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Quick question, which would you prefer for home defense? I have a S&W Model 65 Ladysmith in .357 with older Federal 125gr Hydrashock ammo, and I have an old S&W .44 Special hand ejector with no ammo choice yet. Which of these two revolvers and rounds would you choose for a bedside defensive handgun, and why? Thank you. | ||
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Hard to beat the 357 combo. The 44 with a good modern HP is nothing to worry about either. You have both why do yo need to pick just one. | |||
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I just loaded some 255 Keith 1000 fps 44 special loads. I find these a lot easier to shoot them a 180 grain, 1450 fps 357 | |||
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I have a love/hate relationship with the .357. It is just a violent round. I’m not talking about recoil, but the blast. I would hate to fire one off inside and need to recover and follow up. I prefer shooting .44 magnums to .357. I’ve had fun shooting hogs, javelinas, and deer with the .357, but I got rod of my Pythons and Smiths. A Charter Arms Bulldog May be in my future. I meant to be DSC Member...bad typing skills. Marcus Cady DRSS | |||
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I have one of these. If you didn't like your Colts and S@W. You well not like the bulldog. I shoot 125gr JHP at 950fps +P 38's in mine it is useable with them. Any Colt S@W or Ruger is a much better firearm then the Charter Arms. | |||
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I liked the Colt and S&W guns, just not the .357. The Bulldog I’m considering will be a .44spl. I meant to be DSC Member...bad typing skills. Marcus Cady DRSS | |||
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I would not fire a 255 grain, 1000 fps load in a Charter Arms. That replicates an UnderWood load, and they were adamant not to use such a load in a Charter Arms. A 180 grain Sig Sauer factory load would is very pleasant in my 4 inch Smith, but that gun is still heavier than a Charter Arms. Nothing sounds less fun to me than shooting any kind of 357 Magnum out of a Charter Arms. I own a 454. That is what 38 Special (p) is for. | |||
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I like the Charter arms "bulldog" in 44 spl. However, I only shoot the 240G. In it. I got enamored with it in the mid 70s when I was doing a lot of backpacking, where weight was at a premium + at that time, it was the most firepower per weight (28 ozs.) | |||
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Personally, I prefer my .44-40 for home defense. Not in a handgun, but in a lever action carbine. The main reason is that it is just so much easier to hit with than any handgun, especially under stress and in the dark. Secondly, should I get in really close quarters, a rifle is so much easier to hang onto, and if the worst really comes to the worst, it makes a pretty good fighting stick too. Note that in such use one uses a rifle primarily to "stab" in both directions, not as a club. In this usage I doubt there is a significant difference between it and a similar weapon in .357 Magnum (or .44 Special which is equivalent in performance) though. | |||
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Plus 1----Son of SAM did a tune on lovers with it during the 70's in NYC limits with the Bull Dog! The .357 and the .44 Mag are a lot harder to control! Hip | |||
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I'm on board with Marcus, finding the .357 disagreeably violent for what it delivers, and I too, would rather shoot a .41 or .44 Magnum -- or my Bulldog loaded with the RCBS Keith and a dose of Universal Clays. Now the .357 out of a lever rifle is a different matter. There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn’t. – John Green, author | |||
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LOt of "what ifs" for a gun fight when nothing goes as planned!! A 357 Magnum is a one shot stopper, and has a better kill history than the 44 special according to police records..the mexican feds told me the 38 super was a better killer of people than the 45acp or 44 magnum?? If anyone should know they should, All you have to do in Mexico to get shot by Law Enforcement is talk back!! Trust me on that, I spent several chapters of my life running on Heroin Labs without a search warrant, with them.. For home defense I suggest a 9mm compact automatic,90 gr. loads or a chief special 38 special with 110 gr. loads..you wamt want to prevent wall penetration and killing a family member.. Just shoot the bad guy a couple of times or until he quits wiggling. Ray Atkinson Atkinson Hunting Adventures 10 Ward Lane, Filer, Idaho, 83328 208-731-4120 rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com | |||
