.357 for Home Defense?
- Thread starter M1Rifle30-06
- Start date
Dragline45
New member
I agree with iamdb, I can get the job done just as well with a 9mm or .45 and still save my hearing. Hearing loss I could really care less about, but when your ear rings 24/7 than you might change your mind. Thankfully I have a very slight case of ringing, but there are plenty of people out there where it is so loud it borderline drives them crazy. I have no intention of exposing my unprotected ears to a .357 round ever again, I swear those suckers are louder than my fathers big ol' .44
OldMarksman
Staff
Most of us would rather minimize hearing loss, and I'm sure that no one would discount the importance of being able to hear right after the shots to understand and react appropriately to family members, to the intruder's accomplices, and to arriving first responders.
Why is it a choice?
For those who prefer a double action revolver, a .357 is a good choice for home defense--with .38 Special loads.
One's ability to stop an attacker will depend on one's ability to put an adequate number of adequately sized projectiles far enough into the attacker to damage something vital and to do so very quickly, under circumstances in which the attacker is most likely moving fast.
That requires adequate power and rapid fire.
Bullets of .356-.357 diameter will do it if they hit in the right place and penetrate far enough. The .38 will do that. Since hitting in the right place quickly on a moving target is an iffy proposition, rapid fire becomes important.
The problem with the recoil is not one of pain or discomfort, but how much it impairs the defender's ability to fire several controlled shots and hit the target several times in a second. Don't think range shooting.
Personally, I prefer a .45 semi-auto or a 9MM.
The advantage of the .357 Magnum is penetration--penetration of auto bodies for the highway patrols of the old days, and penetration for the hunting of game. Excessive penetration is a disadvantage in home defense. And the alleged "knock down power" is a myth.
And yes, electronic muffs are a good idea.
Have to agree with some of the comments above...if you won't use a 357 (possibly one of the best defensive calibers) for home defense, you probably ought to get rid of all your firearms, because they are all loud enough to cause hearing damage...and no I don't think my 357 is oh so much louder than any of the other defensive guns I might use.
the 357 is almost twice as loud as a .45acp and louder than a 30-06 w/ an 18" barrel. Could you be anymore wrong?Shotgun693
New member
The .357 Mag has a sharp crack to it that my other handguns, mostly .45 Colt, just don't have. Shooting a .357 out of a 6" barrel seems easier on my ears but not by a lot. I do not want to shoot a .357 out of a barrel shorter than 4"
ScottieG59
New member
I have gone to placing electronic hearing protection by the bed with my Glock 20. It enhances sounds I want to hear while muffling gunfire blast. I do not want to deaden my already diminished hearing with standard passive ear protection.
My concern with defending against an attacker at night is starting behind the power curve. I have to wake up, recognize something needs to be investigated, get my gear, identify a threat and react accordingly. I have 6 kids in the house as well. This is a very difficult scenario even without the kids. You cannot count on the intruder to be too drunk to fight.
A 357 would do fine as a defense weapon. Police loved the cartridge and it earned a great reputation over the years. But nothing is magic. Personally, I do not know of cases where people failed to shoot again just because things were too loud.
I would want familiarity with the gun. The first time I fired my little 357 was when I was 21. It was no big deal, but I remember thinking something that loud should be exploding like a grenade. In time, the blast was no big deal, unless you were a shooter next to me. I can only assume the blast is worse from the target's perspective.
Anyway, if you can identify and engage a target first, you have overcome the many disadvantages you started with. It is rare they will stick around for extra shots, but you need to be ready. And remember bad guys often are not alone.
My concern with defending against an attacker at night is starting behind the power curve. I have to wake up, recognize something needs to be investigated, get my gear, identify a threat and react accordingly. I have 6 kids in the house as well. This is a very difficult scenario even without the kids. You cannot count on the intruder to be too drunk to fight.
A 357 would do fine as a defense weapon. Police loved the cartridge and it earned a great reputation over the years. But nothing is magic. Personally, I do not know of cases where people failed to shoot again just because things were too loud.
I would want familiarity with the gun. The first time I fired my little 357 was when I was 21. It was no big deal, but I remember thinking something that loud should be exploding like a grenade. In time, the blast was no big deal, unless you were a shooter next to me. I can only assume the blast is worse from the target's perspective.
Anyway, if you can identify and engage a target first, you have overcome the many disadvantages you started with. It is rare they will stick around for extra shots, but you need to be ready. And remember bad guys often are not alone.
A posted stated that a 357 is twice as loud as a 357. Allow me to put some simplified math here so as many as possible can understand this.
Every 3dB gain is 2X as much, every 10dB gain is 10X as much.
The difference between 140 and 143 dB is 2X as much.
