Which Home Defense Round ?

S

scotty14

Member
Joined
Oct 26, 2009
Messages
35
Reaction score
0
I have been searching and searching the net to learn more about what makes a good home defense round. After reading several reviews I wondered how accurate these reviews can really be. How often does one actually get the opportunity to shoot a bad guy?

I have heard the terms "stopping power", "penetration", and "expansion" time and time again. Then I proceeded to read about several ballistic tests which see like Japanese to me. I know that different rounds work better in certain revolvers.

Two questions...

1. What home defense round do you have in your revolver right now...and why?

2. Can you recommend a good home defense round for my S&W 15 .38 Special with a 4 inch barrel?

Thanks in advance for your input.

Scotty
 
Register to hide this ad
:) Just get a good +P self defense round for your model 15.
You will drive your self crazy reading and getting every ones
opinion. Don
 
Remington or Federal 38+P 158gr lead hollowpoint "FBI" load
or Federal 38 +P+ 147gr Hydra Shok
 
You will drive your self crazy reading and getting every ones
opinion. Don[/QUOTE]



That's the best advise.
 
When dealing with modern American premium defense ammo, there is no "best".

What is on top in one test will be number 2 or 3 in another test.
For the .38 Special, most any premium +P round in anything from 125 grain to 158 grain will be as good as any other.

Personally, I like the +P 158 grain, lead, semi-wadcutter, hollow point.
This is variously known as the FBI, Chicago, St Louis, LAPD, New Orleans etc, etc round.
The street cops called it the ".38 SPLAT" for the sound it supposedly made when it hit.

This was the round that pretty well ended police complaints about the .38 Special being a "widow maker" after many failures to stop with the old .38 round nose lead round.
Its also one of the cheapest .38 Special rounds, even in a premium brand.
 
Other than Speer Short Barrel Gold Dots I prefer the Federal 110+P+ Controlled Expansion JHP. Here is one recovered from a rapist that tried to put a knife in me. I was carrying my issue S&W Mod 15 4" It opened to .612 through the heart, into the lower lobe of the lung and lodged in the fatty tissue just prior to exiting the back. They called it the Treasury Load.
Negreteslug003.jpg
 
Last edited:
Glaser Safety Slugs are the safest in home round. They will not penetrate a normal wall (sheet rock to sheet rock) but they will do a number on you. On the REI (Relative Encapacitance Index) a 9mm Glaser has the same stopping power (one shot stop) as a 44 magnum with hollow points. They are specifically designed to overcome over penetration, ricochets and to put 100% of the kinetic energy into the target
 
My 15-2 4" stays loaded with 158 gr +p LSWCHP. aka "FBI load" This does not change whether I am at home, or on the street. IMHO, if it is good enough for the FBI, it is good enough for me.

P.S. ammo selection is very caliber, and for that fact barrel length specific. This is the only caliber I do not use a jacketed bullet in.
 
HAWKEYE10 said:
:) Just get a good +P self defense round for your model 15.
You will drive your self crazy reading and getting every ones
opinion. Don
Click to expand...

Agreed.

The longer you are into guns the less you'll be concerned about exotic ammo.

Frankly, I'm not even sure you need +P ammo. I've interviewed several gunshot survivors, some were shot with .38 specials, they all said it was "like a ball of fire" or something like that. None were unaffected by the hot lead in their bodies, all were instantly disabled. However, none were on drugs.

An associate of mine, a large, strong black belt (one of my instructors) was killed with a .32 auto in the upper back area from quite a distance.

Bullet placement in what's important, not the type of ammo.
 
ajpelz said:
My 15-2 4" stays loaded with 158 gr +p LSWCHP. aka "FBI load" This does not change whether I am at home, or on the street. IMHO, if it is good enough for the FBI, it is good enough for me.

P.S. ammo selection is very caliber, and for that fact barrel length specific. This is the only caliber I do not use a jacketed bullet in.
Click to expand...

The number one round in most circles is the "FBI". Its proven by LE as the best for a 38 special. Also was used in a lot of model 19/66 by officers as there round vs the 357 rounds. A 4 inch 38 with fixed sights was designed by Smith and Wesson to shoot POA with a 158 gr bullet. The model 15 is really a target version of the famous model 10. I have both a model 10 and a pre-15. Both shoot at POA with the 158 gr FBI load. While all of the other posts suggested good ammo too, my first choice would be the FBI load. Its proven.

Good luck with your decision,
roaddog28
 
THANKS GUYS.

