.357 Magnum as HD/EDC - Muzzle Blast Question

[bergmen]

No doubt the .357 Magnum is a powerful and very effective caliber for HD and EDC roles. I only have one revolver in .357 (GP100, 4" blue).

I had this listed for some time on my CCW and removed it a few years ago. The only real reason (for me) was the sharpness and intensity of the muzzle report. Even with good over-ear muffs, it can be uncomfortable at the range during shooting sessions. I am more comfortable with adding foam twist-ups for better comfort. Not so with my .38 Special, 9mm and 45 acp HD/EDC handguns.

I am concerned about being subjected to the flash and blast in especially an HD situation (indoors mostly). It may temporarily cause loss of hearing or may even do permanent damage. At 71, I don't want to lose and more hearing than I already have.

Anybody else have concerns along these lines or am I being a wimp?

Dan

['ol shooter]

Not wanting to go blind or deaf after the first shot, I hand load 38 cal. 125gr XTP's for my S&W 442 with low flash Titegroup powder as my night gun, middling load.
If 5 of those won't stop an intruder, at least it'll slow 'em down enough to give me time to jack a 12 ga. into the 870.
I also hand load middling 9mm XTP's with Titegroup for the downstairs day gun, a Shield.
Both handguns have Crimson Trace's, red for the night gun, green for the day gun.

[bergmen]

Not wanting to go blind or deaf after the first shot, I hand load 38 cal. 125gr XTP's for my S&W 442 with low flash Titegroup powder as my night gun, middling load.
If 5 of those won't stop an intruder, at least it'll slow 'em down enough to give me time to jack a 12 ga. into the 870.
I also hand load middling 9mm XTP's with Titegroup for the downstairs day gun, a Shield.
Both handguns have Crimson Trace's, red for the night gun, green for the day gun.

Yep, same here. I have a Ruger LCR with laser for my nightstand HD and the Shield (with Tru-Glo sights) for EDC or sometimes HD. 442 fie EDC. I have a total of 5 .38 Special revolvers and two 9mm autos for defensive roles (+ a G36 in .45).

Dan

[plumbum]

I feel perfectly comfortable with .38 Special, especially from a 4" barrel. Currently all my wheelguns have standard pressure .38 Special XTP's, heaven forbid I need to use them. I would only load .357 if I were outside or on a trail situation.

[Teachu2]

My first carry gun was a 6" S&W 27 - the .44Mag frame chambered in .357. My EDC for a decade or so was a M66 2.5" in a bottom-draw shoulder holster. It used to stop everyone else on the indoor range - huge muzzle flash and chest-thumping concussion. Talk about sharpness and intensity....

If I'm weighing options for a HD/EDC gun, I want the gun that I shoot the best - period. The gun I'd prefer to have in my hand is a Glock 26 with factory night sights. For reasons unknown, I shoot that faster than any other handgun I own, and accurately enough to get the job done. I've shot it enough that it's second nature.

If that's what your GP100 does for you, and you are really concerned about noise and flash, research what's available in loads that keep those issues in your comfort zone. If you hand load, the posters ahead of me have given you some starting points.

For me, shooting reduced loads in a revolver just isn't as good a choice as shooting LE rounds in a 9mm - unless you are a significantly better shooter with the revolver. Shot placement is huge, but if that was the only factor then a bolt-action 22lr would be the preferred HD weapon. Being able to put lead on target multiple times rapidly in a high-stress situation is my objective. I do that far better with a Shield, Glock, or 1911 than I ever could with a revolver.

I still have a couple of revolvers, an Airweight snubbie in 38 and a 5" 686+ Pro. I have very little ammo for either, and no desire at all to shoot them. Maybe it's time to let them go.

[Cowboy T]

Agreed about the N-frame with the 6" barrel. That's a really good idea. The longer barrel won't totally eliminate muzzle flash, but it'll reduce it. The greater mass of the N-frame will help soak up recoil (one would think the GP-100's beefy frame would also help here). But do remember that the .357 Magnum chambering is indeed a magnum chambering and is meant to be powerful.

What I do for marksmanship practice at the range is fire mostly .38 Special. I do practice some with .357 Magnum as well, and I wear good ear protection in all cases to protect my hearing.

