.357 Home Defense Round

How about Winchester Silver Tip Hollowpoints. Just about any hollowpoint load would work. Depends on your situation. And understanding that any magnum you set off indoors is a really big kaboom. The Winchester at least has low flash powder. Maybe stick to the lighter weight bullets in most cases. Otherwise you have about 3,000 choices but some would be obviously not that ideal such as ultra heavy bullets or solid bullets made for game hunting.
 
One concern that I have heard for using .357 Magnum for home defense is the fact that it is a supersonic round, and using it, especially indoors, would probably cause permanent hearing damage. While it's better to be deaf than dead, a subsonic round such as .45 ACP or its ballistically equivalent .44 Special may be something to consider - big, slow rounds that make big holes.

That's not to say that the .357 Magnum isn't an excellent manstopper. Obviously it is, but you may want to consider if you need to use it, the implications of discharging a supersonic round indoors.
 
For HD, I load my .357mag revovlers with .38spl+p (I've got a few hundred rounds of Winchester 125gr silvertips and their new 130gr PDX1). It has nothing to do with noise or flash, since even a .38spl+p is going to leave your ears bleeding indoors :D I just find I have much better control, especially for follow up shots, with the .38s then full house .357 loads. And a .38spl+p is still, IMO, a plenty potent round for self defense.

P.S. I also have a set of Peltor electronic ear muffs hanging on a wall hook by the bedroom door - several people talked about that, and it seemed a good idea to keep a pair handy to don if time and circumstances permit if/when the SHTF.
 
Or you could just stick to plus P or standard 38's. And save the magnums for shooting game or old refrigerators at the gravel pit..:)
 
ditto,

currently keep .357 loaded with the Winchester 130 gr +P .38 specials

I have more control and the effects (flash/sound) of multiple .357s fired
in my 700 sq ft apartment would be significant.

It could be the revolver but more likely I'll be locked in the bedroom with
the Mossberg 500 covering the door.
 
I have experienced shooting the .45 ACP inside a house, and the noise was surprisingly low (no ringing in the ears, etc.). The carpet and furniture absorbed much of the noise. It would be interesting to hear from someone who has fired the supersonic .357 Mag inside a furnished house. Does someone have that experience?
 
I don't know how much of it is because it is supersonic and how much is just the huge muzzle blast effects that makes it loud. Lot of powder burning.
 
The supersonic vs. subsonic thing is really a non-issue unless you're using a suppressor. Any handgun from .22 Long Rifle on up is loud enough to potentially cause permanent hearing damage.

Personally, I prefer 158grn loadings as the flash is greatly reduced from that of full-power 125grn loadings and they usually shoot to point-of-aim with fixed sighted revolvers. Personally, I use Remington's 158grn Semi-Jacketed Softpoint but would feel equally comfortable with a similar loading from Federal or Winchester as well as Speer's 158grn Gold Dot.
 
In no particular order:

R-P 165gr Core-Lokt [Golden Saber bullet engineering]
R-P 158gr SJHP
R-P 125gr SJHP
W-W 145gr Silvertip HP
W-W 180gr Partition Supreme [is also on the 'recommended list']
W-W 125gr SJHP
W-W 158gr SJHP
Speer 125 & 158gr Gold Dot
Hornady 125, 140gr & 158gr XTP
Federal 140gr Vital-Shok [Barnes' DPX bullet]
Federal 130gr Hydra-Shok "personal defense"
Federal 158gr Hydra-Shok
Federal 125gr SJHP
Corbon 125gr DPX

I keep 145gr Silvertips loaded in the cylinder and 140gr Federal Vital-Shok loaded in speed-loaders
 
Hearing damage or no the .38 P+ 115 gr JHP is a great little round and what we used to use before we switched to .45.
 
For indoor use, I keep WWB .357 110gr JHP in my 686. It's a relatively light load for a .357, but still better than anything in .38spl +P. I switched to this because firing a full house 125gr load in a hallway is like setting off a flashbang, only I'm closer to it than the perp I'm shooting at.
 
Home defense .357

I have to agree with most of the other posters, I don’t recommend the .357 round for a home defense round. I prefer the 38 special + P 158 Gr. F.B.I. load. But you asked so here goes the Speer 158Gr. J.H.P shoots dead on, at 25 feet, in my 2” revolvers. The recoil is stiff and the muzzle blast is something else, but it is a fight stopper.
 
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