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I keep a lair of active hearing war muffs on the nightstand next to the pistol. Since the master bedroom is upstairs and I can cover the downstairs my plan is to take a barricade position at the door. No way I am going hu to f in my own home. Although I do love my 44’s my choice would be the 356 with some modern 125’s loaded as hot as I could find them. I would probably keep that 44 Special handy somewhere as a backup. DRSS Kreighoff 470 NE Valmet 412 30/06 & 9.3x74R | |||
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To all: I apologize for not responding sooner. Christmas take got in the way and I got clobbered with stuff. I appreciate all of your comments and will act on them. For the time being, and maybe permanently, I will stick with 125gr Hydra-Shok loads in my S&W Model 65 Ladysmith. I thank you for all your advice. | |||
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Amusing (IMO) + true story. Several years ago a buddy of mine was working in Houston for Santa Fe railroad. One day a fellow employee came to him to ask advice about a home protection weapon, as he lives in a bad neighborhood. Doug, (the epitome of class + culture) says, Of course you do, you're black. But his advice was to get a 12G. pump, so the does as Doug said. 3 days later, Doug comes to work + the word in the coffee shop is that black dude is pissed because Doug "done told him wrong!" So Doug accosted the guy + asks him what the problem is + the guy says, "Well, I got me a pump shotgun, + last night I heard folks breaking in + so I crept down the hall + then I jacked that slide, + those MF's didn't go out the door or window; they took out a whole wall of my trailer, + do you have any idea what that's going to cost to replace an entire wall?!!"  | |||
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I agree with DSC Member, the 357 is a violent tool. That's what I want If I have to use it, so I am OK with it being on the nasty side. I load mine with Barnes 125 grain XPBs and depending on the loading they might exit the gun as high as 1700 FPS. I have tested then down to close to 800 FPS and into water jugs at that low speed they still penetrate 4 jugs with ad copy expansion. They are pretty reasonable to shoot at 1400-1500 FPS and produce good accuracy. At that speed I would hunt deer with them and it's what stays on the night stand. I am pretty sure a center mass hit with one of them with that big hollow point will score a lot of points for my side. I've shot a lot of deer with Barnes bullets, and have never failed to get 2 holes, and only lost one petal that I know of from one and that was out of a 300 Win Mag at 25 feet. The 44 Special I worked up in a a TC contender for a friend. I used a Barnes bullet it it too but not quite so light and speedy. I liked it, got good accuracy, and had no question it would kill deer well, but for home defense I would 100% go with the 357 and the 125s every time. I use 150 grain Barnes TSXs with the same whopping big hollow point in my 30-30 for deer, and when I hit them with those they work well and Bambi goes down right now with 2 holes in him. | |||
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I shot plenty of deer, pigs, and javelina with my old Python. It worked wonders on them. I just wouldn’t want to shoot it in an enclosed space in a SD situation. At the same time, I’d prefer one of my .44 mags in the field. I still need to shoot my Freedom Arms .454, but that’s my fault. The 1911 .45 is my nightstand gun. I meant to be DSC Member...bad typing skills. Marcus Cady DRSS | |||
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Even a 22rf handgun will ring your ears in a enclosed space. A suppressed firearm would be ideal. | |||
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Too bad that bill didn’t pass. I’m jealous of our overseas friends who can buy cans OTC. I meant to be DSC Member...bad typing skills. Marcus Cady DRSS | |||
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ive got a 2" ported, new, allow frame charter arms in .44 spec.... really want to shoot it, but it'll be on the table in Abilene this weekend... fat guy, yellow shirt... go big or go home ........ DSC-- Life Member NRA--Life member DRSS--9.3x74 r Chapuis | |||
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Jim, I'm not driving to Abilene, but what are you asking + are you interested in trades? You know I love the 44spl. almost as much as you do.  | |||
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Randy, check out the Charter Arms Boomer... i got it from McBrides... go big or go home ........ DSC-- Life Member NRA--Life member DRSS--9.3x74 r Chapuis | |||
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Jim, I am retired now + really can't afford to buy anything right now; just hoping to trade off some mine that I don't use for something I want more. Are you ever up my way? | |||
