shotshells for .38.357

Follow up on the OP's great question. I walk a small dog on a leash and I've had several close encounters with big aggressive off leash dogs. Fortunately I've been able to scoop him off and fend them off... so far.

But then I've got a 25 pound dog in one arm and I need to back the charging dog (in one case three) with the other and my feet. I've got pepper spray, but not faith in my ability to use it effectively in that situation.

Is there a commercial .38 shotshell that I could use with my S&W 642 or Model 10 snubbie? Do I need to reload for this option? And is it more viable than standard.38 loads?
 
When I lived in Tennessee I bought a box of " Varmint Shells" by CCI for my 357 mag Ruger. Had Rattlers and such & didn't want to walk my dog without them.
They are accurate about up to 8 ft. and had to use just them one time. Worked like a charm.
 
Mainah - My original post was to ask about the commercial shotshells made by CCI. They will chamber in a .38 Special. One version, which has been on the market for a long time, is loaded with #9 shot [about 2 mm in diameter]. There is a newer load filled with #4 shot [about 3.3 mm in diameter]. One article I found says there are 27 pellets of #4 in the CCI Big 4 shotshell. The CCI web site has a caution statement saying that "Cylinder lockup may occur in lightweight revolvers due to capsule movement resulting from recoil inertia."

Hope that's helpful.
 
smee78 - Thanks. I wouldn't expect to need them at more than ten feet.

I did think about getting one of those Taurus Judge things and loading it with the .45 Colt CCI Big 4. Then it occurred to me ...
 
I wouldn't worry too much about the capsules jumping the crimp. I have never had that happen and I have shot a couple hundred of both factory and hand loads. I wouldn't go with the #4 load until you have tested it. I bet the pattern is pretty thin. Mike Venterino did an article on the shot loads and he had the best results with #12 shot. Thats why I bought 20 pounds of #12 and 10 pounds of #10 shot. I also have 25 pounds of #9 shot. A lifetime supply I think.

Like I wrote earlier of all the fishing I have done I have had only one water moccasin crawl over the toe of my hip waders and he was gone so fast a shot would have not been possible. I was gone pretty fast too. I did step on a rattlesnake once. I must have stepped on his head because he was flipping all around my feet but didn't bite me. He went about 25 feet and curled up and then rattled. He was shot with the 12 gauge I was using to dove hunt with. And yes it scared the bejeesus out of me.

You can load the Speer 38 shot capsules with #1 buck (.30 caliber) and 3 are a perfect fit. I have loaded those for many years and they pattern pretty good too. They might make a decent SD load.
 
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