For home defense .357, .44mag or ?

[Poohgyrr]

A thought about the 44 Magnum thing..

Depending on how strong the antigun beliefs are where you live, a revolver chambered for .44 Special or .45 ACP may help prevent problems related to being prosecuted in criminal court or losing your home in civil court. Around here, I'd add .45 Colt to this list too.

Depending on conditions where you live, a handgun chambered in 44 Magnum, all by itself, bought and used for self-defense against felons trying to murder you or cause serious bodily injury to you, can lead to unnecessary court hassles. Even if you loaded it with .44 Specials and basically did things like you should.

The jury was not there when that felon(s) tried to kill, rob, rape, commit serious bodily injury or similar actions on you or on your family. So, the jury depends on the trial lawyers, personal beliefs, and what they can and cannot be told in court.

And you may not be allowed to tell all the truth to the jury, even things considered absolutely important. Why give the other side ammo to use against you. Again, all this depends on how the public views guns, and on gun politics, where you live.

It's a bad part of the "Dirty Harry" thing, mixed with the way some <STRIKE>people</STRIKE> jurors misunderstand things, how others are so gullible, and how some <STRIKE>people</STRIKE> jurors may hate you for whatever reason, etc..

Now, if someone can show I'm wrong, or wants to fine tune or add to what I've posted, please do. It's for a good reason and that is understandable.

And if you end up in court, a good opposition lawyer will give your lawyer a run for the money anyway. That's probably what those guys live for anyway, a good courtroom fight.

 

[Wyatt Earp]

John, the world most definitely does not mirror California.

Here in Ohio a good shoot is a good shoot, regardless of what kind of firearm or ammo is used. And if the shoot is criminally a good one, then the shooter is immune from civil liability.

 

[Sky_pilot]

I hear both of you-and you make good cases for both ways. I ended up with a 28-2. I found a good deal on a nice one and a .357/38 has plenty of smack to get done what needs to be done. Recoil with the wife shooting was a definite consideration. (I would like to get a .44 someday.) As a side note I live in Arizona and so far the California mentality doesn't rule-even though like crab grass it encroaches daily. If it says "Highway Patrol" on the barrel and it was a service weapon it probably helps in the lib equation-but that was not a consideration for me. A clean necessary shoot is just that.

 

[M29since14]

I ended up with a 28-2. I found a good deal on a nice one and a .357/38 has plenty of smack to get done what needs to be done. Recoil with the wife shooting was a definite consideration. (I would like to get a .44 someday.)

Good choice. With a nice set of Pachmayrs, your wife should be able to shoot that gun as long as she can hold it up, without any significant discomfort.

I assure you, you can own more than one S&W revolver, so get that 44 Magnum for yourself the first time you see something you like. 44s are a lot of fun!

 

[OldMarksman]

Originally posted by SJshooter:
Personally, I don't want anything bigger than .38 in my home defense.

I base that on the fact that I live in California, the homes are made of drywall, my neighbors walls are about 15 feet from mine on both sides and if I shoot and miss the last thing I want is a .357 with enough power to go ripping through the next house.

I also don't want to be blinded by the muzzle blast on my first shot (assuming an encounter is more likely to happen at night, in the dark) or deafened by the report of a full .357 indoors with no hearing protection. I understand that if I am dead I won't get a chance to complain about the ringing in my ears, but still it just seems like a lot of report given my home.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I can personally handle a .38 much better and if you want me to put three shots in a tight group really fast I have a much better chance with .38 than with the recoil-producing .357... especially in a situation where adrenaline might be flowing.

Plenty of law enforcement relied on stout .38 special for years, and they did just fine. At the end of the day, in any home defense situation the most important thing is going to be a) having a plan that you know and have rehearsed and b) shot placement. If I have a plan and shot placement, I'll probably be okay with .22. Everyone would want more than .22 to protect themselves given a choice, but I'll take a .22, shot placement and a plan over .44, no plan, and less than 100% reliability in hitting my target under adverse conditions/weird shooting posture.

