what .357 round do you carry in your snubby?

I've carried more than a few different defensive loads in 357 snubs.

My absolute favorite is the Speer Gold Dot 135 gr short barrel .357 mag

I also like: Speer Gold Dot .38+P 125 gr short barrel

Buffalo Bore LSWCHP .38+P 158 gr

I DO NOT like anything lighter than 125gr in a 357 mag loading.

A good .38+P loading is much easier to fire accurately and with more speed on target (for me), but I like to practice with what I am carrying.....
 
Hornady 125gr Critical Defense 357 Magnum. If I was going to use 38 Special for defense I would've gotten a 38 Special.
 
Barnes 125grn XPB's, loaded with N110 and a small rifle primer. Loaded to about 1250fps out of my 2.25 sp101.

Not terribly hot, shoots to point of aim and is easy to control.

I keep the 140grn XPB's in my 3in gp100, they clock about 1300fps out of that Ruger, a little hard to control in the sp101.
 
I use Remington 158gr SJHP in my 2 1/2" S&W M66 but have also used Winchester 145gr Silvertip and Cor-Bon 140gr JHP in the past. I prefer heavier bullets in a .357 snub because they have noticeably less blast and flash than lighter bullets and because they don't seem to suffer as much velocity loss from snubs as their lighter counterparts do.
 
wheelyfun said:
My absolute favorite is the Speer Gold Dot 135 gr short barrel .357 mag

I also like: Speer Gold Dot .38+P 125 gr short barrel
Click to expand...
I'm with him; I carry the Speer short barrel stuff when ever I can. If I can't find that, I'll go with Remington Golden Saber or the Hornady XTP.
 
I use typically Hornady critical defense in all my guns.
Not because I believe it's any better than a lot of other options, but rather because I can always find it, and I'm a creature of habit. On the rare occasion I can't find that, I buy whatever I can find - Cor-Bon, Federal, Speer, or whatever.

However, I do typically load my snub with .38spl +p. I like having the option for heavy magnums when I'm out hiking in the woods, but +p's are still plenty effective, and make a lot less noise/flash.
 
I use Corbon DPX And Corbon 125GJHP but, I don't think you could go wrong with any major brand that is a newer "self defense load".
 
Currently 8.0 gr. of Unique behind a 158gr. XTP.
That may change when I run out, but I've got a lot of them.

J
 
PMC Eldorado Starfire

I know these are old technology and not hot loads. But, I have found with the PMC Eldorado Starfire 150 grain .357 Magnum, that at 10-15 yards my Ruger Speed-Six with the 2.75" barrel hits exactly where I am aiming. Not to the left or right...not a little high or a little low. And, the recoil is very, very easy to absorb.

PMC.jpg
 
My 2 bits...

You can't go wrong with the prove fight stopper; 125gr JHP from Federal, Corbon, Hornady, CCI Speer Gold Dot, Winchester, or Golden Saber.
I loaded my 1990s era DA only(pre-LCR) SP101 with 125gr Golden Sabers.
For concealed use or home defense, you might want to see the MagSafe .357magnum round or the Glaser Safety Slug(silver). Some knock frangibles but they do have low recoil, low muzzle blast & high KE levels. ;)
I used MagSafe revolver rounds off & on with no problems.

I'd avoid the Extreme Shock USA line but to my limited knowledge, they are out of business.

CF
www.shopcorbon.com www.grafs.com www.midwayusa.com www.magsafeonline.com
 
What round do I carry in 357 Mag.

I happen to be a big fan of the 357 Mag. But not as a conceal carry weapon. It is a little heavy and bulky. But my preferred round is 19 grains of H110 on 125 gr. semi-jacketed HP. That is about 1450 FPS or so out of a 6 inch barrel. Great little round. Does anyone else load to those specs.??
 
I no longer have my 2 1/2" M-19 (saddyl) but when I did I used the old Speer 140 grain half jacketed bullet with a warm load of WW 296 with WW small pistol mag primers.
 
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