to get into six gun shooting again and want to get another smith and wesson 686 with .4 inch barrel. I had to sell my first one many years ago unfortunately. I will use it primly for target shooting but also for home defense.

Unfortunately the lighter loads in the 125 grain range that the made the 357 mag famous are not easily available in Austria. They only sell 158 grain rounds.

During the time I had a 357 mag henry lever action rile my preferred load was the 158 grain sJHP. Was a nice round for my rifle. and also quite affordable for a 357 magnum. I would not mind to use them again but I wonder if these big heavy rounds would not be too much concerning the risk of over penetration and not to mention the heavy recoil and muzzle blast.

Using a 38 special in the first place might the better choice anyway. And do not ask me why but it is easier to get lighter 38 special loads compared to 357 mag loads.

it would be possible to get the hornady ciritical defense (super expensive though) or some 125 grain Sjph rounds from Fiocchi.

Does anybody here has experience with that rounds? Or would you recommend to try get some 38 special semi wadcutter rounds?

As far as I know the swc rounds were quite popular in the states before t he advent off modern hollow point rounds, but might be wrong..


thanks for your help in advance.

In my opinion you really don't want to use a full power .357 magnum round inside you home at night anyway. It would be like setting off a flash-bang inside your dark bedroom essentially taking you out of the fight.

Since you say .38 Special defense ammo is more available at a reasonable prices that's what I would and do use.

Congratulations on your new M686, it's a great gun!

Edit: as for the 125gr vs 158gr magnum loads, IMO there is nothing wrong with the 158gr load. When I carry my .357 Magnum handgun and levergun they are both loaded with the same 158gr ammo.

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SWCA #3437

Federal and Winchester have made, and I think that they still do, a very good round in the .38 special as a 158 grain Lead Semi Wadcutter hollow point that is a +p loading that has always been written of a being quite adequate for self-defense. It is also supposed to be quite accurate also. I have found the mentioned rounds as very accurate and easily controllable. A 686 or 586 will handle these rounds very, very well. They MIGHT be slightly less expensive than the SJHP loads from other manufacturers.... I wish you success in your efforts!

Groo here
If you can get Remmington,, the 38 spec 110 to 125 gr SJHP loadings
work quit well as they have a large amount of lead exposed to deform.
Also seem to work in the lever rifles to...

What ArchAngelCD said. I agree with him.

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I don't know what kind of restrictions you have there, but here are my thoughts...

.38 Special 158gr lead semi-wadcutter hollowpoint +P, aka the FBI load, as someone else mentioned. It's a well-proven defensive load and may be less expensive than some of the newer JHP loadings. I often carried this in a .357 Magnum rather than true magnum loads.

.38 Special 148gr mid-range wadcutter. It wouldn't be my first choice for a gun like a 686, but it's an easy shooting load with relatively low muzzle blast/flash (at least compared to .357 Magnum). It should be readily available and inexpensive, compared to JHP loads. The bullet profile will be more likely to cut a decent wound channel than either LRN or SWC. And, despite being a non-HP, it will likely penetrate deep enough to reach vital organs but without the risk of overpenetration.

I'm not too familiar with the Hornady Critical Defense loading, but if you can find it in 125gr I think it would be a decent choice. Generally speaking, I'm not a fan of lightweight bullets for self defense, and most of the time I've seen Critical Defense mentioned it's in the 110gr weight.

While I said I'm not a fan of lightweight bullets, it might be worth seeing if you can get some .357 Magnum 110gr JHP or SJHP. The ones I've seen are not full-power loads, with ballistics somewhere around a 9mm 115gr +P. While they may not have a particularly loud blast, compared to full-power magnum loads, the one I've tried produced a signficant muzzle flash, so that may be worth taking into consideration.

If your concern about overpenetration is with regard to housing/building materials, it should be noted that any handgun round that will penetrate deep enough in a person to hit vital organs is likely going to go through dry wall. If that is a concern, your best bet is going to be to figure out what lines of fire you may have in your home and try to plan for it, such as positioning a full bookcase so that it can act as a bullet stop.

Having said all of that, it's going to be most important to find a load you can consistently find in your area that you can shoot well and functions reliably in your gun, whatever that ends up being.

Just my opinions.

Another vote for the old 158gr SWCHP FBI load. Its got a proven track record, usually very accurate in most guns and has been my standard .38 defense load for many years.

If Austria forbids hollowpoints, the 158 grain semi wadcutter is also good.