Very well stated and right on point.

 

[big50_1]

For years it was a Security Six w/.38 spl Win. Silver Tips. But now it's a Glock 17 for the reliability. Every (I mean EVERY) time I squeeze the trigger (on the range) it goes bang.

I've got a 625-4 w/5" bbl. that would be fine except the gun is a tad large. Maybe the 625 or 22 in 3 or 4" bbl. would be ideal (to my mind). Again, .38 spl(or +P)/.44 spl/.45 ACP ammo/platform seems the right balance between size of gun, controllability and potential over-penetration.

That being said, I've a 27-2 8 3/8" bbl. that balances wonderfully in my hand which makes it easier to swing the gun around. Same with a 29-3 8 3/8" bbl. I had. The N frame with the long bbl. seems to balance just right for me. A 4" 28-2 doesn't feel as balanced; more "chunky" in the hand. Really, the 4" N frame subjectively feels "heavier" than the 8 3/8". I wonder what the dynamic is there?

 

[vytoland]

if you are looking for a HD weapon, a .357 magnum is fine, BUT you DO NOT want to fire a .357 magnum bullet in the house, at night, without ear protection.........the typical HD scenerio

use a .38 special cartridge

 

[Sky_pilot]

Since carry was not a consideration I went with the 28-2 with a six inch barrel-I like the feel more too.

 

[Smithfan]

I cannot add to what my fellow Californians have said about building construction, court and other realities here in the People's Republic. Needless to say, I agree absolutely with them.

My choices for home defense: go .38 spcl, .44 spcl, .45 ACP (my personal choice).

If you really want a .357 or a .44 Mag for home defense, I would recommend you try firing one of each at an indoor range. Even with ear protection, you'll be surprised at the noise level and muzzle blast indoors.

Better yet, try to experiment at an indoor range where you can rent a .357 or .44, before actually shelling out the money for one or both.

Regardless, the research likely will be instructive as well as a lot of fun!

Bill

 

[coffeebar]

Originally posted by SJshooter:
Personally, I don't want anything bigger than .38 in my home defense.

I base that on the fact that I live in California, the homes are made of drywall, my neighbors walls are about 15 feet from mine on both sides and if I shoot and miss the last thing I want is a .357 with enough power to go ripping through the next house.

I also don't want to be blinded by the muzzle blast on my first shot (assuming an encounter is more likely to happen at night, in the dark) or deafened by the report of a full .357 indoors with no hearing protection. I understand that if I am dead I won't get a chance to complain about the ringing in my ears, but still it just seems like a lot of report given my home.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I can personally handle a .38 much better and if you want me to put three shots in a tight group really fast I have a much better chance with .38 than with the recoil-producing .357... especially in a situation where adrenaline might be flowing.

Same thing to me

If i can be more specific, i think a couple of WC and 3-4 rounds of 158gr LRN is the best ;-)

 

[cmort666]

One of my home defense guns is a 4" Model 29-2. I use 200gr. Blazer Gold Dot Specials in it. With that load (as well as the Federal 200gr. LSWC Special), it's downright pleasant to shoot, and very accurate.

It's more than powerful enough without being too powerful to easily control. I doubt anybody's going to thank me if they get "Mozambiqued" with it.

 

[tallpaul]

While I used to keep a "disposable- IE aquired cheap smith model 10 or 13 out eclusively I have switched to auto's for the duty of HD. A local club has been doing ipsic and night shooting and the ability of my friends who were playing the game who had their model 10's etc soon switched out. Scores across the board were eye openers. The auto's and the lights all made a SUBSTANTIAL difference.

While a different gun may make the rounds or be out of the safe here n there I keep a glock 17 or 19 next to the bed. The funny thing is the same size gun as a 4 inch k frame holds 16-20 rounds in the first clip not counting the spares.. I hit well with them so I see no real reason to not have the auto as the primay house gun.

I would not be afraid if all I had was one of the revolvers but heck I'll take the edge... And I usually have a ccw piece or two out for back up...