.357 for Home Defense?

.357 Ear Protection is not the primary issue

I'm not sure the primary issue in such a situation is whether or not you get the ear plugs in before blasting or avoiding muzzle flash blindness.

In a suburban or urban environment, I would have a concern about over-penetration with a .357, as in to my neighbor's home, into someone walking down the sidewalk, or any other innocent person unfortunately in the line of fire.

You might get the bad guy, but you may also get charged for manslaughter or a civil suit to follow up.

I'm in the 12 Gauge with birdshot for HD. If I didn't need to care who or what might be the backstop, then anything might go.
 
If you could somehow have a threaded barrel on a 686, and put a suppressor on it, wouldn't it, theoretically, cut down on some of the noise?
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Some, but not much. The problem is the amount of gas escaping from the cylinder gap.

I keep my bedside gun loaded with .38 +P's. If six of those don't do the job, my reloads are full-boat Magnums.
 
+1 Solution is .38+Ps anyway in an indoors defensive situation. Decent round for and same or similar relationship to .44 Mag vs .44 Special, pick the latter every time for a HD/SD situation anyway, even when Mag available. Always go subsonic unless'n you gotta go "mag" for some reason. Here you don't. In a revolver, if you feel .38 inadequate, move up in caliber, as in .44 (Sp) or .45C/ACP, not (mag)nitude--for the purposes of this discussion. Am not talking zombies or on the trail against mountain lions 'n such. IMO.
 
I don't think it's that big a deal

In a life or death SD situation the bang of your .357 is probably going to be the least of your concerns. The flash can be mitigated by low flash ammo.
See Auditory Exclusion:

Definition:
Auditory Exclusion involves a loss of hearing that occurs as part of the fight-or-flight stress response during confrontation with danger. It is a sort of filtering out of unimportant external noise so that focus is maintained on the business at hand -- survival.

A few rounds of reasonable SD ammo fired from a 6 inch .357 is probably much less damaging to you, your wife, kids and dog than the alternative of failing to expeditiously stop the threat.
 
firing a .357 indoors is not near as bad as you think, i have done it and yes it was loud and my ears rang and there was someone else with me and our ears did not bleed like ive read that someone else said before. That is simply not true and they were powerful SD HP rounds.
 
I keep a 4" S&W Model 13 357 for HD, but I keep the cylinder full of FBI loads. And I feel very confident it would work well if ever called on.
 
i think the 357's only real notch is in self defense. there are certainly better hunting rounds and cheaper plinking rounds. since i feel the 357 is best suited for self defense then i also feel the best platform is a small framed short barreled revolver. the problem is i also think that a small framed short barreled revolver produce a huge flash, an uncomfortably loud bang and a hurtfull recoil. yet i recommend the 357 in a small framed, short barrel revolver highly. why? i believe in a self defense situation you probably won't hear the bang, see the flash or feel the recoil and the 357 is a proven self defense round.

the best feature of a small, or any size 357 is its ability to shoot both 357mags and 38 specials. and this is why i recommend one, or more. being able to shoot 2 calibers is a big plus. shooting 38's will be less expensive for practice. the 38 special is also a proven round for protection. the 38 special and 357 mag are 2 of the most popular calibers ever which means the odds of finding ammo for your gun are doubled.

the ability to shoot 2 different calibers is a major plus and the main reason i recomend the 357 mag paired with a revolver that you like. it is like getting 2 guns in one, and 2 very practical guns at that.
 
I have my 686+ loaded for a HD weapon...I keep my 1911 next to me and the 686 is available for my wife to grab. She doesn't train much, and grew up with a revolver...familiarity, no safety, and a long/deliberate trigger pull combine for a good choice for her.
 
I think during a home invasion,
the adrenaline would be flowing
and you wouldn't hear a damn thing.
Any way who cares about one hearing
when ones' life is threatened.
 
Try this... next time you're at the range, time your follow up shots using .357, then do the same w/ .38s. If your second shot is not affected by the recoil of the magnum round, I'd consider using it.

As for damage to hearing, anything covering your ears is better than nothing, but, and it's a small thing perhaps, you don't really want to muffle hearing where predators are in your home, so maybe, seriously consider some electronic muffs as microman suggests?
 
I think a short-barrel (18" or so) shotgun is better for home defense. Load it something between #4 and #1 buckshot and it won't over-penetrate (if you value not shooting your neighbors through the walls). A 357 can go through a lot of walls before stopping.
 
If you don't have to be near a 357 when it goes off indoors without hearing protection... Don't... I have about 60% of my hearing in my right ear, and its full of scar tissue from it blowing out my ear drum. If it's all you have by all means use it, but if you are looking to buy one for home defense... meh.
Like others have said you could always load it with .38 special. To the idea that you don't hear much when adrenalin kicks in, sure but you may not hear much after either. That is also counting on it being 100% true 100% of the time which it may not be. I don't know. What I do know is the thing is so lound in an enclosed space that my vision was blurred, I was very dizzy, and nauseated. Not very ideal situation to continue a fight in. Just my .02
 
Carried a .357 as a lawman and never thought myself under-armed.
The best tool to have for home defense is the one in arm's reach.
Are there other choices for HD than what you have?
Of course.
Are there better choices?
Possibly.
Me?
I staked my life on that platform, and it never let me down.
 
I have a S&W 686 with a 6" barrel that I've had for 25 years. I used load it with 357 Magnum 125gr JHP. I also have several boxes of 145gr silvertip HP. I now keep the gun loaded with Hornady Critical Defense 38 SPCL+P 110gr. FTX. I've fired 100 rounds of this ammo and it is hotter than non +P rounds.
 
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In a full out HD scenario if the flash/bang from a .357 is enough to bother you then the same is true for the flash/bang of a .45, 9 or .38. With all that's going on you'll never notice the difference. Sounds like you don't need a gun, you need is a better dog.

LK
 
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