Rok, I think you're right, the bullet type and profile can make a huge difference. Also note that Mikeleduc's statement was " not one of the bullets hit anything vital". Once again, shot placement is the key factor. Nobody makes a bullet big enough to stop someone without hitting something vital. Of course a .45 vs a .38 would give you a 0.05" larger margin for error... (Sarcasm just doesn't come across well in type.)

SwampFox wrote:

A-men brother Dave. Ed

Actually Ed, it's Darrell not Dave.

Hey Vince, now you went and done it. You just made up my mind to get the Charter Arms Bulldog .44 spl. See what kind of bad influince you are. When my wife asks why I bought it I'll just tell her it was Vince's fault.

Don't worry roklok...Because my wife is not very recoil resistent I'm keeping both .38 Specials in the bedroom. They are loaded with 140 grain SJHP (Rem) over 5.0 grains of W-231 at 825 fps...(she doesn't know they are loaded in the +P range)...

Beware...Some loading manuals list this as over maximum powder charge. Sierra lists even higher charges. Work up to this slowly watching for over pressure signs...

One other note. Several years ago a man was shot 6 times with a .357 magnum while he was in the shower. He took the gun away from her and beat her to death before he died of his wounds...He bled out...

Bushmaster wrote:

They are loaded with 140 grain SJHP (Rem) over 5.0 grains of W-231 at 825 fps...(she doesn't know they are loaded in the +P range)...

Bushy mate,
Quick calculation shows that you are running at about 23000 PSI with that load!!
I believe the SAAMI 38SPL +P is listed for 18500 PSI (correct me if I am wrong here)
Even it is only about 5000 PSI (about 25%) over the limit, I think that load may be a tad dangerous to be used. But then again, the modern firearms have a lot stronger metal parts than older stuff, thus have higher reserve of strength.

In my mind, if I ever need a defensive load, it would be some low recoil load that let me quickly and easily place another round in the right place.
Of course, for purely defensive, it should be as LOUD as possible (to attract attention) and that means to use a tad slower powder so plenty would burn OUTSIDE the barrel afterwards.

But then again, as I said before, I may never be in that situation coz I would be already running to another state beforehand

d_hoffman wrote:

SwampFox wrote: A-men brother Dave. Ed Actually Ed, it's Darrell not Dave. Hey Vince, now you went and done it. You just made up my mind to get the Charter Arms Bulldog .44 spl. See what kind of bad influince you are. When my wife asks why I bought it I'll just tell her it was Vince's fault.

well if she has a problem with it tell her to write me.
i love buying guns for my honey even though he tells me not too
disobedient and wildly independent
plus i like to buy one for him 2 for me..

Ive had a .22mag pointed at me by my mom but she didnt know it was me in the house letting the dog in from the storm. turned around and all i saw was her nightgown and the shine of a shaking gun.

tell you what

that'll wake ya up real quick

gelandangan...You are absolutely correct. I don't know what the chamber pressure would be, but you did note that I printed a warning.

Lyman 48th edition (a conservative load manual) lists maximum charge at 4.7 grains of W-231... Winchester load manual (also a conservative load manual) lists a maximum charge at 4.8 grains of W-231... The Sierra Vth edition Second printing starts at 4.9 and tops out at 5.6 grains of W-231...All with a 140 grain JHP. (WARNING some of these powder weights are concidered way over maximim charges. MAXIMUM care should be excersized when approaching these powder charges. Insure that you varify these load weights with your manuals before attempting to load these powder charges. Though I am perfect in all that I do I will, on occasion, make a mistake [misprint] )...

Dallan...How would one put warnings in red or can we??

Simply type what you want to turn red and then it says "Default" in a drop down menu and select the text like you would to copy it and change it to red.

Dimitri

Smart a$$

Sorry gelandangan. My .38 Specials are S&W mod 10's...Two with 4" tubes and one with 2" bull barrel. Mod 10's are concidered to be pretty tough revolvers. Some say capable of magnum pressures. Not willing to test that theory with mine...

Bushmaster,

Put a item or some such infront of me and don't tell me I cant do anything to it and I will take out my tools and see what makes it tick, kinda like the forum I saw "default" and I had to see what the drop down menu was for.

Dimitri

L O L...And they say you don't have a sense of humor...

d_hoffman wrote:

Hey Vince, now you went and done it. You just made up my mind to get the Charter Arms Bulldog .44 spl. See what kind of bad influince you are. When my wife asks why I bought it I'll just tell her it was Vince's fault.

Thats ok mate....I got broad shoulders...I can handle it....I hope

Cheers, Vince

Ben shot at many times, stabed with a knife 4 times but I'm still here' so far !!

All in the last 10 years, Tremblay?

No years ago