.357 snubbie

[tt3]

If I want to carry my .357 snubbie, what sort of ammo would work best in it?
The reason I ask, I recall someone mentioning something about gun shops and knowledgeable staff using the anecdote of what ammo to use in a .357 snubbie...

What should I use, and why is there a difference?

Thanks!

[JoeH]

Several ammo mfgs are marketing ammo for short barreled guns. They claim to use powder with less flash. I imagine that they also use the proper amount of powder for a 2" barrel.

I carry Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel in my .357 snubbie.

I've done no independent testing. I'm going with mfg claims which all seem logical to me.

[Keith]

I am still waiting to get my hands on some .357 mag short barrel ammo from Speer. Everybody is on backorder and has been for months.

[Pat Cannon]

The answer is: you should try various loads yourself under simulated self-defense conditions, and use the most powerful round you can shoot with what you consider adequate accuracy under those conditions. Or to put it another way, I don't know.

There are rounds such as .38 Special round nose bullets which almost everybody will agree are not adequate. On the other extreme there are the 180 grain hard cast full-power hunting loads which almost everybody will agree are excessive, for reasons both of control an overpenetration. But everything on the scale in between seems to have its fans. You can do a search on the Web as whole and in particular on forums like The High Road and find hours and hours worth of reading.

How tolerant of recoil are you? Recoil varies a lot depending on the weight of your gun: is it a 25 oz. Ruger SP101 like mine, or one of those 12 oz. space-age alloy guns? A round that is comfortable in the former is like having a firecracker blow up in your hand in the latter (I know, I've tried all three).

How concerned about penetration are you? Do you live alone in a remote farmhouse, or in an apartment with dozens of kids in neighboring apartments?

I have no professional expertise, but I've been researching this myself for the last year or so since I started carrying a .357 snub. For what it's worth, I'm inclined toward the high end of the power spectrum, on the theory that no pistol round is really an adequately reliable instant-stopper. I currently carry Double Tap 125 grain Gold Dot jacketed hollowpoints. Some people feel the noise and flash of a full-bore Magnum is going to be disorienting to the shooter, especially indoors in low or no light, but I figure I'm going to be way more prepared for it than the fellow on the other side of the muzzle. I've said before: I want everybody else on the scene to be crapping their pants, too.

[justaguy]

I carry 135gr. Speer Gold Dot short barrel. That is what I use in my 13oz. space age alloy gun. That just seems to have the most “buzz” right now.

[Fast351]

+1 on what Pat said. I wouldn't carry an alloy snubbie with .357 loads in it. I also carry the 135gr Speer GD SB rounds. The biggest thing about these is that they expand reliably at lower short barrel velocities.

IMO, if you're looking to carry .357, you should probably look at a heavier revolver in the 22oz+ range. For my money at that point I'd rather carry a compact semi-auto and have magazine capacity and quick reloads. But to each his own.

[tt3]

This is the gun in question, 23.9oz.
It is fun to shoot .38spl though it, and a bit rough on the hand shooting the .357mag but doable, each time I shoot it it gets easier. Thanks for the insight, I will look for the short barrel loads.

To clarify I highly doubt I'd stop carrying my Kahr P40 to carry this one, but I also like having options.

[Pinnacle]

You may want to also limit the bullet weight to around 125 grains- I think that with some ofthe small snubbies and full house loads you start to pull bullets

I would rather have a big flash than no bang on the next pull of the trigger.

Just my $0.02

[Keith]

I currently carry Double Tap 125 grain Gold Dot jacketed hollowpoints. Some people feel the noise and flash of a full-bore Magnum is going to be disorienting to the shooter, especially indoors in low or no light, but I figure I'm going to be way more prepared for it than the fellow on the other side of the muzzle. I've said before: I want everybody else on the scene to be crapping their pants, too.

Ok Pat. Are those DoubleTap loads nasty to shoot out of an all stainless snubbie? I've shot some other 125 grain loads with very little discomfort but I've also tried some of the 158 grain loads and didn't like them at all.

I think I will try a box through my 640.
I need to order some more 10mm from him anyway.

[Pat Cannon]

Ok Pat. Are those DoubleTap loads nasty to shoot out of an all stainless snubbie? I've shot some other 125 grain loads with very little discomfort but I've also tried some of the 158 grain loads and didn't like them at all.

I think I will try a box through my 640.
I need to order some more 10mm from him anyway.

Not really uncomfortable at all, though it's a pretty solid thump. I should say, that's with the soft rubber Hogue monogrip.

[Keith]

Finally got a chance to try some of these.
Impressive to say the least! Needless to say, I think I am going to cancel my back ordered Speers. When it gets a little warmer out I want to chrono them to see if they are really doing the advertised 1400 fps out of a 1 7/8 barrel.

Ok Pat. Are those DoubleTap loads nasty to shoot out of an all stainless snubbie? I've shot some other 125 grain loads with very little discomfort but I've also tried some of the 158 grain loads and didn't like them at all.

I think I will try a box through my 640.
I need to order some more 10mm from him anyway.

Not really uncomfortable at all, though it's a pretty solid thump. I should say, that's with the soft rubber Hogue monogrip.

[Pat Cannon]

Finally got to run these through a chrono, which I've wanted to do since I bought them. Bottom line: 1200+ feet per second -- not what's advertised, but still, IMHO, a very acceptable defense round for a small gun.

[1911fan]

Althought currently out of favor, the plain jane Winchester silver tip, 125 grain load has a history of nearly 40 years of one shot stops in LEO and FBI engagements. Accurate, manageable, reliable and proven, hard to argue with that. My older stuff was 1450 FPS and 585 ft lbs.

[Holland&Holland]

Courious, do you really get much more performance using .357 over .38 special +P loads out of a 2 inch barrel? I am just thinking with the short barrel if one is able to control it better with .38 hollow points and the .38 deffinitly has a history of personal deffense applications why not stick with that in this size barrel? Just wondering and it seems that many on this forum have data on this so thought I would ask.

[Pat Cannon]

Courious, do you really get much more performance using .357 over .38 special +P loads out of a 2 inch barrel?

1200 fps versus 700 or 800 is significant if you ask me.

I am just thinking with the short barrel if one is able to control it better with .38 hollow points and the .38 deffinitly has a history of personal deffense applications why not stick with that in this size barrel? Just wondering and it seems that many on this forum have data on this so thought I would ask.

With the relatively heavy SP101 and the relatively large Hogue grips, I find the Magnum loads manageable, and therefor worthwhile. In an airweight gun with hard small 'boot' grips, might be a different story, I admit.

As far as history goes, there's lots of things we did for a long time just 'cause we didn't know any better.