?All Purpose Self-Defense Load for .357/w 3 1/16" bbl?

[iscareliberalsandlikeit]

I'm trying to reload the .357 for the first time and I've done my research but the combinations and opinions given to me have come to a exausting state of confusion. I currently have both Unique and Bullseye on hand and I'm looking for good expansion with a "moderatly controllable self defense load." (Sort of a do it all load.) I carry a Ruger SP101 with a 3 1/16" bbl for backpacking. Penatration is a must against Large wildlife but a barrel of this length can only accellerate a projectile so fast. All at the same time quicker follow-up shots are a plus. I think someone out there should have recipes for a true "middle of the road" cartridge for both predators with four legs and also that of the biped catigory. I'm not against cast lead bullets but would prefer something at least with a partial jacket so I need not worry about approching the velocity where a cast bullet does not hang onto rifiling. What I do not need is a load made for someone's 6" deer gun that will pattern like bird shot at 25 feet out of my relativly short barrel. Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[something vague]

I also carry a SP101 for my hiking in the Maine Woods. My favorite loads out of this little gun are with Hornady's 140 XTP's loaded under a nice charge of 2400. I will let you work this load up yourself as apposed to listing my charge weight. It is getting up there so I don't feel confident sharing it. It is a fairly hot load but I've put in plenty of time practising with it so I am extremely confident with it's performance.

 

[USSR]

Unique is a great powder for this role. With my hard cast 170gr 358429 bullet, I load 5.0gr of Unique in .38 Special brass. With a 158gr jacketed bullet, use up to 6.0gr of Unique in a .38 Special case.

Don