.357 Magnum for home defence?

357. should be a very good choice, however depending on if you have kids and how close your neighbors live and some thoughts about what your walls and floor might be constructed of.

I would be concerned about over penetration or in the case you miss how many walls is the bullet going to go through.

Just some things to think about but still a very good gun(s).

You may also want to consider a Super 45 which is a upgraded 45 with upgraded ammunition.

:)
 
357. should be a very good choice, however depending on if you have kids and how close your neighbors live and some thoughts about what your walls and floor might be constructed of.

I would be concerned about over penetration or in the case you miss how many walls is the bullet going to go through.
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No kids in the house and the exterior walls of all of the houses in the neighborhood are brick, so even if the round should somehow go through the interior wall and the exterior wall of my house, it should have lost enough energy that it wouldn't go through the exterior wall of someone else's house.
 
That being said, I will go with the .38 special rounds for HD.
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I followed the same reasoning and it eventually caused me to begin to migrate to .45 acp. I figure if I'm going to go to a "lesser" caliber (.38 Spl) to mitigate the issues with .357, I might as well go with a different gun and caliber altogether and gain the benefits of the the "big and slow" school of thought. People argue the merits of .357 vs. .45 acp but I don't think anyone would deny that, good as the .38 Special 158 LSWCHP+P is, a good 230 grain JHP in .45 acp is better. More caliber, more weight at approximately the same velocity as the .38.

I still keep a couple of .357s around but they are loaded with 158 grain Federal Nyclad .357.
 
As a preface, I fire a LOT of .357 rounds. It's my round of choice for range fun with my S & W 686 and 27. Ok. Now, here's some food for thought.
(1) .357s are uber powerful. A 158 gr. round, which is what I mostly fire, moves along at about 1200 fps. A 125 grainer, the really hot round, gives you 1400 fps+. (2) They are uber loud. That is especially true with the 125 gr. round, which, IMO, produces a more penetrating report than even a .44 magnum round. (3) In shorter barreled guns they are likely to produce a significant muzzle flash.

Now, my first question is: who needs 1200 fps or more to protect oneself in one's home? Do you think that the bad guys are going to line up, one in front of another so that a single shot can do all of them in? Or, are you interested in literally waking the neighbors when your round passes through your house and the neighbor's house as well (note: a couple of years ago there was a shooting on my street. The bullet passed through the victim, the exterior wall of a house a block away, and lodged in the opposing interior wall. The round wasn't a magnum round, but a 9mm or a 40 S & W).

My second question is: do you want to go around saying "huh?" and "what?" in response to everything that's said to you for the rest of your life? Take my word for it: even with ear protection a full house 125 gr. magnum round is something awesome to behold.

And, my final question is: are you prepared for the recoil? I fire 125 grainers less and less often these days because, frankly, my hands can't stand the abuse. I have a permanent sore spot at the base of my right thumb, in all probability due to firing too many magnum rounds. When I fire the hot stuff, my first reaction usually is to say "ouch" and only then to look for where the bullet went. I can't imagine getting in a situation with those rounds where one has to fire and reacquire the target quickly.

Lately, I've discovered the joys of shooting .38+P from my magnums. They shoot relatively softly at about 1000 fps or less, without blinding muzzle flash or ear shattering noise. I hope fervently that I never have to defend myself with a handgun but, if I do, .38+P would be my round of choice.
 
There are a lot of misconceptions floating around about the .357 Magnum as a self-defense cartridge. First, the 125grn full-power Magnums are IMHO, overrated. While these rounds are definately very good, there are other loadings, IMHO, that are equally as good.

With regards to the flash and noise of the .357, I think alot of its vicious reputation comes from the afforementioned 125grn loadings. I prefer the heavier 140-158grn full power loadings for just this reason: the flash and noise are much more tolerable. Please note that I'm not talking about light or midrange loadings here but rather those which deliver a 140-158grn bullet at 1200-1300fps and generate in excess of 500 ft.lbs. of muzzle energy. I have personally fired a limited number (six rounds to be exact) of Cor-Bon 140grn JHP (published velocity of 1300fps) from a S&W M66 with a 2 1/2" barrel (short barrel typically accentuate flash and noise) in the dark without hearing protection so that I would know exactly how bad it was. While the flash and noise were certainly noticable, they were not disorenting (my night vision was unaffected and despite a ringing in my ears I could still hear what was going on around me). Understand that any handgun of decent caliber fired without hearing protection, particularly indoors, is going to be very loud and will probably cause some permanent hearing damage. I was also once present when a .44 Special was negligently discharged indoors. The .44 Special is often reccomended as having less flash and noise (the particular loading that was fired, a Fedral 200grn LSWCHP, is only rated for 870fps) but my ears rang just as much as they had with the .357 Magnum.