Your other pistols don't give you that level of report because they use faster-burning powders. By the time the bullet's exiting the 4" to 5" typical of those guns, the powder is mostly burned. With .357M, it's a different story, because the powders are slower-burning. To get a nearly complete powder burn, you need about 16" of barrel. If you don't, you get more higher-pressure ejecta (gases and burning powder), which causes the flash and loud report. The same thing happens with .44 Magnum and larger cartridges. This is why you can get massively improved performance with .357M from a rifle, whereas there's little difference with .38 Special, 9mm, and .45 ACP.

So, I would shoot .38 Special to practice with at the range, and then load up with .357M for self-defense. This is exactly what the cops used to do back when they were carrying S&W Model 19's.

[TKM]

The 357 in full throat jacks with my tinnitus badly. Larger calibers, not so much.

I once had about a half dozen but got rid of them all. I'm about to weed out the 9mms as well. Anybody need a G34 and PC9?

[RocketRider]

That’s an interesting question. I always assumed any gun I shoot in the house without wearing ear protection would disrupt my hearing. My HD gun is often a .357 because my wife likes the GP100. Maybe I start loading it with .38 Special. A good hit with a .38 should be effective.

[Cowboy T]

Be sure you have hollow-point ammo if you use .38 Special or anything else. I'd like to remind everyone here of what one woman, protecting her two children from a home invader, experienced when emptying an entire cylinder of .38 Special on the Bad Guy (BG).

https://www.cnn.com/2013/01/10/us/home-invasion-gun-rights/index.html

I know, it's CNN, and it's definitely slanted against us, but even the Clinton News Network could not deny that this wife and mother saved herself and her kids. But read what happened to the BG.

I suspect this gun had FMJ's in there. If so, then hollow-points would have had a considerably better effect.

[IVC]

To answer your last question - you are not a wimp for considering serious injury you can sustain in a self defense scenario. Hearing loss is indeed an injury and it's permanent.

As for the gun itself, any gun will cause hearing damage if fired without hearing protection. That's just the nature of it and that's why we wear hearing protection. Since we can't have suppressors (and they wouldn't work well on a revolver because of the gasses escaping at the forcing cone), you have to accept some risk.

For indoors, you can have electronic ear muffs next to your gun. They actually amplify the noise and you can hear better with them. If you find yourself grabbing a gun, you can grab the muffs and put them on.

No such luxury for the CCW, but then you're outside and the sound dissipates better. It will still be quite loud, so choose what you consider to be acceptable level of noise. I am putting a 627 with 2 1/2" barrel on my CCW because it's a very convenient "nature gun."

[Maulerrr]

I have a snubby 357 on my CCW. I keep it loaded with federal hydrashoks and those have a nice flare with em. But this is mainly my gun for when I'm out doing yard work or cleaning or whatever. But I've thought of your points in the past too.

I just see it as .... Whatever. If I have to shoot it without eye and ear pro, then so be it.

[Kokopelli]

{snip}
I am concerned about being subjected to the flash and blast in especially an HD situation (indoors mostly). It may temporarily cause loss of hearing or may even do permanent damage. At 71, I don't want to lose and more hearing than I already have. /{snip}

I share that concern! At my age, I need to save what hearing I have left.

For indoors home defense, I prefer subsonic ammunition. My 9mm is loaded with 147 grain standard pressure JHP ammo. (Federal HST) In 38/357, I use 125 grain 38 Special JHP +P ammo from Remington. Another great load is the classic 38 Special FBI load. The "FBI" 158 grain lead SWC HP +P has proven effective against the criminal intentions of bad guys over many decades.

[SnWnMe]

Use Gold Dot 135gr loads. They are meant for short barrel 357s so they're milder but still more potent than 38+Ps.

[003]

Nothing wrong with loading it with a quality .38 Sp +p

[P5Ret]

I don't think there is any may do permanent damage to your hearing, it will do permanent damage. As someone who has had to use hearing aids for the last 10 years or so (I probably could have used them 5 years before I gave in), I'll tell you may not notice it right away, but it happens.

Now I'll admit that not all of the damage I did was the result of gun fire, I did other stupid stuff in my youth that probably did some damage as well, concerts, fireworks, and other exposure to loud prolonged noise probably didn't help much.