Are you allowed to cast or reload?

This x100- if it’s available over in Austria. Classic old load.

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I have a 686 and I consider .38 special +P to be just fine in the house, close range, noise and all considered.

I reload my own for targets in .38 and .357 with coated SWCs. MUCH cheaper than off the shelf ammunition.

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Thanks a lot for the very helpful replies. As there are so many votes I will check out the old 158gr SWCHP . As far as I know they are available quite easily.


Reloading is allowed but you need to get License for it. I am interested in learning it, but could not find the time do make the license.

Just a point of interest, there were/are at least 3 major American ammo manufacturers producing the 158gr .38 Special LSWC/HP ammo. (FBI Load)

Federal still available 38 Special Lead Semi-Wadcutter Hollow Point(LSWCHP) Ammo for Sale by Federal - 50 Rounds

Winchester still available Winchester Super-X Ammo 38 Special +P 158 Grain Lead Hollow Point

Remington still available Remington High Terminal Performance (HTP) Ammo 38 Special +P 158 Grain

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SWCA #3437

158 grain lead SWC cast from any lead alloy.

For what it's worth, the Remington version is often recommended because it's supposed to have the softest lead and thus better potential for expansion/deformation, but I doubt there'd be a signficant practical difference among the three. When I worked as an armed guard several years ago, I carried the Winchester version in a 4" S&W Model 10. Whichever one you can get should serve you well.

One more vote for the 158grSWCHP+P. It's a fine performer in any .38 Special. Larry

The S&W 686 is an excellent revolver, I have one of 4 '' and another of 6 ", I always use them with ammunition .357 Magnum of 158 grains and at some time with 125 grains, as in Argentina we are prohibited from using hollow point bullets for defense I use Remington ammunition with semi-wadcutter lead tip, UMC jktd soft point or Winchester sjsp, they are not cheap (at least in my country) but for self-defense or home they fall within the legal framework I hope you find this information useful.

Thanks a lot for the further Information. I did some Research and the 158 grain sjhp load from remington under the http line is readily available. Even the Price is ok such a bullet configuration in Austria.

Another load that was not on my Radar but is still available would be the 110 grain Winchester silvertip in the stadard preasure configuration. (not in plus P).

But I think I will go with the "FBI load" from remington" . Because it is cheaper and more readily available.

And besides that a pure JHP load would require much paper work to get. it is not illegal in General but thanks to some silly restrictions very bothersome to get.

The Semi wadcutter round on the other you can easily get with your Standard weapon permission card.

The .38 Spl. +P 158-Gr. Lead-Semi Wad Cutter HP was developed by
Winchester. Part number X38SPD. It was first called the Chicago Load.

Followed soon by Remington . Part number R38S12.

And Federal. Part number 38G.

In the 1970s many law enforcement agencies were using the load,
including the FBI, and it became known as the "FBI Load".

The Remington load that you have chosen is made of slightly softer lead,
so expansion is best of the three, but the best expansion makes it the
least of the three in penetration. However at 13" it still met FBI specs.

Another advantage of the 158-Gr. load is that most fixed sight revolvers
are sighted in by the maker using 158-Gr. bullets.

I think you will be very happy with your choice.

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Just a note, the new number for the Remington FBI Load is RTP38S12.

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SWCA #3437

I think the .38 Specail +P loads would be fine and I do prefer the 158 grain SWC but I also do have more confidence in the .357 magnum. I'm not that familiar with the new defensive loads but I like the slightly lower powered rounds like the old .357 Winchester 145 grain Silvertip hollow point and a 158 grain SWC hollow point at about 1200 fps would seem ideal to me.

Thanks a lot for the further Information.

@Farmer17 Yes of course lower powered 357 Magnum rounds would have lots of potential but unfortunately never came across this rounds in Austria.

It is hard to find decent 357 magum rounds for self defense. In Austria it seems the 357 Magnum is seen more was target round and Hunting back up round only. At the least it seems that way because they ammo seems to be catered towards this 2 types of shooters.

You can only get full power 158 grain 357 mag rounds and some FMJ rounds.

Never seen any 110 grain rounds or the 125 grain shjp rounds from Federal and Remington.

The 145 grain silvertip also sounds interesting but I also have never seen one them.

In my Situation sticking to 38 Special is the best way.

At least until I can get into reloading.

Here’s another vote for the .38 158 grain +P hollow point. I had to use it during my career and can attest to its effectiveness.

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