a question on home defense ammo, .357/.38 rev.

[Geoff L.]

using a 357 magnum as home defense, but of course those are too hot. So I have bought, of course hoping I never need them, is Hornady Home defense loads in .38 + p with the plastic bead in a hollow point. But lately I have been target shooting some .38 wadcutters, and I wonder if they would be a good home defense option. They are accurate, they are a fairly heavy chunk of lead traveling at relatively slow speed, so they would probably not over penetrate. And the kicker, is they are relatively quiet compared to my other .38 rounds, meaning you (might) not blow your own ears off if you did have to fire in the middle of the night...i mean who wears ear protection to bed lol. Any thoughts from the more experienced?

 

[Jack Flash]

Good question. As a corollary, you often hear of people touting .357 loads out of <2" J-Frame. Does anyone plan to do that in a normal sized bedroom w/o hearing protection?

 

[Miami_JBT]

using a 357 magnum as home defense, but of course those are too hot. So I have bought, of course hoping I never need them, is Hornady Home defense loads in .38 + p with the plastic bead in a hollow point. But lately I have been target shooting some .38 wadcutters, and I wonder if they would be a good home defense option. They are accurate, they are a fairly heavy chunk of lead traveling at relatively slow speed, so they would probably not over penetrate. And the kicker, is they are relatively quiet compared to my other .38 rounds, meaning you (might) not blow your own ears off if you did have to fire in the middle of the night...i mean who wears ear protection to bed lol. Any thoughts from the more experienced?

Honestly, anything is loud in an enclosed space and the "Eeeeeeeeee Street Band" will be in your head. I've had the pleasure of firing a number of guns in enclosed spaces and let me tell you, even a .22LR is loud.

Wadcutters are not the best self-defense load out there. But anything is better than harsh words.

If you're worried about tinnitus, the only thing I can tell you is if you truly might have to use your gun in a self-defense situation. You might experience auditory exclusion. That's when during a fight or flight event, your brain literally shuts down your hearing due to high stress. You also develop tunnel vision and time seems to slow down too.

I always suggest to use the best tool for the job for self-defense. Right now, I have my S&W Model 586 and Colt MKIV Series 80 as my two go to guns. Both are with full power loads.

The S&W has Winchester's Super-X .357 Magnum 125gr JHP and the Colt has Winchester's Ranger SXT .45 ACP 230gr JHP.

In the end, use what you feel comfortable with. .38 S&W Special +P is a good self-defense load, so if you're comfy with it. Stick with it.

 

[Fide686]

I have found the Speer 135gr 38 spl +P load to be very accurate in most of my revolvers.
Mod 60 1 7/8". 853 FPS
Mod 13-3 3". 937 FPS
Mod 686 2 1/2". 877 FPS
Also my carry round.
Lots of other good choices out there though if they are in stock.
Take Care.

 

[Hapworth]

The old chestnut about how loud/firebally .357 is indoors dates back to when most available or commonly used .357 was hot 125 or 158 grainers.

That's changed and there's a lot of different flavors to address the old issues.

The Hornady you've got in .38 Special is good, too.

Wadcutters (and by that I presume you mean 148gr match ammo as that's what most people mean when they say "wadcutter" even though that's just a term for a particular kind of bullet, not round), are very good for defensive use; in short barrels, possibly ideal.

Here's a recent thread on the topic: Wad cutters for Self Defense

 

[murphydog]

Any .38/.357 load indoors will have hearing-damaging levels of noise.

Personally I would avoid 130 gr FMJ and 158 gr RNL .38, and at the other end full-house 125 gr (or any other hot) .357. Just about any other load that you can shoot accurately and quickly on target will likely suffice.

 

[LCC]

The preferred load should be factor where you live...tract house, woods, apartment, etc, as you will own the results of your rounds exiting the walls of your place regardless of circumstances.
With that said, my nightstand .38 is loaded with the old FBI load, +P 158 gr semi-wad cutter, my wife's with 148 gr match wadcutters, which she shoots best.
We are adequately armed with either.

 

[bigwheelzip]

All claims regarding ammo decibel levels experienced should be prefaced by which firearm they are fired from.
My 24" .38/.357 lever rifle will shoot full-power .357 more quietly than anything I've shot from my handguns.
That's one factor which makes it my HD choice.

Sent from my motorola one 5G using Tapatalk

 

[sipowicz]

I'm married and wear hearing protection soon as I walk in the door and to bed so loud rounds are not a problem for me.

 

[ISCS Yoda]

If you don't live in the "country" then you want to avoid wall penetration to the extent possible, which is not easy. Any quality .38 Special round will suffice for home defense and that's all I use in my M686 bedside gun, never magnum loads. There is no magic bullet; shoot what works for you and, hopefully, doesn't reach your neighbor's home.

