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.357 defense cartridge for apartment?
- Thread starter TCW
- Start date
The 110gr is a good choice, but if you ever have to fire that thing indoors, you will most certainly have hearing damage.
Also, in .357, muzzle flash is a big issue. Firing in low light conditions will certainly effect your night vision, it may even render you temporarily blind.
For home defence, you might want to consider .44spl, or .45 LC, or even .45acp sometime in the future.
To answer your question, the 110gr. is a good choice if penetration is an issue. I too have a GP-100 and Win. 110gr. is what I load all the time. The 125gr. is a serious boomer, especially indoors. Safety slugs maybe another good option, but expensive!!!
For tactical superiority, you might want to consider a .38spl. The FBI load is an excellent choice. The Rossi and Taurus revolvers I use for Home "D" is what i load. At those distances, and good shot placement, the FBI load is good enough.
Hell if you do have to shoot anybody, the .38 will look better in court when you get sued by the punks family.
Power is good, but be practicle in your choice and examine all the possibilities.
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"By His stripes we are healed..."
PeterGunn
[This message has been edited by PeterGunn (edited July 28, 2000).]
Also, in .357, muzzle flash is a big issue. Firing in low light conditions will certainly effect your night vision, it may even render you temporarily blind.
For home defence, you might want to consider .44spl, or .45 LC, or even .45acp sometime in the future.
To answer your question, the 110gr. is a good choice if penetration is an issue. I too have a GP-100 and Win. 110gr. is what I load all the time. The 125gr. is a serious boomer, especially indoors. Safety slugs maybe another good option, but expensive!!!
For tactical superiority, you might want to consider a .38spl. The FBI load is an excellent choice. The Rossi and Taurus revolvers I use for Home "D" is what i load. At those distances, and good shot placement, the FBI load is good enough.
Hell if you do have to shoot anybody, the .38 will look better in court when you get sued by the punks family.
Power is good, but be practicle in your choice and examine all the possibilities.
------------------
"By His stripes we are healed..."
PeterGunn
[This message has been edited by PeterGunn (edited July 28, 2000).]
Mike Irwin
Staff
Just about EVERYTHING out of a .357 will go through a wall, except some of the exotic, very expensive speciality ammo.
I agree, try the 110 or possibly the 125-gr. Federal Nyclad in .38 +P. That's my favorite .38 Spl. round.
------------------
Beware the man with the S&W .357 Mag.
Chances are he knows how to use it.
I agree, try the 110 or possibly the 125-gr. Federal Nyclad in .38 +P. That's my favorite .38 Spl. round.
------------------
Beware the man with the S&W .357 Mag.
Chances are he knows how to use it.
David Scott
New member
Apartment walls are notoriously cheap and thin. Have you considered Glaser Safety rounds or Cor-Bon's Bee-Safe? Both are basically capsules of small birdshot. At .357 speeds, they shoud create a wide but not deep wound, and should not go through a perp's torso. If they hit a wall they will fragment without going through.
IIRC, the Glaser was developed for security agents on airplanes, so as not to puncture the skin at 35,000 feet.
IIRC, the Glaser was developed for security agents on airplanes, so as not to puncture the skin at 35,000 feet.
I'm always confused by people who are more worried about wall penetration that about terminal performance in tissue for a defensive gun. Terminal performance and function in your gun should be your first concerns, wall penetration is secondary.
My advice is to avoid prefragmented/specialty rounds altogether, since they don't penetrate deeply enough to reach vital structures and therefore are not a good choice for self defense. US Air Marshalls don't carry special ammo on planes, because a pistol caliber hole in an airliner's jet is not going to bring it down. No pistol caliber is going to be stopped by most interior (and many woodframe exterior) walls. The only caliber that I know of that has limited wall penetration and good terminal ballistics is the .223.
I would look at the FBI/IWBA data at http://www.firearmstactical.com and then the "Street Performance" data at http://www.evanmarshall.com and then select a load that does well by both sets of criteria. As far as muzzle flash out of a 4" .357, good luck finding a good load in that department!
As far as getting sued for using a .357 instead of an XYZ, that will probably not even be an issue if your shoot is ruled justifiable, and if it becomes one, you won't have any trouble finding expert witnesses and police cheifs to explain why .357 revolvers were issued to officers for years. Your use of deadly force and whether or not it was justifiable will be at issue, not the means that you used to produce the force.
My advice is to avoid prefragmented/specialty rounds altogether, since they don't penetrate deeply enough to reach vital structures and therefore are not a good choice for self defense. US Air Marshalls don't carry special ammo on planes, because a pistol caliber hole in an airliner's jet is not going to bring it down. No pistol caliber is going to be stopped by most interior (and many woodframe exterior) walls. The only caliber that I know of that has limited wall penetration and good terminal ballistics is the .223.
I would look at the FBI/IWBA data at http://www.firearmstactical.com and then the "Street Performance" data at http://www.evanmarshall.com and then select a load that does well by both sets of criteria. As far as muzzle flash out of a 4" .357, good luck finding a good load in that department!
As far as getting sued for using a .357 instead of an XYZ, that will probably not even be an issue if your shoot is ruled justifiable, and if it becomes one, you won't have any trouble finding expert witnesses and police cheifs to explain why .357 revolvers were issued to officers for years. Your use of deadly force and whether or not it was justifiable will be at issue, not the means that you used to produce the force.
VictorLouis
New member
I avoid the specialty rounds because you need to practice with at least SOME of the very same ammo that you carry in it. They are prohibitively expensive. Having several emtpy boxes of that same ammo would be a nice piece of evidence to have on your side if ever needed for your defense. The Winchester(USA) that you mentioned would be my very same choice. Good luck.
I agree that wall penetration worries should be secondary to performance in stopping the bad guy.
I suggest you try some Cor-Bon defensive loads, the muzzle flash does not affect night vision as much as many others. Have tried it in low light drills and no problem geting sight picture for rapid follow up shots.
Sam.....my favorite 9mm is the 9X32R
I suggest you try some Cor-Bon defensive loads, the muzzle flash does not affect night vision as much as many others. Have tried it in low light drills and no problem geting sight picture for rapid follow up shots.
Sam.....my favorite 9mm is the 9X32R
P
PreserveFreedom
Guest
In an apartment, I would shoot 148 Grain 38 special Federal American Eagle full wadcutters.