The difference between 140 and 150 dB is 10X as much.
100dB is a jackhammer.
130dB is the Pain Threshhold
140dB- 150 dB is standing 10 feet from a jet engine.
170 dB is having someone crack off a 30-06 with the muzzle 1 meter from your ear directly to the side.
A measurement of a particular caliber from a standard weapon 1 meter from the muzzle in either the wide open or an acoustics chamber only gives you the base value. A near by thunderclap rates 120dB and that alone can cause permanent damage. That is 1% of a gunshots Sound Pressure Level (SPL). Remember 10dB is 10X as much and 20dB is 100X.
Resonance can change these numbers. Being close to a wall can add 3-6 dB (2-4X) depending on the surface, distance and angle. A corner can add 9 dB (8X). A narrow hallway can really jack the numbers up. Crack a short barrel 22 off in a hallway and you WILL be over 140dB. That is a low pressure round without a lot of powder behind it. You will be in permanent hearing damage territory.
Then add in muzzle flash. If your chosen ammo can make you see spots in an indoor range, imagine what it can do when you are half awake and in the dark. Those wonderful loads of Blue Dot that you have fun with at the range will be blinding at night. When I go to the desert for some R&R, I like to practice some night fire; especially when there are Noobs present. My SP101 3" with 125 gr. pills behind a suitable dose of W296 are real attention getters. You get 2-4 feet of bright flame out the front and about a 1 foot cylinder gap flash out the sides. It pretty much matches my SBH 7 1/2" with 240 gr. loads. You would also be surprised what several popular semi auto loads produce. My 12 ga. 20" with 3" mag.s has been described to me as squeezing a bright orange beach ball out of the muzzle. Personally, I blink when I squeeze at night so I'm not blinded like the rest of them.
If possible, I recommend some night fire / low light exercises so you understand what you are bound to experience. As to hearing loss; personnaly I can deal with that. If I am alive and the threat is neutralized; that to me is an acceptable trade off. You may not have time to put glasses on, muffs on, get your gun, and get ready. Remember, you may be awakened by someone coming in your bedroom window.
The picture is one frame from a P&S camera video but it should shed some light on night time muzzle flash.
Every 3dB gain is 2X as much, every 10dB gain is 10X as much.
The difference between 140 and 143 dB is 2X as much.
The difference between 140 and 150 dB is 10X as much.
100dB is a jackhammer.
130dB is the Pain Threshhold
140dB- 150 dB is standing 10 feet from a jet engine.
170 dB is having someone crack off a 30-06 with the muzzle 1 meter from your ear directly to the side.
A measurement of a particular caliber from a standard weapon 1 meter from the muzzle in either the wide open or an acoustics chamber only gives you the base value. A near by thunderclap rates 120dB and that alone can cause permanent damage. That is 1% of a gunshots Sound Pressure Level (SPL). Remember 10dB is 10X as much and 20dB is 100X.
Resonance can change these numbers. Being close to a wall can add 3-6 dB (2-4X) depending on the surface, distance and angle. A corner can add 9 dB (8X). A narrow hallway can really jack the numbers up. Crack a short barrel 22 off in a hallway and you WILL be over 140dB. That is a low pressure round without a lot of powder behind it. You will be in permanent hearing damage territory.
Then add in muzzle flash. If your chosen ammo can make you see spots in an indoor range, imagine what it can do when you are half awake and in the dark. Those wonderful loads of Blue Dot that you have fun with at the range will be blinding at night. When I go to the desert for some R&R, I like to practice some night fire; especially when there are Noobs present. My SP101 3" with 125 gr. pills behind a suitable dose of W296 are real attention getters. You get 2-4 feet of bright flame out the front and about a 1 foot cylinder gap flash out the sides. It pretty much matches my SBH 7 1/2" with 240 gr. loads. You would also be surprised what several popular semi auto loads produce. My 12 ga. 20" with 3" mag.s has been described to me as squeezing a bright orange beach ball out of the muzzle. Personally, I blink when I squeeze at night so I'm not blinded like the rest of them.
If possible, I recommend some night fire / low light exercises so you understand what you are bound to experience. As to hearing loss; personnaly I can deal with that. If I am alive and the threat is neutralized; that to me is an acceptable trade off. You may not have time to put glasses on, muffs on, get your gun, and get ready. Remember, you may be awakened by someone coming in your bedroom window.
The picture is one frame from a P&S camera video but it should shed some light on night time muzzle flash.
Attachments
Strafer Gott
New member
A .357 mag is like a twofer. You get a smoking projectile, and a flashbang.
Unfortunately, you have to eat the flashbang!
Unfortunately, you have to eat the flashbang!