Overpenetration is another issue that often scares people away from the .357 Magnum for home-defense use. While the round is quite penetrative and certainly will go through interior walls, other handgun calibers do not eliminate this risk. Nearly any bullet that meets the FBI's 12-16" penetration standard (and most modern self-defense loadings do) has the potential to pass completely through an erect biped. Likewise the sheetrock interior walls of most homes aren't all that hard to pierce and can be penetrated with a .22 Long Rifle or birdshot-loaded shotgun. A relative of mine once had an accidental discharge (it was truly accidental as the firearm malfunctioned) with a shell of 16ga birdshot (#6 or #7 if memory serves). The pattern penetrated two interior walls and stopped in a third. Likewise, the ND with the .44 Special I mentioned earlier penetrated one interior wall the carpet and padding on the floor in the next room and skidded 6-8 inches across the concrete floor under the carpet before finally coming to rest. I think that perhaps the better solution to the overpenetration issue lies in tactics rather than caliber or ammunition. One should try to position themselves in their home in such a was as to minimize the risk to bystanders. Also, what to do in the event of a home invasion is a topic that should be discussed with everyone in your home (assuming they are old enough to understand of course).

The only real issue with using a .357 Magnum for self-defense is recoil. The cartridge does have substantial recoil in comparison to other common SD rounds like 9mm, .38 Special, .357 Sig, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP. However, an experienced shooter can still shoot a .357 Magnum both quickly and accurately. If you are new to magnum-caliber revolvers, I suggest you start with mild .38 Specials and work your way up by progressing to .38 +P, mild .357's like Winchester's 110grn JHP or Remington's Golden Saber, and then to full-power .357's going up in power only when you can shoot both quickly and accurately with what you're currently using. Using this method, I've found that most people, even children as young as 12-13 years old, can learn to handle the recoil of the .357 Magnum and even larger calibers like .41 and .44 Magnum.
 
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Once again, I find myself correct
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Not hardly, v.g. while your brain might try, fact is the blast will deafen you whether you realize it or not. In this case, perception is NOT reality, no matter how correct you think you are......:rolleyes:
 
Yes, the blast from a 357 is tremendous...absolutely tremendous. I believe that it is worse than a 44 mag. They do make lower flash, blast and recoil rounds that are 357 and slightly more powerful than 38 +P. These would be the best choice for the 357 IMO.

This gets back to some basic logic for me. I am only grabbing a handgun for defense if a rifle or shotgun is unavailable. And although rifles and shotguns are loud, they are not as loud as full power 357 loads.

I'm grabbing the scattergun if I get the chance.
 
OK, first I am in NO way any sort of "expert" but my thought are this. I do not disagree that a 357 mag may be unpleasent when fired inside but considering IF and when the time comes to use it to save your life you are going to be far more concerned with stoping a threat then with hearing loss. I have fred a 44mag with no protection (WOW not the smartest thing I have done) and it dropped me to my knees. The first issue is this. Will it stop a threat? YES and from what I have gathered from accounts of shootings it will be vastly more effective then say a 9mm or 45. If you are of the thought that the most important thing is to be safe and be safe instantly then a 357 is a better bet. Remember you will not be firing it inside with no protection a lot, just when it is needed to save your life. Again I am not an expert but from what I have been taught when you do use it you will most likely not even remember the sound much less be incapacitated by it. Myself I think a 45 would be perfectly suitable and maybe more friendly but a 357 would have a greater chance of doing the job possibly at a greater cost to your ears.
I disagree with the shotgun as the best HD weapon only because unless you have an auto follow up shots can be slower and mostly because the length of mos shotguns makes it easier for an intruder to grap the gun and the length makes it harder to move around tight quarters. Myself I would trade the power of a 357 for the ease of use and follow up shot ability of a 45.
 
I think that perhaps the better solution to the overpenetration issue lies in tactics rather than caliber or ammunition.
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I disagree with the shotgun as the best HD weapon only because unless you have an auto follow up shots can be slower and mostly because the length of mos shotguns makes it easier for an intruder to grap the gun and the length makes it harder to move around tight quarters.
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I find the whole handgun vs. long gun debate somewhat perplexing. However, as I don't want to hijack the thread, I'll open another one elsewhere. A link will be coming shortly.
 
