On Sat, 22 Feb 2014 12:20:23 -0500, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 2/22/2014 12:17 PM, wrote:
On Sat, 22 Feb 2014 12:02:16 -0500, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 2/22/2014 11:46 AM, wrote:
On Sat, 22 Feb 2014 11:12:25 -0500, F*O*A*D wrote:


I've been thinking of getting a revolver for which ammo is plentiful and
not horrifically expensive. When I checked around yesterday, there
seemed to be good supplies of .357 mag/.38 special available, though the
prices were still too high.

I've shot a S&W 628 in various varieties a few times. It's a truly
wonderful revolver in terms of action and accuracy. For close range
target shooting, a 4" barrel would be fine, I would think, although
there are 5" and 6" barrel varieties out there, too. The 7 shot models
seem a bit odd to me for a "six shooter."


.38 is pretty cheap to shoot if you reload. The trick is finding a
source of cheap cast bullets.
If you have more time than money you could cast your own.
Primers are a couple cents each and a can of Bullseye would last most
shooters a year or more shooting a box or more a week. (~3000
wadcutters)

If you have a .357 you can still get a very capable defense round from
commercial sources and load some devastating stuff.


I get a kick out of all the "stopping power" claims made for various
types of handguns and ammo.

I suspect that in close-range, home defense situations my little S&W
.38P "Chief's Special" would be as effective at stopping an intruder as
a .357 Magnum or .45. I mean, how dead do you have to shoot someone?



When you actually look at the FBI standards you start seeing the
deficiencies in different rounds. They look at penetration and energy
transfer after going through the various things you may have to shoot
through. Most relevant for folks up north is the effect of different
kinds of coats. If they plug up the hollow point, you end up with a
FMJ.

The issue with stopping power is not whether the person eventually
dies from their wound. It is whether they kill you before they die.
A .22 is one of the most deadly rounds in raw numbers but a surprising
number of these people do not even realize they were shot for a while.


Shoot 'em in the head and they'll know it for a nanosecond. The .22 is
potent in the head because it will enter the skull but not necessarily
exit. Bounces around for a bit destroying lots of grey matter.


Ah, that's a big assumption.

In some heads there's not a lot of gray matter floating around.