Best self-defense ammo for a 2 1/2 inch S&W Model 19?
- Thread starter Greg Bell
- Start date
Best can mean a lot of things.
If I was carrying that gun, and anticipated problems with critters that walk on their hind legs, and wasn't gonna reload my carry ammo, I'd be waiting for Speer's soon-to-appear 'short barrel' 357, which will launch their 135 gr. Gold Dot (with a CAVERNOUS hollowpoint) at 1,000 fps from a 2" barrel. Ample but not excessive power, and the best engineered, best performing bullet for the platform. The kind of bullet semiauto shooters DREAM of being able to feed
If I was carrying that gun, and anticipated problems with critters that walk on their hind legs, and wasn't gonna reload my carry ammo, I'd be waiting for Speer's soon-to-appear 'short barrel' 357, which will launch their 135 gr. Gold Dot (with a CAVERNOUS hollowpoint) at 1,000 fps from a 2" barrel. Ample but not excessive power, and the best engineered, best performing bullet for the platform. The kind of bullet semiauto shooters DREAM of being able to feed
Mike Irwin
Staff
I carry 125-gr. Golden Sabers in mine.
Until recently I carried a 4 inch model 19. My carry load for the longest time 158 grain JSP's. Then I saw some data on Speer Gold dot 38+P and carried that till I Switched to a "Bottom Feeder". IMHO I would minimize the # of 125 grain rounds you run through a model 19. They wear out the forcing cone and the gun "shoots Loose" quicker.Regards 18DAI.
Sir William
New member
I use 180 gr Winchester Supreme 357 Magnum. (black box)
When I had mine, I loaded it with
- Cor Bon 125 gr .38spl +P.
- Federal NyClad 125 gr standard pressure.
- Remington Golden Saber 125 gr .357Mag.
By far the NyClads were the most comfortable. (too bad they are gone now)
The GS the most accurate. (IIRC - the 125 gr GS is supposedly made especially for snubbies)(All I know is my model 66 was very partial to them, and finickey about most other brands and bullet weights - I had no problem drilling a sub 2 times caliber hole @ ~ 25 feet in the center of targets with a full chamber of them - good round)< - for those that go by group size, that equates to a hole a little under 3/4 of an inch.
The CB's the best compromise. Accurate enough and they stepped out pretty well from the short barrel, but without all the noise and recoil of the magnum loads. <- the load I almost always charged it with as a house gun.
Another round that many speak very highly of is the .38spl +P 158 gr LSWCHP
(lead semi-wadcutter hollow point). I have no actual experience with factory offerings in that load. I have shot hundreds (if not thousands) of handloads that duplicate it though. If the factory stuff performs like my handloads, I'd probably go with it depending on the individual gun itself. My finicky model 66 didn't like 158 gr bullets though. Only 125 gr.
- Cor Bon 125 gr .38spl +P.
- Federal NyClad 125 gr standard pressure.
- Remington Golden Saber 125 gr .357Mag.
By far the NyClads were the most comfortable. (too bad they are gone now)
The GS the most accurate. (IIRC - the 125 gr GS is supposedly made especially for snubbies)(All I know is my model 66 was very partial to them, and finickey about most other brands and bullet weights - I had no problem drilling a sub 2 times caliber hole @ ~ 25 feet in the center of targets with a full chamber of them - good round)< - for those that go by group size, that equates to a hole a little under 3/4 of an inch.
The CB's the best compromise. Accurate enough and they stepped out pretty well from the short barrel, but without all the noise and recoil of the magnum loads. <- the load I almost always charged it with as a house gun.
Another round that many speak very highly of is the .38spl +P 158 gr LSWCHP
(lead semi-wadcutter hollow point). I have no actual experience with factory offerings in that load. I have shot hundreds (if not thousands) of handloads that duplicate it though. If the factory stuff performs like my handloads, I'd probably go with it depending on the individual gun itself. My finicky model 66 didn't like 158 gr bullets though. Only 125 gr.