9mm vs. 357 magnum for Personal Defense

[Socrates]

By the way, with the cheap .380 now, I'd have to say the .380, size to power wise, would be my favorite...

45 was nice too...

Socrates.J.D.

[45Marlin carbine]

I carried a Browning BDA .380 until I realized what it is worth and put into my safe. Now I've got a Makarov. I'm fond of it and it would not break my heart if I had to toss it. I've shot a Bersa .380, impressive. Lot to be said about a .357 smallish wheelgun tho. or even a derringer. I have a .32 I carry when really lightly dressed. Main thing is - have a reliable handy pistol, even if it's a .22 derringer or one of those NAA mini-revolvers. IIRC they come in .22 magnum also.

[STS3_SSN705]

This very debate is one of the reasons why I chose the P7 for carry. No safety to forget, very reliable, and extremely simple and easy to shoot accurately and rapidly.

Squeeze grip during draw, aim, press the bang switch. Repeat steps 2,3 as necessary. When finished firing, it is impossible not to safety the gun, because releasing the grip does this for you.

The 686 sits on the nightstand though

[Little Silas]

Take your pick. Whatever you fill most confident with.
For home defense, I keep a 12 ga. Mossberg, 18" barrel, No.4 buck, under my bed.
I'll guarantee I'm comfortable with it.

[Sgt.Fathead]

I agree with so many others who've said it before this post and likely said it better, too; whichever firearm you are most effective with at realistic distances, rounds on target. I prefer wheel guns, I prefer .357 (actually, the only thing I like to shoot in 9mm is sub guns rented at the local range) and I live in a state where private citizens have zero carry rights, open or concealed.

That said, have at it and practice, practice, practice.

[Ichiro]

Like others have already said, this is a platform consideration before a cartridge consideration.

Once you've decided on a platform you prefer, get real comfortable with it and always keep your guns in the same condition. For me, I've chosen all double-action revolvers, and always loaded, so there's never any confusion about anything related to the gun. They're always loaded and ready to go.

Over and over again I've realized that semiautos are not for me, for defense. There are simply too many possible states for the gun to be in at any given time. Just this week, I tried some other fellows' guns and was stymied for several seconds before realizing that he had the safety on "safe," a feature I don't use on our semiautos.

As for the 9mm vs. 357 comparison, I choose the .38 special FBI load, although 9mm and .357 are both available in our home if considered helpful.

[Dogbite]

I have been shooting for about 33 years now. I am a great fan of the 357 magnum fired from a Smith and Wesson or a Ruger Gp100/SP101. It is an absolutely battle proven round, and there is much to recommend a revolver for defence. They are not picky about ammo at all, they go boom ever single time you pull the trigger--they used to call it 6 for sure, although there are several nice revolvers with 7 and even 8 shot capacity now. In a gun fight, this is crucial. In semi autos i am a huge fan of Glocks, and Sig Sauers. There are also a few others i like. Glocks and Sig Sauers seem to have almost revolver like reliability, or at least they have for me. It would be very hard to beat a good shooter with a Smith and Wesson 7 shot 357 magnum with a 4" barrel for overall reliability, accuracy, and power. I carry a Glock model 29(10mm) loaded with Double Tap loads. With this combo, i am getting 700 ft lbs+ and 10 rounds in a very concealable package. This is not a beginners caliber, but if you can handle it, it out powers the 357 mag and is simply amazing.

[gandog56]

Go between them. Get a 357 Sig.

[flusher]

I'm for either caliber

[CarbineCaleb]

As far as 9mm vs .357 - both good (and therefore common) choices for defense. I've had both, but currently have only wheelguns - I prefer them mostly for reasons you likely wouldn't find interesting.

In a .357 for home defense use, I'd point to either a 4" S&W 686P or a 5" S&W 627.

For a .357 carry gun, something a little lighter and smaller, and ideally, slimmer - a 2.5" 686P, a 3" model 60, or a 2.5"/3" Ruger SP101. If you don't mind hunting one down, a discontinued 2.5" or 3" S&W model 19/66 (same gun blued/stainless) is also a nice compromise between carryability and controllability for a CCW - they are between the 686 and the 60 in size and capacity.

[Diesel1]

Depending on my mood I'll carry either a Glock 19 9mm or a Ruger SP 101
in .357 magnum. I certainly don't feel under gunned with either.

[Axion]

There is no doubt that the .357 is more potent then the 9mm but at 17+1 rounds in my 226 I get three times the capacity as a six shot revolver. IMO three shots of 9mm is greater then one shot of .357 mag.

[Black Adder LXX]

For home defense, I prefer my 4" GP100



For out and about my M&P 9c:

[longeyes]

I like both but was surprised to see that the 127g Winchester Ranger T +P+ ammo I prefer for my Glock 26 is traveling faster than 125g .357mag ammo (Federal) out of my 3" SP101.

[thebaldguy]

I have to go with the revolver; it's easy to use, easy to load/unload, and you don't have to worry about dangerous bullet setback when you rechamber carry ammo. Plus, you can use lighter recoil .38 special ammo if you want. I also think it's easier and quicker to teach a newbie how to safely use a revolver.

[TheNatureBoy]

I personally prefer a accurate semi-auto hi-cap vs a accurate 6-8 shot revolver any day.

___________________

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