Maybe I should have just kept it simple and said what I was really thinking...if someone is trying to kill you, how loud your 357mag is, just really isn't your problem. The better question is, if someone is trying to kill you, what works best at stopping that someone? If 357mag is what a person has to stop that someone, use it. How's that for simple logic?
Last edited:
I can't believe the things people are saying.....
1. If they are worried about their hearing, they are assuming they will win the gunfight over the BG ..... if the BG wins, you wont' have to worry about your hearing.
2. You probably won't even remember hearing it.
3. It wont' damage your ears ..... if you aren't doing it all of the time.
4. The flash and noise, is a positive to me ..... as it disorients and distracts the BG, giving me another advantage. Gives him another reason to turn and run.
5. Shoot what you are good at, will do the job, and allow you to be still alive to make the call to 911 and to your attorney.
Anything else, is just a distraction from the goal that you want to be able to accomplish, stopping a threat and surviving first. All else is secondary.
1. If they are worried about their hearing, they are assuming they will win the gunfight over the BG ..... if the BG wins, you wont' have to worry about your hearing.
2. You probably won't even remember hearing it.
3. It wont' damage your ears ..... if you aren't doing it all of the time.
4. The flash and noise, is a positive to me ..... as it disorients and distracts the BG, giving me another advantage. Gives him another reason to turn and run.
5. Shoot what you are good at, will do the job, and allow you to be still alive to make the call to 911 and to your attorney.
Anything else, is just a distraction from the goal that you want to be able to accomplish, stopping a threat and surviving first. All else is secondary.
I don't think anyone implied it won't work. What some of us are saying is, we have first hand knowledge of the question asked. There are much better choices for inside work. And, yes excessive muzzle blast can and will affect follow up shots. Conjecture has no ground to stand on here. Hd is best suited for low pressure rounds.
Dr. William Clark, Ph.D. senior research scientist in charge of the NOISE LABORATORY at the Central Institute for the Deaf in St. Louis, the damage caused by one shot from a .357 magnum pistol, is more than sufficient to cause sudden hearing loss with complications.
If it's all you have, so be it. But it's possible the blast will affect your shooting negatively. There are much more appropriate choices out there.
Thanks for the lesson doc, but there seems to be some dissent by your colleagues.
Dr. William Clark, Ph.D. senior research scientist in charge of the NOISE LABORATORY at the Central Institute for the Deaf in St. Louis, the damage caused by one shot from a .357 magnum pistol, is more than sufficient to cause sudden hearing loss with complications.
If it's all you have, so be it. But it's possible the blast will affect your shooting negatively. There are much more appropriate choices out there.
OldMarksman
Staff
That's an interesting point, but it does not address the OP's question.
That's possible--and it, too, is irrelevant.
That misconception has been addressed by lamdb, and there is a lot more to substantiate that answer.
People often bring up the subject of auditory exclusion, but the sound that one hears and the damage caused by loud noise are two different things.
It would be nice to be able to hear the questions from the 911 dispatcher.
For reasons unknown to me, many people assume that the .357 Magnum is at the top or the list for defensive shooting. Perhaps they confuse the boom and blast and the effect on a water jug with "stopping power". Perhaps they have never availed themselves of any relevant training in which the importance of extremely rapid repeat shots has been stressed, or considered that a .357 Magnum is very difficult to use effectively in that regime. Perhaps they haven't thought very much about over penetration.
This puts it well:
.357 for home defense
PETE 2 Your right, if I ever have to kill someone in my house, I don't think I'm going to worry about ringing ears. That's a situation that will stick with you the rest of your life. If you survive, which means you used the right gun, regardless of caliber!
PETE 2 Your right, if I ever have to kill someone in my house, I don't think I'm going to worry about ringing ears. That's a situation that will stick with you the rest of your life. If you survive, which means you used the right gun, regardless of caliber!
Glenn E. Meyer
New member
1. There is no reason not to plan for the totality of the encounter before it happens. Thus, sound can be planned for. As I said before - you can keep a pair of muffs near the gun.
2. Kill - wrong answer - your goal is to prevent grievous bodily harm, not kill.
If one gets into these issues more, you move beyond the cliches.
BTW, auditory exclusion is a couple of things:
a. Selective attention
b. Selective memory
- neither have anything to do with the hair cells in your cochlea being damaged. If you look at an enlargement of those things you can see how fragile they are.
2. Kill - wrong answer - your goal is to prevent grievous bodily harm, not kill.
If one gets into these issues more, you move beyond the cliches.
BTW, auditory exclusion is a couple of things:
a. Selective attention
b. Selective memory
- neither have anything to do with the hair cells in your cochlea being damaged. If you look at an enlargement of those things you can see how fragile they are.