357 Mag. Ammo

[glock1973]

What's the best ammo for a .357 Mag. Revolver. For both Training/Practice and Self Defense. Sorry if this has already been answered - Still feeling my way around this forum.

[J-cat]

The best ammo is that which you make yourself.

I like to load 148gr HBWC in 357 cases for plinking. I can also use those loads for self defense if I run out of ammo for the rest of my guns.

I don't like shooting full powder anything. I like the most accurate pipsqueak loads.

[ireload]

Any commercially available 125 grain hollow point or soft point bullet would suffice but I do caution you there are loads that can have a significant fire ball with short barrels. Good luck with finding a decent price on these. I purchased two boxes at Walmart for $27 per 50 rounds.

Commercially available reloaded 125 grain for practice/training.

You can substitute .38 spl for even cheaper pricing.

[sniper5]

I'd use something equivalent to a .38 +P load with a 125 grain HP that would give reliable expansion- something like a Gold Dot, Golden Saber, or XTP. I wouldn't discharge a full house magnum load in a confined space if I could avoid it. People at my indoor range ***** about the noise and concussion even with hearing protection. I'd hate to try to deal with multiple perps after loosing my night vision and hearing even if only temporarily. But everyone is free to disagree.

[mothermopar]

I'd use something equivalent to a .38 +P load with a 125 grain HP that would give reliable expansion- something like a Gold Dot, Golden Saber, or XTP. I wouldn't discharge a full house magnum load in a confined space if I could avoid it. People at my indoor range ***** about the noise and concussion even with hearing protection. I'd hate to try to deal with multiple perps after loosing my night vision and hearing even if only temporarily. But everyone is free to disagree.

As for muzzle flash, night vision and hearing... setting off any of the major defensive calibers in a confined, dark space will distract you, regardless. Sure, some more so than others, but at the time of the incident, with adrenaline pumping and tunnel vision (if you don't deliberately move your head and look around), its likely you won't notice the difference between a 9mm or 357. The day after when you're relaxed again, well, that's another story. Then a 357's noise will be evident in that you may not be able to hear for sometime.

Our soldiers have been blasting away at turds with everything from 9mm to 105mm at all times of the day/night and with/without hearing protection... and they've gotten the job done everytime.

Key factor: know your weapon and what to expect from it in a given circumstance... preparation is the key.

[Sideline Shooter]

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