Selecting Defensive Revolver Ammunition

Things to Remember:

• Other than added weight, there really isn’t much of a point to getting a snub nosed revolver in .357 Magnum as opposed to .38 special.
  

  S&W Model 360, “AirLite Sc” in .357 magnum (Photo credit: rdo_jeep)

  From: http://www.ar15.com/ammo/project/Self_Defense_Ammo_FAQ/#.38spl/.357mag (Go read the full article!)

.38spl/.357mag

• Speer Gold Dot 135gr +P (53921), specially designed for snubnose guns. Here is an excellent article from Federal’s website which gives you more information than you’d ever want to know about this round, as well as effective ranges and performance evaluation using the FBI test protocol for that round.

	Penetration	Recovered Diameter	Recovered Weight
Bare Gelatin	13.1″	0.56″	134.5gr
4-layer denim	13.6″	0.53″	134.1gr
Auto windshield	9.4″	0.51″	129.6gr

More information from Doctor Roberts: “With few exceptions, such as the Speer 135 gr +P JHP and Barnes XPB, the vast majority of .38 Sp JHP’s fail to expand when fired from 2″ barrels in the 4 layer denim test.  […]   There is no reason to go with .357 mag in a J-frame, as the significantly larger muzzle blast and flash, and harsher recoil of the .357 Magnum does not result in substantially improved terminal performance compared to the more controllable .38 Special bullets when fired from 2” barrels.“

• Corbon 110 gr JHP DPX

	Penetration	Recovered Diameter	Recovered Weight
Bare Gelatin	13.0″	0.52″	109.5gr
4-layer denim	12.4″	0.52″	109.7gr

Also look at loads using the Barnes DPX bullet as loaded by Federal. Please be aware that Federal lists the “Barnes expander” under their “Vital-Shok” handgun hunting section, while the inferior Hydra-Shok is listed for personal defense. Then again, it’s questionable why one would want the extra recoil/muzzle blast of the .357mag when the .38spl load works just as well.

Related articles

• The Rossi .357 Magnum: The poor man’s revolver (guns.com)
• Transitioning to the Backup Gun (gunsafetyblog.com)
• Gripping a Snub Nose Revolver (gunscoop.wordpress.com)
• Defensive Carry: Caliber and incapacitation (givemeliberty01.com)

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Configuring Your Snub Nosed Revolver for Concealed Carry ›

Tagged with: .357 Magnum, .38 Special, DocGKR, Doctor Gary Roberts, Magnum, Revolver, Shopping, Smith & Wesson, Snubnosed revolver, Trigger (firearms)
Posted in Concealed Carry, Handguns