Post by rexgigu on Jan 17, 2021 18:25:15 GMT -5
I used a Federal 125-grain JHC Hi-Shok .357 Magnum, in a defensive shooting, in June 1993, in Houston, Texas. It worked as intended. One shot. This is a sample of one, but it reinforced the narratives that already existed. By 1993, the Marshall/Sanow had been published, Mas Ayoob had been published, the Fairburn (not Fairbairn) study had been published, and word “on the street” was well-established. I had stepped-down from feeling the need to carry .44 mag on the street, in 1985, and had voluntarily stopped-down from carrying .41 Magnum, by 1990. When that moment happened, .357 Magnum worked, for me.
I am OK with using other other .357 loads, especially in my smaller-framed or shorter-barreled .357 weapons, such as the SP101. The 145-grain Winchester Silvertip developed an excellent reputation among lawmen in Texas and the Southwest USA, for example.
Another load I like is the Speer Gold Dot Short-Barrel 135-grain, which is probably the same bullet, whether loaded as .357 or .38 Special. If I remember correctly, there is about 100 fps difference in velocity, between the .38 and .357 loads. In .38 Special form, it has performed well in the NYC area, in numerous documentable police shootings. My wife, as a death scene investigator for the M.E., worked a scene involving an instantaneous one-shot stop, with this load. The decedent hardly bled, because he died so quickly, from a diagonally-placed hit.
Before NYCPD went to JHPs, their issue ammo was a 158-grain lead SWC .38 Special. The late, great Pat Rogers, who could shoot well, under stress, stated that the 158-grain lean SWC .38 Special would stop people, if the the shots were placed well. So, I would think, nothing wrong with a lead 158-grain SWC, in .357 Mag, if that is what I happened to have in the cylinder, for whatever reason. (If I were in an area where hollow-points were prohibited, however, I would probably opt for a revolver with a bigger bore, like .45 Colt.)
Notice a pattern? I have listened to what multiple street cops have had to say.
Handloads are not generally illegal to use, for defensive purposes. Using a factory load, for which exemplar samples can be made available, might be helpful, in the event of a court trial. That is what Mas Ayoob wrote about, in his books and articles, and which folks have been misinterpreting ever since. The prosecution built their case around gunshot residue data obtained from a different lot of ammunition than the defendant had used. The defense team was careful to present data from exemplar ammo obtained from the SAME lot as the ammo that the defendant had used. The defense won, when the prosecution’s case disintegrated.
I am OK with using other other .357 loads, especially in my smaller-framed or shorter-barreled .357 weapons, such as the SP101. The 145-grain Winchester Silvertip developed an excellent reputation among lawmen in Texas and the Southwest USA, for example.
Another load I like is the Speer Gold Dot Short-Barrel 135-grain, which is probably the same bullet, whether loaded as .357 or .38 Special. If I remember correctly, there is about 100 fps difference in velocity, between the .38 and .357 loads. In .38 Special form, it has performed well in the NYC area, in numerous documentable police shootings. My wife, as a death scene investigator for the M.E., worked a scene involving an instantaneous one-shot stop, with this load. The decedent hardly bled, because he died so quickly, from a diagonally-placed hit.
Before NYCPD went to JHPs, their issue ammo was a 158-grain lead SWC .38 Special. The late, great Pat Rogers, who could shoot well, under stress, stated that the 158-grain lean SWC .38 Special would stop people, if the the shots were placed well. So, I would think, nothing wrong with a lead 158-grain SWC, in .357 Mag, if that is what I happened to have in the cylinder, for whatever reason. (If I were in an area where hollow-points were prohibited, however, I would probably opt for a revolver with a bigger bore, like .45 Colt.)
Notice a pattern? I have listened to what multiple street cops have had to say.
Handloads are not generally illegal to use, for defensive purposes. Using a factory load, for which exemplar samples can be made available, might be helpful, in the event of a court trial. That is what Mas Ayoob wrote about, in his books and articles, and which folks have been misinterpreting ever since. The prosecution built their case around gunshot residue data obtained from a different lot of ammunition than the defendant had used. The defense team was careful to present data from exemplar ammo obtained from the SAME lot as the ammo that the defendant had used. The defense won, when the prosecution’s case disintegrated.