In your own home remember wall penetration is an issue if you have kids or anyone sleeping in other rooms.

 

[wellthought1]

I don't think wadcutters are good for defense. Perhaps use some 38 special JHP round that's from a large popular manufacturer.

 

[rockquarry]

using a 357 magnum as home defense, but of course those are too hot. So I have bought, of course hoping I never need them, is Hornady Home defense loads in .38 + p with the plastic bead in a hollow point. But lately I have been target shooting some .38 wadcutters, and I wonder if they would be a good home defense option. They are accurate, they are a fairly heavy chunk of lead traveling at relatively slow speed, so they would probably not over penetrate. And the kicker, is they are relatively quiet compared to my other .38 rounds, meaning you (might) not blow your own ears off if you did have to fire in the middle of the night...i mean who wears ear protection to bed lol. Any thoughts from the more experienced?

I don't know the ammo availability situation at present. Ideally, however, consider getting four or five .38 Special ammos, standard pressure, +P or a mixture with 158 grain bullets, jacketed soft point, jacketed HP, lead HP, or what have you. Shoot up close and at distance, 25 yards. What works best for you in terms of accuracy, point of impact vs. point of aim, and quick recovery is your best choice in ammo.

Don't get bogged down with the myriad complications of the gunfighting syndrome. You'll never find an answer if you allow that to happen. Good luck-

 

[TXBryan]

The old chestnut about how loud/firebally .357 is indoors dates back to when most available or commonly used .357 was hot 125 or 158 grainers.

That's changed and there's a lot of different flavors to address the old issues.

The Hornady you've got in .38 Special is good, too.

Wadcutters (and by that I presume you mean 148gr match ammo as that's what most people mean when they say "wadcutter" even though that's just a term for a particular kind of bullet, not round), are very good for defensive use; in short barrels, possibly ideal.

Here's a recent thread on the topic: Wad cutters for Self Defense

Agree that wadcutters can be a potent self-defense option. Chris at Lucky Gunner does a nice job of objectively covering the wadcutter option for personal defense in shorter barreled .38 Specials particularly. You can find the vid out there on the interweb. Maybe not the best choice for carry but worth considering for "home defense."

I know this topic has been covered, plenty, in other places and at other times on this forum, but I once played around with 148 grain HBWC seated "backwards" through one of my Model 10s. Accuracy was iffy past 20 feet or so and the barrel leading was a real chore to remove after only a couple dozen rounds. Nevertheless they did expand nicely; something that is challenging for lots of HP bullets at typical .38 Special velocities.

 

[stansdds]

Wadcutter ammo would certainly be more effective than a round nose bullet, but these days, there are two top notch 38 Special defense rounds available. First, Speer's 135 grain Gold Dot 38 Special +P Short Barrel load. This a proven round with the NYPD. Second option would be Federal's 130 grain HST Micro 38 Special +P. This uses a 130 grain jacketed wadcutter that is seated backwards. This concept is based on a very old practice of seating 148 grain hollow base wadcutters backwards. It worked then, it will work even better now with a modern design bullet.

 

[ruger 22]

If you put the bullet into the target properly the wadcutter is plenty.

 

[blues7]

Winchester RA38B works for me out of a .357 or a .38 J frame.

130 gr +P

Everything is loud indoors. Might as well pick a round that will get the job done.

 

[Hair Trigger]

We loaded 148 gr. .38 Spl. wadcutters to about 850 fps for PPC way back when. They could be seen against a light background before hitting a 50 yard target, but if they hit a solid object like a target frame or post, they really flattened out, because of the hollow base. I imagine they would make a good low-penetration man stopper, I know I wouldn't want to get shot with one at 50 yards, definitely not at 5 or less.

And they will still be LOUD inside a small room, but at least being subsonic, wouldn't have the supersonic crack a magnum round would have. That's one of the assumed acceptable hazards of defending yourself inside a house with a gun....loss of hearing. I don't suppose anyone would expect the intruder to wait until you put your muffs on.

 

[Geoff L.]

plenty of food for thought there, but still a toss up. Pretty much everything except crappy reloads shoot very well in my pistol, which is a (gulp) ruger gp100 with a 4.2" barrel. I also sometimes have my model 18 loaded with segmented quiets in the ol nightstand. I guess I am worried about my ears but they are ringin already and I don't want them any worse..

 

[Johnnu2]

You're probably only going to get off one shot in a dark bedroom. After that, you won't be able to see anything for about 5 minutes.
Might as well let it be a 12 ga.
IMHO as always,
J.

 

[686-380]

I saw a question here, almost exactly like yours many years ago. The old hands talking about hearing loss and blindness from the flash got my attention. I now have a suppressor mounted, coupled with subsonic ammunition. While still loud in an enclosed space, it's hearing safe and I didn't notice any flash: The Truth About Silencers: Secrets most gun owners don't know - YouTube