38 vs 357 for home defense

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7shooter

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I keep my home defense 686+ loaded with +P 38 special ammo rather than 357 for a number of reasons. I live in a neighborhood with houses fairly close together and am concerned about over penetration with the 357. The 686 may be used by other family members who can shoot well but are not used to 357 recoil and noise. I also like the fact that I can get back on target more quickly with 38 ammo than I can with 357. What is right or wrong with my thinking on this ?
 
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In my house the 686 is loaded with 357 why?? It hurts and like you said the noise just may scare the shiat out of the intruder and they just may flee !!! While in Alaska thats all we carried and things worked fine!!!!
 
7Shooter,
I had a .357 for home defense for years and do as you say for the same reasons. If I would add another for the +P it would be a lower flash.
S
 
7shooter said:
I keep my home defense 686+ loaded with +P 38 special ammo rather than 357 for a number of reasons. I live in a neighborhood with houses fairly close together and am concerned about over penetration with the 357. The 686 may be used by other family members who can shoot well but are not used to 357 recoil and noise. I also like the fact that I can get back on target more quickly with 38 ammo than I can with 357. What is right or wrong with my thinking on this ?
Click to expand...

I keep my Model 60 loaded with +P. I actually shoot .357's in it just as well, but the Mod 60 goes from belt to nightstand even though I have better options. Excessive muzzle flash is the reason.
 
617fan said:
I keep my Model 60 loaded with +P. I actually shoot .357's in it just as well, but the Mod 60 goes from belt to nightstand even though I have better options. Excessive muzzle flash is the reason.
Click to expand...

Same here, mainly because the wife dosen't really like the magnums with this gun. She was ok with a 4" 586, but I had to part with that one.
Chuck
 
Any round which reliably penetrates flesh enough to reach the vitals of a human attacker WILL penetrate multiple interior or exterior walls. Nothing you can do about it.

Just extra incentive to use the best-performing round you can acquire and makes the bullets go where they need to.
 
For home defense I would go with the proven FBI load. My number one home defense revolver is the model 10 but I have several 357s that would function just as well. I have always been able to hit were I aim better with the model 10 than any of my other revolvers. It is probably me. A person that is very experience with 357s rounds would use the proven 125g HP. But I am small and the recoil of the 357 hampers my accurately.

roaddog
 
Trying to predict penetration with either round is a waste of time. It totally depends on what the round hits. Drywall? A stud? A door frame. A light switch. Impossible to predict how your round will do with a missed shot. Same with a hit. Sometimes a .38 will go through and through and sometimes a .357 will stop in the flesh.

If everyone in the house can shoot the .38 well, be satisfied with that.
 
I once read somewhere that a person who can accurately shoot a .380 will have better results defending himself than someone who can not accurately shoot a .357. As others have said, practice is very important. I would also think that a hollow point would help prevent the bullet passing completely through the target and thus waste the extra energy of the .357.
 
I keep my 357 loaded with full power 158 gr. 357 JHP.
Because in your own house where you know the lay out, you might just want to send a round through the wall,or maybe even the floor.
 
I believe this question cannot be accurately answered by anyone on this forum, unless one has actually pulled the trigger on a firearm inside an enclosed structure; without ear protection, in the dark of night, under extreme stress. I'm guessing (like everyone else) a gun you are comfortable shooting accurately, the number of family members in your home, their location and the interior structure/layout makes a difference in your firearm/ammo selection.
 
I have Federal 158gr. LSWC-HP +Ps in all of my .38s and .357s. It's accurate, and controllable. We don't get a lot of grizzly bears up around Cleveland, so I don't expect to run into anything or anyone in my home that the FBI load won't deal with.
 
Two better words: .223 softpoints

See the Box O' Truth website for wall penetration experiments with handguns, shotguns and rifles. You'll be amazed.
 
What feels comfortable

I carry an S&W 360 loaded with +P .38, but at home I have my .45 auto loaded with hollow points. I carry the .38 because it is so light I hardly know I have it on. I wish it was a .45, but comfort rules sometimes. At home I feel more comfortable with the .45 near by.
I don't worry too much about what may or may not happen, I use what I feel comfortable with and feel safe with. I am happy with what I own and use and for now cannot think of anything I would change. I can get 5-6 inch groups with that 360 at 40 feet at the range. When I bought that gun I was outraged by the price and now I understand why it is expensive. Accurate and very light. Can't ask for much more.
 
I mix and match. My nightstand backup is a 357 five-shot. First three rounds are +p 38's, last two are full-house .357's. I fire that same sequence at the range when I'm practicing.
 
At 5 ft, I doubt if there would be a lot of difference in the end. Of course as cage said a shotgun is more effective, although they are unweildly in close quarters and less handy than a good handgun. Racking a pump has good physicalogical effect and may keep you from haveing to kill the miscrant, not that it is a bad idea.
 
My home defense guns (I live in a single-family dwelling house in an older part of town where houses are very closely spaced) at present are a 12 gauge shotgun and an FN FiveseveN. Neither are likely to penetrate very many walls of sheetrock.
 
I personally agree with your line of thinking. The ammo I keep for "at home" use is 125gr JHP .38 Spl +P with low flash powder (Buffalo Bore makes them). On the street/trail... I load my 586 with 125gr JHP .357 rounds but I'm also not worried about my wife having to use it or excessive penetration like you stated.
 
I have a 10, 64, and 642 that state they are .38's, as well a 60, 627, and 686P which are marked as .357 Magnum. They all sport 158gr LHPSWC +P's for SD/HD. I now live in a brick single level garden home community, so unless I hit a window, my shots should be contained, at least with +P's. I bought the .357 Magnum chambered revolvers due to their style and capacity, not for their higher than .38 Special +P KE capability. I do reload and shoot thousands of .357 Magnum cases - obtained for free - reloaded at +P levels.

Stainz
 
Knightrider03m said:
I wouldn't worry about a .357 round over penetrate a wall as long as you have JHP loaded in there.
Click to expand...

How does one reconcile this with the studies that show that the hollow cavity of a JHP often fills with the wall material and does not expand? Rather, the JHP performs like FMJ.
 
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