After reading all of your knowledgeable responses, I found a common theme / characteristic in a HD Round....

HIGHER GRAIN and HOLLOW POINTS are essential.
 
29aholic said:
Glaser Safety Slugs are the safest in home round. They will not penetrate a normal wall (sheet rock to sheet rock) but they will do a number on you. On the REI (Relative Encapacitance Index) a 9mm Glaser has the same stopping power (one shot stop) as a 44 magnum with hollow points. They are specifically designed to overcome over penetration, ricochets and to put 100% of the kinetic energy into the target
Click to expand...

Sigh; I just can't let this go. This is a good way to get yourself killed. They are grossly under penetrating and "stopping power" is a completely meaningless term; no 2 people react the same to getting shot and any attempt to quantify this is futile. Marshal & Sanow's one shot stop numbers are completely suspect; they run and hide anytime some wants to submit their "data" to an honest review. (they sure found a way to line their pockets though) Energy dump is equally as useless a concept. Look into Dr. Fackler's research and look long and hard at firearmstactical; consider it all and you'll realize how much nonsense is out there in the shooting world. Choose a round that gives reasonable penetration and forget it. Spend 99.9% of your time on training, practice, developing the proper mindset and awareness which are things that matter. Anything worth having is going to penetrate a sheet of drywall. (Take a look at the Box-O-Truth website.)
 
4inch357 said:
Sigh; I just can't let this go. This is a good way to get yourself killed. They are grossly under penetrating and "stopping power" is a completely meaningless term; no 2 people react the same to getting shot and any attempt to quantify this is futile. Marshal & Sanow's one shot stop numbers are completely suspect; they run and hide anytime some wants to submit their "data" to an honest review. (they sure found a way to line their pockets though) Energy dump is equally as useless a concept. Look into Dr. Fackler's research and look long and hard at firearmstactical; consider it all and you'll realize how much nonsense is out there in the shooting world. Choose a round that gives reasonable penetration and forget it. Spend 99.9% of your time on training, practice, developing the proper mindset and awareness which are things that matter. Anything worth having is going to penetrate a sheet of drywall. (Take a look at the Box-O-Truth website.)
Click to expand...

+100
Glasers are worthless and will not penetrate well enough to work in most cases. Use what the cops use, they carry the best ammo designed to
work in all situations. NO cop I know would even remotely consider Glasers. They use Ranger T, Gold Dot and Hydra Shok etc and are all
so well designed now that they dont overpenetrate.

Example of why Marshall and Sanow are not right:

In their actual shooting stats they take two nearly identical rounds and give them contradicting stats:

Federal 38+P+ 147gr Hydra at 900-950 fps gets a 69% LEO only
Federal 9mm 147gr Hydra at 900-950fps gets a 79%

To further disprove them, the 38+P+ expanded to .66
while the 9mm expanded to only .51. The 38+P+ penetrated
to about 13" while the 9mm went 17". That stat right their
negates their whole fast and light, 12" pen. and large expansion.
The 38+P+ Hydra got labeled a "spotty performer" by these clowns
even though it even has the largest average expansion diameter even in
a SNUB nose over ever other load they tested including dead soft versions of the FBI load- ie Remington!
 
On my side a 29 3 1/2 inch with federal 180 jhp's. On the dresser, a 22 with 4 inch bbl and loaded with 230 grain hydroshocks.
 
Try Midway. Right now they have Buffalo Bore 38 special +P LSWCHP in 158g. This is the FBI load. Price is $24.99. They also have the 125g hollow point +P from Buffalo Bore. Same price. They also have Winchester 148g lead wadcutters. A little pricey but this is a good target load. Ammunition to go has all kinds of defense rounds. Most of these rounds are very good also.

I agree with the posts that the best ammo won't work if you don't practice and learn how to use you model 15 under stress.

Good luck
roaddog28
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
.41 Magnum Defensive Rounds....
2 3
Replies
58
Views
13K
Warren Sear
Warren Sear
play627
.357 ammo for home defense?
2 3 4
Replies
64
Views
23K
Groo01
Groo01
beekeeper
Dimensions of 125 and 158 grain .357s?
Replies
15
Views
3K
TANKER
T
B
Modern Max Loads in a Model 19
Replies
7
Views
6K
Warren Sear
Warren Sear
R
Home Defense / Concealed Carry Advice Requested
2 3
Replies
56
Views
13K
Houdini1953
Houdini1953

Latest posts

Back
Top