[Melinda in TN]

If I got this in the wrong place, please move it. It probably should have gone in General/Chat but I think I got confused. :-)

[cmsgop]

220... 221, whatever it takes.

[MeanWestTexan]

They are fine. There are better, perhaps, but fine.

Mrs. MWT carries a .38 snub loaded with +P hollowpoint.

[Michael Goldsberry]

Either round is perfectly acceptable for close-quarters combat.

[tet68]

Oh practice with the .38s and carry the .357s, if you need
them, you won't even notice the difference.

[NorCalRepub]

.....125 gr jacketed hollow point has been proven to have more stopping power then even the .44 magnum....though out of a snub nose can have a bit of recoil and muzzle flash.. something you don't want at night in your home which will blind you......practice with the .38's.....you can find special down loaded .357 rounds made primarily for home defense...or for CCW permitted use......

[oneolcop]

May I suggest that you purchase a new box of ammo. You don't know how old the stuff you got with the revolver is. A .357 is most effective with either a .357 Magnum 125 grain HP or a .357 magnum 158 grain HP. The .38 Special ammo is considerably lower power than the .357 due to it's smaller case capacity. Practice with the .38 Special stuff to get accurate then with the .357 to make sure you don't flinch. With a short barrel like that, you should see quite a fireball with .357 magnum.

[CFC__VRWC]

Nice piece. I carry a S&W 637 Airweight (.38 Special) as my go everywhere gun. I use 125 grain +P hollowpoints and have no problems, though I will sometimes get a blister at the base of my thumb after firing 70 or so rounds (solved that problem by sticking a piece of moleskin on my thumb when I practice with it).

You can get surprising accuracy out of a snubby revolver. I can easily keep a group of five from my Smith on a paper plate at 15 yards, and I don't consider myself nearly proficient enough with it yet. Obviously it's not your first choice for long range shooting, but all the crap you hear about not being able to hit anything with a snub is, well, crap.

If you're comfortable shooting it, great. Just get out and practice.

[ExSoldier]

I'm a certified firearms instructor. IMHO, the short barrel is going to negate any benefit you might get from a full house magnum round. You'll get tons of muzzle flash, enough to guarantee that you'll lose your night vision; a report that sounds like the crack of doom and recoil like Tennessee White Lightnin' Not worth it. It would be if you had a four inch barrel or better.

For a snubbie, I'd go with Glaser, MagSafe or RBCD in the .38sp+P. Low recoil and low flash. In a traditional type of round, I recommend the Hornady TAP or the 110gr Hydra-Shok. But stick with the 38sp. Also make sure you stick a set of tritium sights on her. MAYBE a set of CT lasergrips.

[epow]

The .38 spl lead round nose cartridge is probably the worst possible choice for self defense with that little J-frame size snubnose revolver. It's fine for practice, but the solid lead bullet will not expand and the velocity from that 2" barrel will probably be no more than 650-700 fps, which would not be enough even for a more effective bullet. A round nose non-expanding bullet slips through flesh like a knitting needle without causing the tissue destruction and rapid blood loss you need to put a quick stop to the BG. OTOH, your 110 grain hollowpoints are an excellent choice for a short barrel .357 IMHO.

The 125 grain loads are the hottest .357 rounds of all. In LE usage they were proved to be some of the best "man stopping" rounds you can buy, right up there with the best .45 acp and .40 S&W HP loads. But the recoil and muzzle blast in that small frame snub nose gun will be pretty bad with those hot rounds. I have a 2-1/2" barrel K-frame .357 that weighs 30 ounces, and even in that gun with a much larger and heavier frame than yours the 125 grain HPs are quite a handful. If I were you I would definitely stick with the milder 110 grain loads in that little J-frame size revolver and use the .38 spl lead bullet stuff strictly for practice or recreational shooting. After they're all gone try some .38 spl wadcutter target rounds for practice, they're very accurate and also very easy on the hands and ears.

[CholeraJoe]

I have a .357 that I load with Jacketed Pre-Fragmented (JPF)slugs. Basically it's bird shot in a copper jacket. They expend all of their kinetic energy in the target.

[B4Ranch]

http://theboxotruth.com/docs/bot26.htm

http://theboxotruth.com/docs/bot27.htm