Snub Nose For Home Defense?

[Pistolenschutze]

Originally Posted by TranterUK

I am not convinced a snubby is enough. I want to mount two .30 browning machine guns front and rear of the house. As you can imagine, it's not going to be that straight forward.

Not a bad thought, Tranter, but why choose the .30 Browning MG when you could have Ma Deuce instead? Let's see . . . 150 grain .30 bullet v. 753 grain .50. You do the math.

[user]

Originally Posted by ninjatoth

I am not trained at all in defense,so I just went it alone with my own thoughts on home defense and ended up with a 2" .357.I figured if I was ever tackled,I could manuveur it enough to shoot the bad guy off of me,and it would also be easier to keep from being snatched from out of my hands.Anyone have any thoughts on my way of thinking?

Yes: take that gun back to the person who sold it to you and get your money back. Then take the NRA "Basic Pistol" course. Then buy a gun.

A snubnose .357 can be difficult to control, even for experienced shooters, because it makes too much flash/bang/recoil. A .357 may well go through the bad guy and your neighbor's house, too, btw, if you have to shoot it. I'll bet you bought a cheap one, too, which will add to your difficulty.

For home defense, there's no reason to want concealability. What you need is the ability to move around, comfort firing the gun, and adequate ammunition capacity. If you must have a .357, get a large-frame Smith & Wesson or Ruger with at least a four inch barrel. It's got to be heavy enough to act as the launch vehicle. My view is that a semiauto in 9mm parabellum is the best thing in handguns for indoor use, particularly those which will carry upwards of fifteen rounds. Be sure to get nightsights, a laser grip, or both.

As Tranter & Pistolenschutze observed, being able to hit a specific target is the most important thing. You won't ever have enough control with a snubbie .357 to do that, particularly in stressful situations. You're not going to even have a chance to do a second shot with that thing.

Keep it if you want an emergency backup gun that's easily concealed. Though a small 9mm like the Kahr PM9 is lighter, holds more cartridges, and is more easily concealed.

And by the way, I'm a revolver guy, myself. But my favorite carry piece is a 4" heavy barrel S&W 64 M&P "Combat Masterpiece" in .38.

[user]

Originally Posted by ninjatoth

....I have no problem hitting a notebook sized target at 25 yards with .38s,but the .357s are a different story.....Can someone tell me why I am way off with full .357s even in SA slow shots,I am way high,.38s arent a problem though?It can't possibly be kicking up before the bullet leaves the barrel can it?!

You're moving your hand after having pulled the trigger. The shock wave from the recoil does hit your hand before the bullet's all the way out the barrel; that's basically traveling at the speed of sound through the gun, while the bullet's traveling at twelve hundred feet per second or less. That's why you have a control problem. You have to keep your hand still until the bullet's cleared the end of the barrel. Just like taking pictures, you have to keep still until the shutter's done its thing, or you get fuzzy images. Same principle: Follow through after having pulled the trigger.

[user]

Originally Posted by ninjatoth

In this test,the best winchester .38+p achieved 258 ft lbs from a 2.5" barrel,as where the same gun fired a remington .357 with 429 ft lbs.That is figured from the winchester .38+p 158 grain at 858fps,and the remington .357 being 125 grain at 1243fps.According to them,there is a huge difference

True, but like Frank Zappa said in "200 Motels": "Anything over a mouthfull is wasted!" Both will crush human bone at fifty yards. Normal defensive range is a lot closer than that. Do you need to do more than crush human bone? Are you planning to shoot through sheet steel?

[Bill DeShivs]

The speed of sound is about 1000 feet per second.

[Powderhorn]

I use my little J-frame for answering doors. I always keep it right here at the computer, loaded with PMC Starfires. I like the aspect that I can slip it into my jeans pocket. Its probably the greatest combination of firepower/reliability/concealment you can get. Learn to shoot one insticntively, and a BG won't have a chance.

