MCgunner
Member
If you want easy on the ears, load that .45 colt up with FFFG. Of course, if you fire it, you'll need to clean it pretty soon. I shoot .357 afield occasionally. Doesn't bother me, but I do NOT like ported guns like the Trackers. I shoot a standard 4" barrel'd .357 medium frame gun. My outdoor loads are 14.5 grains 2400 behind a 165 grain (158 Lee mold) as loaded gas checked SWC. My .38 is usually 2.7 grains B'eye behind a 148 grain Lee wadcutter. Very accurate for small game.
I split the difference on the 4.6-5.4 grains, 5.0 grains Unique and a 158 SWC. It's milely +P, but I've fired lots of 'em in the little Rossi with no ill affects. I also have a 4" heavy barrel M10 Smith and a little 2" Taurus 85 that's a deep concealment CCW, but I do carry when afield sometimes when I don't wanna carry a belt gun, like when I'm fishing. I've dispatched 4' black tip sharks with it before boating 'em.
Really, except for the fact that my property has hogs on it that I'd want something adequate for if I get a shot at one, which happened once and my .357 did the job, .38 is plenty around here. We don't have bear nor cats bigger than bobcat.
One thing I do, I've kinda gotten into kayaking. I like to carry when I'm in the bayous around here, lots of gators. I usually take the little stainless .38 snubby because it's stainless and compact. I carry it in a fanny pack. When I'm wade fishing off the kayak, I just clip my mini revolver to the collar of my shirt. I have a dry box in the yak, but I just got into this stuff and really haven't worked that one out, yet, very well. Wade fishing is done in salt water, though, so the only reason to carry is defense against humans, no gators to worry about. The mini revolver ain't much, but it beats nothing.
David the .38 SPl even at +P pressures it is esay on the ears. At +P pressures those 158gr SWC over 5.4gr of Unique are going about 950fps from the 4" tube.
I split the difference on the 4.6-5.4 grains, 5.0 grains Unique and a 158 SWC. It's milely +P, but I've fired lots of 'em in the little Rossi with no ill affects. I also have a 4" heavy barrel M10 Smith and a little 2" Taurus 85 that's a deep concealment CCW, but I do carry when afield sometimes when I don't wanna carry a belt gun, like when I'm fishing. I've dispatched 4' black tip sharks with it before boating 'em.
Really, except for the fact that my property has hogs on it that I'd want something adequate for if I get a shot at one, which happened once and my .357 did the job, .38 is plenty around here. We don't have bear nor cats bigger than bobcat.
One thing I do, I've kinda gotten into kayaking. I like to carry when I'm in the bayous around here, lots of gators. I usually take the little stainless .38 snubby because it's stainless and compact. I carry it in a fanny pack. When I'm wade fishing off the kayak, I just clip my mini revolver to the collar of my shirt. I have a dry box in the yak, but I just got into this stuff and really haven't worked that one out, yet, very well. Wade fishing is done in salt water, though, so the only reason to carry is defense against humans, no gators to worry about. The mini revolver ain't much, but it beats nothing.