Vanity- Best 357 mag load for CCW

Myself | 4/16/2010 | Myself

[Victor]

NA

[Victor]

I have a simple question because there are so many of my FRiends with CCW.

I have a .357 mag wheelgun; for home protection I keep it loaded with 158 grain hollowpoints; yet it seems that load would be excessive for CCW, I am thinking of bystanders, etc.

Would it be better to load with, say, 38 special hollow points (which I have) for up close and personal confrontations?

[MrPiper]

Best load for your weapon is 125 gr whatever brand. Any hollow-point will not over penetrate.

[omega4179]

It is very common to load .38 half jacket HP in a .357 revolver for controllability.

[Malsua]

Would it be better to load with, say, 38 special hollow points (which I have) for up close and personal confrontations?

Standard pressure .357 JHP should be fine. It's a proven round against humans. A 38sp +p JHP has roughly half the energy.

If you're worried about it, use the 38sp +p in warm weather and .357 when you're likely to be dealing with heavy clothing.

[Victor]

I’m sure you’re right. My first instinct was to load it with max load and firepower; now I am re-thinking for all-around CCW.

[Victor]

"....Best load for your weapon is 125 gr whatever brand. Any hollow-point will not over penetrate......"

Thanks; I do have plenty of 110 and 125 gr hollow points. Good advice.

[Vaquero]

high velocity 125gr loads quicker energy release than the traditional 158gr....less over penetration.

that's just what I read....

....personally I keep 230 grain hollow points for my .45acp 1911 home gun and 100gr hollow points .380 for CCW as my back can no longer handle the weight of carrying a full size weapon anymore. I gave my Model 19 S&W .357 to my son and I loaded 158gr for home and carry, but I have read the 125 grainers are superior man stoppers.

all my loads are hand made....to the chagrin of Lawyers everywhere.

[Victor]

"...Standard pressure .357 JHP should be fine. It's a proven round against humans....."

What is JHP? I have several rounds as options, including various grain 357 loads and 38 special and 38 special +P loads.

[KenHorse]

What is JHP?

Jacketed Hollow Point

[umgud]

Most any 125gr HP’s will more likely expand, and thus dump more energy than the 38’s.

[OKSooner]

Some of this depends on barrel length. For snubbies, (less than 3"), Speer 135 grain "short barrel" loads are made in both .38 and .357 caliber. They use a powder with a faster burn rate to work better in the short barrel.

Other than that, my personal favorite .357 load is the Winchester 110 grain HP. It seems to not get a lot of attention as a self-defense round, but I had a former police armorer tell me it has over a 90% one-shot stop percentage. For shootability in a .357 round it's the bee's knees. I daresay if I could only have access to one round in .357 that would have to be it.

There are also those who strongly recommend learning to use a speed-loader or speed strips if you're packing a revolver.

[Victor]

What is JHP? Jacketed Hollow Point

My loads are a simple brass casing with the business end holow point lead end sitting on top. Is that the same thing?

[DarthVader]

158 grain JHP Federal Hydra Shok’s are great and I use them in my S&W Model 27.

Here are some great .357 Magnum JHP rounds that are great CCW loads:

Corbon 110 & 125 grain
Winchester Silver Tip 145 grain
Remington Golden Saber 125 grain
Federal Defense Hydra Shok 125 grain
Speer Gold Dot 135 grain for short barrel revolvers

Also consider 38 Special +P JHP rounds:

Hornady Critical Defense 110 grain FTX
Corbon 110 grain
Federal Defense 129 grain Hydra Shok

All of these rounds have excellent ballitics and stopping power. If you are thinking about bystanders the 38 +P’s are a good choice. I carry the Corbon 110 grain 38 +P and .357 Magnum in my Ruger SP101.

[Parley Baer]

For my .357 I use the 125 grain Federal Hydra-Shok ammo.

[KenHorse]

My loads are a simple brass casing with the business end holow point lead end sitting on top. Is that the same thing?

If it was a JHP (which refers to the bullet itself), there would be a copper sheath around the bullet, almost to the lip of the hollow point itself

[KenHorse]

My loads are a simple brass casing with the business end holow point lead end sitting on top. Is that the same thing?

If it was a JHP (which refers to the bullet itself), there would be a copper sheath around the bullet, almost to the lip of the hollow point itself

[Stentor]

I have a simple question because there are so many of my FRiends with CCW.

They must live in Pennsylvania.

[Victor]

Mine is a 4 inch barrel; thanks for the advice. I do have 110 gr HP loads.

[Malsua]

What is JHP?

Jacketed Hollow points.

Just buy a box of COR-BON .357 Mag 125gr DPX. It's probably the best self-defense round you can get. There are some others and people will argue with you, shrug. If you can't find it, get some 125gr Federal Hydra-shok. The lighter grain bullets don't penetrate quite as deep as the heavier rounds(in general) but expand nicely.

My personal opinion is that I would only switch to 38sp if I had control issues shooting a .357. It really depends on your gun and your comfort level. I have a Smith and Wesson 638 that I run .38sp +p in when I carry(outside of NJ). Even with the small 2inch barrel, control is trivial. That said, I've shot the .357 version of the same gun and it takes quite a bit more effort to keep the on target. Still doable, just more difficult.

There's my advice...get some Cor-bons load 'em and forget about it, you're good to go. Definitely keep to 125gr or smaller.

[Victor]

"..There's my advice...get some Cor-bons load 'em and forget about it, you're good to go. Definitely keep to 125gr or smaller....."

Thank you my fellow NJ traveler....