I do not disagree that a 357 mag may be unpleasent when fired inside but considering IF and when the time comes to use it to save your life you are going to be far more concerned with stoping a threat then with hearing loss.
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Hopefully you will have thought about this kind of thing BEFORE the need arises so you don't have to worry about getting permanent hearing loss from your chosen home defense weapon.
 
O.K., So the owner decides to use 38 +p for home defense. The next week he goes hiking in the mountains & decides on 357 mag ammo. Also we get to tied up with hi-cap max damage 'HD' armament. Do you read how fast the average BG runs when any gun is pionted/fired at him by a homeowner willing to use it? I'll refill my coffee now.
 
I once made the mistake of firing a 4 inch ported 357 with a single shot of a maximum loaded 158 gn projectile while not putting on ear protection. The shot was outdoors (at a marauding wild dog) but under the eave of a house and with my back at an angle to the wall and about 4 feet out.

The hearing in my left ear has never fully recovered and my right ear took about a week to subjectively return to normal. Prior to this I have fired many tens of thousands of full loads in many different calibres and most of them in indoor ranges or covered ranges without causing hearing damage because I am usually careful with hearing protection.

The single 357 shot, while it did not "stun" me in any way, would have compromised my abilities in a SD situation because I simply could not hear anything for awhile. If one shot is all it takes then that's OK but my situational awareness was really affected.

This is physiological, you can't prevent it and is not directly related to the phenomenon of auditory exclusion.
 
Not hardly, v.g. while your brain might try, fact is the blast will deafen you whether you realize it or not. In this case, perception is NOT reality, no matter how correct you think you are......
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You can choose a lighter, less effective load if you prefer. I'll happily take a little more ringing in my ears and use the most effective weapon and round available to me. I think being a little deaf is better than potentially getting dead because my weapon of choice was less effective than it should have been.

Of course, my usual HD weapon of choice is not a .357, but a 16 inch AR-15. I hate to hear what the "muzzle blast whiners" here have to say about that.
 
Of course, my usual HD weapon of choice is not a .357, but a 16 inch AR-15. I hate to hear what the "muzzle blast whiners" here have to say about that.
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I say go for it. It's your hearing, not mine.

My choices are different though. I intend to defend my self if needed AND hear my grandchildren when that time comes.
 
VG, you suggested we "google auditory exclusion". I did and unless I either can't read or don't understand what I read, the consensus seems to be that auditory exclusion is a brain thing and not an ear thing and has nothing to do with ear damage and hearing loss. I see nothing wrong with trying to ameliorate possible ear damage and hearing loss prior to the fact. You, of course, are free to take any position you like with regard to your own ears.

For the record, when it comes to .357 for home defense, I agree with Webleymkv in choosing the 158 grain loadings and for the same reasons.

Sincerely,
A Muzzle Blast Whiner
 
Originally posted by Sport .45
Quote:
I do not disagree that a 357 mag may be unpleasent when fired inside but considering IF and when the time comes to use it to save your life you are going to be far more concerned with stoping a threat then with hearing loss.

Hopefully you will have thought about this kind of thing BEFORE the need arises so you don't have to worry about getting permanent hearing loss from your chosen home defense weapon.
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The problem with this statement is that with any cartridge, even a .22 Rimfire, you still run the risk of permanent hearing damage if fired inside without hearing protection. A .38 +P, while not as loud as a .357 Magnum, can still cause permanent hearing loss.

http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:h4eAQjiSPA8J:www.keepandbeararms.com/downloads/SoundAdvice.doc+handgun+cartridge+decibels&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Originally posted by draggon
I once made the mistake of firing a 4 inch ported 357 with a single shot of a maximum loaded 158 gn projectile while not putting on ear protection.
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I think the key here is that your gun was ported. Porting nearly always increase the muzzle blast of a gun dramatically. I've been on the firing line next to someone shooting a ported .357 Sig, and the blast was worse than any other handgun I've ever encountered and rivaled many centerfire rifles. This is one of the many reasons that I don't like a ported gun for SD.
 
To each his/her own. But I don't think it's necessary to knowingly shoot a cartridge that will almost certainly damage your hearing. It's just not necessary...but like I said...your decision.

Somehow there is a school of thought that a 125 grain bullet going 1400 fps out of a 357 is totally superior to a 124 grain bullet going 1150 fps out of a 9mm. It just doesn't make sense to me. The 9mm blast is a lot less than the 357 blast and you get quicker/more follow up shots. Go figure. :rolleyes:
 
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