Sure you can, every situation is different. What if you knock him on his ass and he's still got the strength to hold his weapon and is trying to aim at you. Part of training is being able to identify what the right move is in a given situation. And for what it's worth, I have a good friend who was not only shot in the chest at close range with a .45, he took the gun from the guy who did it and almost beat the guy to death with it. It sounds like bullchit I know, but as sure as I'm typing it's true. I've seen the scar from the hole in his chest and know him well enough to know that's what happened.
Now you're talking. Shotguns are much better for home defense, especially when keeping in mind the safety of your neighbors. As long as you're not shooting 3" magnum slugs out of it.. Which goes back to one of the golden rules of handling a gun... Know your target and what lies beyond it. That said, if you have something like a .357 and want to use it for home defense it's feasible, you just need to make sure you're using the right ammo and not the armor piercing rounds that you bought from bubba at the gun show because he told you they'll go through an engine block. This is especially tricky for a .357 because it's a relatively small round with a lot of powder behind it. You want to use a lighter bullet so that most of that energy is released on the target, rather than just passing through it. The target rounds I use for my 10mm are 220 grain FMJ. I keep Double-tap 135g JHP in it at home. The difference is, with the 135 grain, while the velocity is much higher (~1600 fps as opposed to ~1200), the penetration is much less because of the lighter ammo. Because of this most of the energy is released on the target, rather than my neighbor next door. You'll put your eye out with that thing..
See, for a .357 that's not an extremely light bullet. You might have a problem with it going through your target and beyond. I'd be looking at 110 - 125gr rounds for home defense. Don't let the lighter weight fool you, it will do plenty of damage to a bad guy. Just my opinion, of course.
Seems like the hollow point would have greater expansion and dump more energy before exit. A round nose lead bullet would be more likely to over penetrate.
They do... but the weight of the bullet still carries enough momentum to go through the target if it's a heavy load. Don't get me wrong, from the bad-guy's point of view there's not gonna be a lot of difference. Example: Here's a description of Double-Tap ammo's 158 grain rounds... "This tough, heavy bullet will penetrate deep and still create a large wound channel due to its high sectional density, high velocity, and spectacular bonded Gold Dot bullet. Perfect for when more penetration is needed." Get my drift? And for what it's worth, the "JHP" I was referring to in my post regarding my ammo stands for "Jacketed Hollow Point"...
That's what I'm shooting. I keep my pistol in my night stand with a trigger guard lock. I would have to go into the gun safe for a shotgun. The key for the triggerguard is hid under the lamp and much easier to get than going to the safe. I agree the shotgun would be a better home defense weapon. My next firearm will be the judge in the 45/410. I believe the 410 in 00 buck would be a great home defense choice. One 410 followed by 4 rounds of 45 long colt would be my choice.
I would ofcoarse have to talk the wife into it for Xmas. She wasn't very happy with the over and under 12 guage I bought last year. I have five pistols and 17 rifles, shotguns and muzzleloaders. She tends to think that's enough. By the way my dad has a colt delta in 10 mm. It's a damn fine weapon. I think it has more going for it than a 45acp
A note on the Judge... Be careful with it. Not because of any problems with it, but I've read that there are 2 different cylinder lengths available (2.75 vs 3") and I've seen where people have accidentally loaded 3" shells into the shorter cylinder by mistake (or out of stupidity). Anyway, needless to say the gun didn't like it. I envy your dad.. I have two 10mm's, both are Glocks. One is full size and one compact. I love both of them and practice with them often. I've wanted a Colt Delta Elite for a while but they're a bit pricey. Originally some years ago there was a problem with the chambers on them cracking from the pressure, and this is how the .40 became popular with the feds I'm told. From what I hear now, that is a thing of the past. And yes, the 10mm is kind of the best of both worlds. A large bore weapon without the loss in velocity. It's basically a .40 caliber round with similar ballistics as your .357.. see below: .45 ACP 185 grain Nosler JHP - 1225 fps 616 ft/lbs from a 5" 1911 bbl .40 S&W 150 grain Nosler JHP- 1317fps 580 ft/lbs from a 4.5"bbl .357 Mag 158 grain Nosler JHP - 1400 fps 688 ft/lbs from a 4" bbl 10 mm 155 grain Nosler JHP - 1475 fps 775 ft/lbs from a 4.6" bbl (Glock G20) It would be safe to assume that if the .357 numbers I listed were from a 4.5" barrel as opposed to 4", the ballistics would be nearly identical as the 10mm.. If you shoot from a 6" barrel, the velocity jumps to 1540 fps. I can tell you that for the performance you get, you'd be hard pressed to find a smoother shooting pistol. I like the whole 15+1 capacity thing too.. :thumb:
