New member, 38/357 question

C

chronos

Inactive
Greetings all.

This weekend I acquired an EAA 38 spcl (WINDICATOR) chambered for .357mag. 2" snubby loaded with Hydrashocks.. My first revolver! Mainly for home defense. My only other handgun other than this (which I had to sell, grip to big for my small 5'8 hands) was a Taurus PT92.

My SKS (milled, not stamped!) proved to cumbersome and dangerous (for neighbors) for home defense. My 10/22, with CCI mini-mags and a folding stock, too awkward as well. And the Remington 700 BDL, well, that's not gonna work for home defense. In case you haven't noticed, I'm more of a rifle guy.

I wanted something cheap, reliable and something the wife could handle if she needs to.

From what I've read, this is a decent, reliable six shooter for it's price. I'm just looking for input and opinions. Would I be better off re-chambering it for 38 spcl? Which would be easier for the wife to shoot? Which charge will burn off better?

Again, sorry, I'm a revolver newby.
 
If the gun is a .357 Magnum, you need do nothing in order to fire .38Spl. rounds. They will fit and fire just fine, as they are intended to. If the gun is a .38 Spl., you CAN'T fire .357 Magnum ammo in it. Too much pressure. You faw down when gun go BOOM. .38 loads will burn as well as .357. The only real difference is the power level.
Hope this helps
Y.D.
 
If it's already chambered in .357 mag, then it can handle .38 special loads with ease. I have not handled the gun you are talking about, but if it's chambered in .357, it can handle the .38 specials as well.

I would just load it with .38 +P loads for your wife and for your ears if you need to set it off in the house. These are my favorite SD .38 loads so far:

Speer Gold Dot 135 gr.
Remington Golden Saber 125 gr.
Corbon DPX 110 gr.

Enjoy shooting. Revolvers are things of beauty.
 
I had one and they're well made revolvers. The only thing I didn't like about it was the trigger pull- extremely rough compared to other revolvers I've shot.

Give us a range report when you can...

EW
 
I am interested to know how you like the Windicator as well. I have always had an interest in them. Hey, they're German. That's a good start! I can definitely understand why the SKS might be a little unwieldy inside a home with sharp corners. :D I can also understand wanting something the wife can handle. What's the trigger pull like on that thing? is it something she can cycle double action with no problems? Definitely a consideration. I got my wife a .357 mag for the same purpose, not realizing that she couldn't even pull the hammer back. So that was a waste of money. Oh well. Not to completely urinate in your breakfast cereal, but if HD is the objective, I would recommend long arms, esp. for yourself. Hanguns are great, handguns are fun. Handguns are our friends. But handguns don't do nearly as much damage as a rifle/shotgun/carbine will. Handguns are just not powerful enough to end a threat quickly with any consitency. Best of luck, and ditto on the range report!
 
Yes, the main purpose of this gun is basically for CQB around the 5 to 7 yard range. With a 2" barrel, it's not going to be very effective much farther out.

As far as the long gun for home defense, I'll be picking up a 12ga pump to go with this. Every honest person should have one for the home.

I've read a few reviews about this gun. Nothing but good things to say about it, BUT I have to agree with omegapd. The trigger. It feels like it's around 2lbs pull SA. Fairly easy to cock the hammer for the wife. HEAVY in DA, probably in the neighborhood of 15lbs pull. I didn't think of this as far as the wife goes. I may have to re-evaluate my choice and get her her own gun. The trigger is also ribbed for better grip. If only firing a couple rounds, it's not bad. But if you're gonna spend a day at the range shooting just this, you'll want to take a Dremel to the trigger to smooth it down a bit.

TX - Here's another thread I found on this gun here on this forum:
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=107653
 
With a 2" barrel, it's not going to be very effective much farther out.
Click to expand...
A big misconception that a lot of people make these days. The short barreled models are nearly as effective as their longer barreled brothers at the longer ranges. The limiting factor to them is the shooter.
 
38spc.

Let her practice with the 38.357 is probley a little hot for a lady.38 spc.will and has taken down many attackers.I had a S&W model 36.carried winchester +p 124gr.
 
+1 Majic. My sub-2" S&W M60 is among the most accurate handguns I own. But you do need to practice with these snubbies. I would not have recommended it as a first revolver, but a good deal is a good deal. You may have a flatter learning curve with the shorty, but you can still get good.

The 135 GDHPs that were mentioned above were developed especially for snubs, so they offer good power & terminal ballistics without all the pyrotechnics. However, they ain't cheap to practice with. Practice with some cheaper .38 +Ps to get familiar with the gun. Then pop off a few .357s when you think you're ready. After that, run some 135 GDHPs through it and they'll seem pretty tame.
 
I would just load it with .38 +P loads for your wife and for your ears if you need to set it off in the house. These are my favorite SD .38 loads so far:
Click to expand...

Agree. .357 Magnum is not a good choice for HD. Most gunfights occur in low light, and the muzzle and cylinder gap flashes can temporarily blind you. As well, I'd consider sight recovery time as critical in a fight.
JT
 
.357 Magnums can shoot .38 spl and .38 spl +p ammo with no modifications, but not visa versa. The only physical difference between .357 Mag and .38 spl is case length, the Mag is a little longer, the only real issue is that if you do shoot .38 spl in a .357 Mag, you have to clean out the "carbon ring" that accumulates at the front of the cylinder every now and then. Actually, the whole reason for there even being a seperate .357 Mag cartridge is to prevent them from being chambered in .38 spl firearms that weren't designed for the greatly increased pressures. The poster that said that if you tried to fire .357 Mag cartridges in a .38 spl handgun would cause a KB wasn't actually correct. You won't get a KB because it won't chamber at all, it is too long, they did it that way that on purpose to prevent the KB.

"I would just load it with .38 +P loads for your wife and for your ears if you need to set it off in the house."

Roger that. I've got .38 spl +p loaded in my 4" S&W 686 .357 Mag for that reason, and a few others. Not only is it lighter on noise but it is also somewhat lighter on recoil (more controlable for faster follow-up shots) and has less flash. Also, I feel that it won't be as prone to shooting completely through my house and on into the neighbor's house(s). With well constructed bullets designed for those velocities, I feel that given a well placed shot, a BG won't know the difference between being hit by a .38 spl +p or being hit by a .357 Mag, either one will do the job just fine.
 
Thanks for the insight. I'll consider the GDHP's for home defense for sure. Good points made about this being a 2" .357 snubbie. It didn't occur to me that the muzzle flash in a low light condition could be disabling to me. That and the fact the wife could not, with no doubt, handle a .357 load. I'm still dying to get to the range with this.

But it's nice to know that it'll make a big flash and bang with the mag loads...fun factor!
 
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