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Hip,just for interests sake, I had an early model Bulldog in the 70's + had to sell it to buy a 1917 S+W, I sold it at Bullseye Shooting Supply on North Lamar. When they backtracked all the data on the Son Of Sam killings, he had an old sarmy buddy who bought that CA for him in Austin from a gun store in the same month I sold mine. They were not really widely available at that time, so I have always wondered if that one that hew used was the one I sold to the gun store. | |||
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A 200gr gold dot at around 1000-1050fps would be a good choice for self defense. I have many other guns for home/self defense and my 44 special is a 5.5” Bisley and isn’t in the lineup normally. It’s loaded with 250gr Keith hollow points over top charges of power pistol I carry while hunting. My 357 model 66 is thought of as my burn, blind and deafen gun that I rarely shoot. | |||
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"Burn, blind and deafen gun."  My late FIL gave me his Model 66 with the 2 1/2-inch barrel. When I finally got around to shooting it, it took but one cylinder-full to remind me why I don't care much for the .357, especially in short-barreled revolvers: "burn, blind and deafen." There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn’t. – John Green, author | |||
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The short barrel big bores are just as bad or worse. A 454 Ruger Alaskan wow a 4 inch 460 or 500 even more wow. Shoot a few rounds of any of them makes a 357 seem very polite. They all can be some what tamed with good hand loading. | |||
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Boy, I've found the exact opposite of several of you. I'd much rather shoot full power 357's in 125, 158 or 180gr bullets, than any full power 44 Mag in 180 to 240. Maybe it's just that the Mountain Gun and the Vaquero I have in .44Mag are light? But I prefer the 357 J Frame Smith compared to the .44Mags. I don't even think the Ruger SRH in .454 is that much more violent than the .44Mag. Wonder why? | |||
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I have a 30oz 44mag tracker 4 inch ported. I like 240swc at 950 for practice. 200jhps at 1200 for possible 2 legged self defense. 300gr WFN hard cast at 1000 for bigger stuff Full power factory loads are obnoxious. | |||
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Several years ago i was at a shot show + was talking to the S+W rep about their new scandium frame 44 mag. He said, I work for the company, but I never wanted to fire a full cylinder full. That piece just hurts. | |||
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There are guns that one carries and shoot little. | |||
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P Dog, that is a very useful and sensible selection of .44 Magnum loads. There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn’t. – John Green, author | |||
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Out of my red hawks I jump the 300gr load up to 1300fps. | |||
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I had a bulldog, and loaded as one must with the 44 special, and recoil was awesome and return to battery is slow, I dumped it and went back to the all time best revolver ever for a uniform police man, the S&W 4" mod 19 combat magnum with proper bullets. Otherwisee a Browning HP for any situation..and there are some awesome 9mms on todays market my favorite so far is the S&W CSX that Ive put about 1200 rounds through. Ray Atkinson Atkinson Hunting Adventures 10 Ward Lane, Filer, Idaho, 83328 208-731-4120 rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com | |||
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The model 66 is better.  | |||
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The 66 is better? Exactly how? 114-R10David | |||
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Better finish, wear resistance. Doesn't rust as quickly Looks great after years in a holster. A handgun carried every day for 8 to 10 hours take a beating. Stainless steel takes the abuse better. | |||
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I am really enjoying the 45 Colt loaded with 255 wadcutter and Keith at 1050 fps. | |||
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That is a nice shooting load. | |||
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Like Ray stated...... Carried a M-19 and later M-66, both 4 in versions. Evan Marshall wrote "One Shot Stops" 4-inch 357s with the right 125 gr hollow points beat all other calibers, including all 44-45 calibers. So-there also might be room for 357 SIGs. I still carry 1911s or an early PPK in 380-NOT a PPKS-Then there is the Kahr PM9---very nice. Avatar | |||
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