TexasCHLforum.com

I reciently bought Diode's S&W 66 w/ 4" barrel. I am planning to carry it some when I get a holster for it.
I want some opinions on good PD ammo from you revolver guys.
I will carry 38sp on the street & go w/ .357 when I go hunting.
It will definately be my field carry.

Oh, but to have a S&W 66 again.

drool... drool... drool...

I sold mine 15 years ago, don't remember what ammo I used at the time.

drool...drool...drool...

longtooth wrote:I reciently bought Diode's S&W 66 w/ 4" barrel. I am planning to carry it some when I get a holster for it.
I want some opinions on good PD ammo from you revolver guys.
I will carry 38sp on the street & go w/ .357 when I go hunting.
It will definately be my field carry.

I carry Speer Gold Dot's in my .357. I don't know if they make them in .38 or not.

KRM45, is it your primary carry?
What kind of rig do you have & how do you cover?
I have a Simply Rugged Sourdough pancake holster ordered for it. Will cover w/ my 5.11 vest until heat gets just too much. There is no print at all under the 5.11 even w/ the nylon cheepy belt holster I got for it.
After hot weather gets here I want some ideas for when I want to carry it.
As old as I am, I love the wheel guns. Never owned a self loader until I got CHL.

kw5kw wrote:Oh, but to have a S&W 66 again.

I sold mine 15 years ago, don't remember what ammo I used at the time.
.

I finally got a good one. Want a Ruger GP100 w/ 3"barrel but cant find one. I have been w/o a wheel gun for too long. This is a good shooter & I will keep it til I find EXACTLY what I want.

There is a 19 here local w/ a 2" barrel: if you are interested I will get you a contact.

Not much of a revolver guy, but I chose Corbon for my mom's 642. Pretty accurate from even that short of a barrel. Very nice muzzle flash.

I like the Federal Hydrashoks. In .357 they carry plenty of whomp.
One of the things i really like probably isn't real obvious. I really like the nickel plated cases.

Since i load and unload the same unfired cartridges from the gun a lot, having cases that stay pretty nice, and not scarred up is a plus to me.
There are a lot of times that i finish a range session by just throwing the carry ammo back into the gun, and the Hydrashoks really hold up to the "extra handling" abuse.

I've had cases freeze in the cylinders before, but these seem like they would be less likely. A small plus.

I recommend (and carry myself) the F.B.I. Load .38 Special +P Remington Lead Semi Wadcutter Hollowpoints (sometimes just called Lead Hollowpoints) 158 gr for defense carry. http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/66333-7389-169.html


http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/38%2 ... 20Test.htm
Here is some good information on this particular round and comparing it to other rounds. You can see from this article why it was prefered by many policemen and G-men from the 70s-90s before they went semi auto. This info compares it to other lighter (and seemingly inferior) hollowpoints

For hunting, I recommend Buffalo Bore .357 Magnum 180 gr Lead Flat Nose. (Be sure you have a GOOD grip on that gun because it will kick...but you will be getting a life saving BANG for your buck ) http://www.buffalobore.com/ammunition/default.htm#357

Back in the 80's I was not reloading revolver calibers so I had to use factory ammo for hunting. I put many a deer down with a 357 and 44 mag using Federal Hydra-Shok. Having seen how this bullet performed on deer I always had faith in it as a self defense round. The 357 I used was 130 gr. I believe it will handle most 2 and 4 legged critters in your neck of the woods, with the only exception being hogs. A few years ago I made a 300 lb hog really mad with this bullet. You need to stay with hard cast lead for those monsters.

In 357 I really like the Remington 125gr Golden Saber round for carry. It's got more thump than a 38 +P but not loaded as hot as it could be.
I've chronographed a lot of defensive loads from my 4" SW 19 but can't find my notes at the moment.

Dont worry about the notes. Sometimes I dont need ALL the information available about what I just want to know.
Thank you.

longtooth wrote:

kw5kw wrote:Oh, but to have a S&W 66 again.

I sold mine 15 years ago, don't remember what ammo I used at the time.
.

I finally got a good one. Want a Ruger GP100 w/ 3"barrel but cant find one. I have been w/o a wheel gun for too long. This is a good shooter & I will keep it til I find EXACTLY what I want.

There is a 19 here local w/ a 2" barrel: if you are interested I will get you a contact.

No, only want a 4" but thanks. Elk Castle has one that I'm lookin' at but, in all honesty, with all the purchases this year one of these will be at least a year off.

Thanks again,
Russ

I carry Speer Gold dot in my .38 spl. I believe Speer's .357 load is a good one also.

longtooth wrote: . . . I will carry 38sp on the street & go w/ .357 when I go hunting. . .

Any particular reason? If it's recoil, there are a number of .357 loads on the market with reduced recoil - someone already mentioned the medium loading from Remington, but Federal makes one, Winchester 145 grain Silvertips are moderate, and Speer's new "short barrel" 135 grain .357 is also quite moderate.

If you feel that using a .38 defensively rather than a .357 may look better in court . . .

Doug.38PR wrote:I recommend (and carry myself) the F.B.I. Load .38 Special +P Remington Lead Semi Wadcutter Hollowpoints (sometimes just called Lead Hollowpoints) 158 gr for defense carry. . .

This is a good .38 load . . . a step up is Buffalo Bore's 158 LSWCHP .38 Special at around 1000 ft/sec . . . it's still a .38, but quite a bit warmer than ordinary "+P" FBI loads.

Doug.38PR wrote:efensively rather than a .357 may look better in court . . .

Doug.38PR wrote:I recommend (and carry myself) the F.B.I. Load .38 Special +P Remington Lead Semi Wadcutter Hollowpoints (sometimes just called Lead Hollowpoints) 158 gr for defense carry. . .

This is a good .38 load . . . a step up is Buffalo Bore's 158 LSWCHP .38 Special at around 1000 ft/sec . . . it's still a .38, but quite a bit warmer than ordinary "+P" FBI loads.

That is true. And that 1000 ft per second is measured from a 2 inch barrel. I believe longtooth has a 4 inch 66, that would mean more like 1100 ft per second.
I almost recommended Buffalo Bore in .38+P, my only 2 reservations are that 1) I know that the Remington brand expands well. I don't know about the Buffalo Bore. I understand that some LSWCHPs will expand better than others. Remington I understand is better than Winchester. Someone over on TFL even suggested that the Buffalo Bore with more velocity and softer bullet would fragment and break up rather than expand (I don't know if that is true....but it was just a thought someone put out). 2) Buffalo Bore +P has A LOT more recoil (which limits control).
BUT, having said that, I DO carry Buffalo Bore LSWCHP in one of my backup speedloaders in case I, for whatever reason, need that extra power. They are a good approach to the .357 magnum (and safely withn .38 Special +P specifications)