[Maximilian II]

PH, you made me think about something I've wanted to bring up. So, we all seem to like the idea of a nice high-profile gun (shotgun, for example) that we grab from beside the bed when the door gets knocked in at night.
What about the times when someone comes knocking in the daytime? It's usually UPS or a salesperson, but not always. So, something handy and concealable needs to be there. A "door gun." It can't be visible because you'll scare away innocents and might even get arrested.
Suggestions? So far I'm with Powderhorn on this, I got a nice little auto handy. It stays hidden but near to hand.

[Doc1911]

A DOOR GUN: In my hand and then on the wall - out of sight, but always on hand.

Hide-a-Gun





or something a little more extravagant:

[Maximilian II]

That picture frame is JUST EXACTLY what I want!
I'll put a couple of pix of my mother in law in it, nobody will want to look at it twice! But I'll still think "get the gun" when I see it!

[TranterUK]

Originally Posted by Pistolenschutze

Not a bad thought, Tranter, but why choose the .30 Browning MG when you could have Ma Deuce instead? Let's see . . . 150 grain .30 bullet v. 753 grain .50. You do the math.

Neighbours Pistol? A .50 is going to wake the whole neighbourhood if used at night. Hardly the act of a considerate person. Now if we could attach a suppressor.....

[UncleFudd]

Ninja;
If that snubby is what you have currently then as already posted, practice and then practice some more and that includes live fire and dry fire. Falling down, getting up, crawling, moving, dark, backlight, barricade, rt hand, lt hand, both hands with and without sights. Measure, mentally or physically, the dimensions of your home and practice these things as a response or reactionary use at those distances. Most homes will be in the 20 foot range for any room and remember the bad guy is somehow inside with you so those distances will be shorter right down to fighting him off of you and shooting at the same time. But this is providing you have F...ke.. up so bad a bad guy has gained entrance in the first place. Oh, BTW, if you are married or have a live in friend, he/she should be just as good with said firearm as you are and if not, then only 1/2 of your fighting force is available and 1/2 remains a liability.

My first suggestion is to get your books out and start again to work on your "defense" of your home. No one, under any circumstances should be able to get into your home or apartment without your knowledge. It is unthinkable in this day and age. And if so or you suspect someone has gained entry, what do you do next? I for one will NOT, EVER go looking for the BG even on my own home. If you do, and they are armed, you will at least be seriously injured or killed, period.
Right now, stop thinking this movie BS, what you are asking about your .357 is real life or death. You are asking for advice about the caliber which IMHO is OK, but it is the very last thing on the agenda having to do with staying safe or alive and uninjured. The last thing.
Just a thought but try reading some of Maas Ayoob on self defense. I do not like him personally, but few men in our lifetime including the late Jeff Cooper have done more to help us understand and prepare us to defend ourselves.
One of my major and ongoing works for defense for my wife and I (our children are gone) as well as for all of my students is to "harden our perimeter".
If you gain access to my house, I have failed in my first line of defense and from that time on, everything is at best a 50/50 crap shoot. Especially if the bad guy is armed and prepared to use his gun to gain his objective.
So from a man who has been shot and who has used a firearm to save his own life, and for what it is worth, do everything in your power and ability to prevent ever having to shoot or to be shot at and that my friend means running very fast the other way or locking myself and my wife inside our bedroom while awaiting the police to come and search the house if some how the BG gains entry or I suspect he has. Both of us are armed, we have our places in the room our phone(s) and lights and can direct the officers to the key to entry and safely wait for the all clear.
If the shooting starts, bullets are indiscriminate, they have no agenda and cannot recognize the good or the bad. Avoid that at all cost and do everything that you can possibly do to prevent anyone from getting inside your home in the first place.
If you plan your defenses properly, you will always be able to enjoy all of your guns to practice or plink and never have to point one in anger or terror.

UF
www.caswells.com

[gdmoody]

Originally Posted by ninjatoth

Can someone tell me why I am way off with full .357s even in SA slow shots,I am way high,.38s arent a problem though?It can't possibly be kicking up before the bullet leaves the barrel can it?!

Is it possible that while you are in "practice mode" that you are anticipating the recoil of the .357 and therefore flinching before the trigger if fully pulled.