Please recommend some defensive rounds

[Wise_A]

Honestly? Any of the fine .38 Spl police loads that were used for...oh, about 50 years or so.

Long answer: the best ammunition to use is the kind that hits the target. People want to argue left and right and center about brands and bullets and loads and velocities. Testing has shown that it's hit or miss (no pun intended). One brand might work best in one situation, another might function better in another.

Pick one, shoot straight.

 

[AimHigher]

I keep 4 inch .357 magnum revolvers for home defense and occasional carry (open carry). I really like the 125 gr. .357 magnum JHP @ 1600 ft/s (underwood and buffalo bore). However, I do not want to keep that as a regular carry/home defense load due to the deafening noise and massive recoil.

I still want a solid defensive load with good ballistics out of a 4 inch tube. Right now I'm using the Federal 129 grain Hydrashok .38 spl +P. I also have buffalo bore 158 gr. .38 spl swhp standard pressure.

I'm looking for either light recoil .357 magnums or really good +P for a 4 inch barrel. Any top suggestions?

Many thanks.

Remington 125 Grain, SJHP. Available in .38 +P or .357 Mag. You can't go wrong with this round. for SD.

 

[Biggfoot44]

Aproach A - Use one of your preferd.38 +P .

Aproach B - Use a .357 "medium velocity". I don't have the specs memorized for every new-ish specialty load, but several well known ones. Golden Sabre 125. 110Jhp generally. Yes , people who worship deep penetration will object to this one. But the recoil and blast fit the request, and the real world results are kinda average enough, andbetter than any .38. Speer Short Bbl, the .357 flavor will be about 100fps more than the .38 +P . If you just gots to have heavy bullet / deep penetration , the Silvertip 145 is better choice than any current production 158.

Aproach C - If you can control the full power 125 , and reservations are mainly about the blast, suspend your disbelief. In an actual defensive situation, auditory exclusion will keep you from noticing most of the noise in real time. You probably won't fire enougj rounds to have very much perminent hearing damage.

 

[petepeterson]

I've always liked the .357 Mag Winchester Silvertip load. It's 145 grains and has a proven record. Old technology however if that bothers you.

This is my CCW carry load. I had been using the Speer short-barrel .357 load (when you could find it), but it doesn't appear to be that much better than a hot .38. A little, but probably not worth the mortgage you have to take out to get a box.

If it was me, I'd keep the Hydra-Shoks in it around the house, and then put some warmer magnums in it when out and about. It's good practice for reloading!

 

[crazyphil]

I would recommend the Hornady Critical Defense STANDARD pressure
.38 Spl. in your .357. In the event you need to shoot inside a small
room I don't want you to be blinded or deafened. (Is that a word?)

 

[Cal44]

I have some Speer Gold Dot 135 gr 357 Magnum. It's like the 38 special +P load with the same bullet, but a bit higher velocity.

It's a low-mid range 357 load.

I bought some Aluminum and Brass Blazer 357 158 grain ammo for practice, and subjectively the Gold Dot 135 load is mid way between the Aluminum (low end) and the Brass (high end).

Frankly, I think the Blazer Brass 158 gr JHP I use for practice would probably be just fine for defense as well. And it costs about 1/3 as much as the Gold Dots.

 

[senecaap]

The two loads I use are:
1. The FBI .38+P 158gr LSWHP This is what I would use if I thought there was some chance of an indoor shooting.

2. Winchester Silvertip .357 145gr. for the great outdoors.

 

[JJEH]

For hunting and self-defense Buffalo Bore it is for me!

 

[haywood]

My carry load has been Speer Gold Dot 135gr. 38+P. It shoots good for me and I can handle it. The main reason I use it is because it has positive street results. The Police Departments that use it in off duty and back up guns 4" wand 2" say it works and works well. That is what I want to here. Working well to stop people attacks not jellow.

 

[snowman.45]

I'm a big fan of the Buffalo Bore 158 +P LSWHP FBI load, I've choreographed it at a true @1025 FPS out of my J-frames for home and urban defense. Based on the video showing the non-+P BB load with the same bullet, I might have to buy some of those as well. I mold my own 158 gr. LSWHP with gas checks and have tried to devise a load with similar ballistics. So far, little luck.

For woods carry, I prefer the 158 gr. LSWHP rounds by various makers. I also will carry hardcast in some instances in the mountains. If I want to carry .357 for defense against two-legged predators, I still like the 145 gr. Silver tip, as well as the 135 gr. short barrel and regular rounds in Gold Dot. It's all a matter of preference and application for me.

 

[shouldazagged]

I carry the Buffalo Bore standard pressure 158 LSWCHP-GC in my EDC and load it in my M10-5 head-of-the-bed gun. It duplicates the older Remington version of the FBI load that has been getting the job done for many years, but with lower flash.

 

[elm_creek_smith]

A number of years ago, I had the occasion to shoot a Remington 125 grain SJHP .357 Magnum round out of a 3 inch Model 13 in a 4 foot wide hallway 20 feet long without hearing protection. My ears are still ringing, but that might be from 20 years on tanks. The happy ending was that the guy who was around the corner of the hall threw out his .380 trotline weight and asked me "don't shoot no more!"

I use the 135 grain Speer .357 Magnum "Short Barrel" load in my 3 inch Model 13-3 these days. It's not nearly as intense as the old death ray load that took the wax out of my ears. I mostly carry the Speer 135 grain .38 Special +P "Short Barrel" or Buffalo Bore standard pressure 158 grain .38 Special LSWCHP-GC ammo in my Model 642-2 and Model 12-2. I don't carry the heavy guns as much off duty after years of carrying all the...stuff...on my duty belt and a 4 inch Model 686-6 with 4 reloads.

 

[belvedere]

Though I'm sure there are small differences, I believe that any name-brand self-defense ammo will do the job. We keep Hornady Critical Defense and Sig V-Crown (both in .38 spl +P) just because the nearby Cabela's carries them at a good price.