Best Smith snubby for Home defense

[Dragline45]

the 357 is not even in a ready state in my house... ( have you ever fired one indoors without hearing protection, or in a small room like in a house )

Yup, and that's the reason I no longer use a .357 as my carry gun or for HD. Switched to a J frame .38 for carry and a 9mm for HD. One shot of a hot .357 round with no ear protection and I suffered high frequency hearing loss in my left ear and it still rings to this day from time to time, usually when I am drinking or really tired.

Magnum Wheel Man -- Just because the gun says .357 Magnum on the barrel doesn't mean you have to use the Magnum round. The .38 +P is plenty potent for home defense with a proven track record reaching back to the early 20th Century.

I agree but the older .38 special versions of the model 60 and 640 are significantly smaller and a few ounces lighter then the newer .357 models. They have a shorter frame, cylinder, and barrel, so the tradeoff for me selling my .357 S&W 60 which had a 3" barrel, and picking up a S&W 640 in .38 which is actually marginally smaller than even the 642 airweight was well worth it.