Cocktail in your wheel gun

[Sleepnheat]

I have read that a cocktail of O-O and Slug in you shotgun is good for home defense. How about a cocktail in your wheel gun?

I am thinking a mix of 125gr. Hornady (red tip) with 185gr. Gold Dot.

Any thoughts?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[BikerRN]

I keep my Shotgun loaded with #4's. The reload is 00 Buck. If I need slugs I'm out of luck and should've brought a belt-fed weapon. My handguns hold the same ammo, no "cocktails" for this guy.

I'm not a "fan" of mixing up my loads for various reasons, which I'm sure someone else will explain. If not, I'll answer it later as it's late and I just got off work.

Biker

[Superhouse 15]

I have been told the practice is called "Dutch Loading".

I know of no agency that allows or approves of it. I am not a fan myself. What do you do if you lose count in the middle of the fight? I can see picking a load based on a specific need (like you have a family menber's bedroom down the hall from yours so you load Glaser, or you are being stalked by a Sumo wrestler so you load XTPs). Other than that, just pick one. If it bothers you load a spare speedloader with your deep penetrating load.

[wmhawth]

I have read that a cocktail of O-O and Slug in you shotgun is good for home defense. How about a cocktail in your wheel gun?

I am thinking a mix of 125gr. Hornady (red tip) with 185gr. Gold Dot.

Any thoughts?

What's to be gained? Maybe I'm not thinking but I don't see a logical reason.

[dukalmighty]

I load 00 buck in the gun with 3 00 and 2 slugs in the side saddle,problem with loading different rounds is you don't know what's coming up in a tense situation including handgun loads,as far as handgun load JHP if the hollowpoint plugs and doesn't expand you got a FMJ at that point anyway

[pgrass101]

I would advise against it for the above mentioned reasons.

You won't remember if you have 00 or slug in the chamber when the Stuff Hits The Fan

I have 00 in my shotgun and 3 slug 2 00 in the side saddle (must note: M1 carbine primary HD weapon, shotgun secondary)

I can see nothing to gain from mixing loads in your revolver

[bmcgilvray]

Loading a smörgåsbord of ammo smacks of indecisiveness to me. Was is to be accomplished? Between the two styles of bullets mentioned there's not enough difference to turn bad hits into good hits. Accurate bullet placement is were it is.

[Sleepnheat]

Loading a smörgåsbord of ammo smacks of indecisiveness to me. Was is to be accomplished? Between the two styles of bullets mentioned there's not enough difference to turn bad hits into good hits. Accurate bullet placement is were it is.

I too am a strong believer in shot placement. I was thinking more along the lines of insuring good penitration but keeping a few lighter rounds in case the BG is light and skinny. I know that in a SD situation I will not be thinking about which type of round is next but I would be prepared for anyone 100 - 400lbs.

Im not being indecisive but am new to CCW and am trying to feed off of the plethra of experiance and wisdom on this site.

I do like the idea of a light load in the weapon and a reload of heavy hitters....

[Chooie]

I wouldn't... different loads, different point of impact, different recoil signature. I'd choose a load that suits the purpose that the gun is most likely to fulfill - home defense, CCW, hunting, pest control - these all warrant different considerations and options in ammo selection, and while there may be some overlap (HD and CCW for example), you don't want to have snakeshot loaded when you try to stop a home invasion. Know what's in your gun at all times, and know the capabilities and limitations of that load/gun combination.

[aus71383]

IMO better to overpenetrate than underpenetrate. If you choose a weapon that will do the job, and a load that you're comfortable with - then just practice. The fewer things you have to worry about when the time comes the better. If you need to reload, and you feel like you need to decide which ammo to reload with - that's not good. Just pick something and stick with it. That's my two cents...

Austin

[Superhouse 15]

Not sure what the "red tip" is, but if you're talking about a revolver in .357 mag underpenetration in a person will not be a concern with anything you would likely load in it for defense.

[bmcgilvray]

"...was thinking more along the lines of insuring good penetration but keeping a few lighter rounds in case the BG is light and skinny."



The only actual experience I've had with the use of a handgun for self-defense had me accompany a LEO chief investigator friend to a shooting. A woman was attacked by her drunken and drugged-up ex. He was skinny, about 6 feet tall and weighed perhaps 135 lbs.. He was lying on his back dead, on the floor in the kitchen of the house, shot through the heart with a Federal .357 Magnum 158 grain jacketed soft point, fired from a LLama Comanche with a 4-inch barrel. He was "dead right then".

It was wintertime and he was wearing a light cloth zippered jacket over a flannel shirt and an undershirt. After exiting just to the right of his spine, the bullet had enough "umph" to knock a deep dent in the sheet rock on the wall behind him. It'd struck the wall sideways and bounced off. I found it, lying on the floor beneath a cupboard. One could have almost hand loaded it into a freshly prepared case and fired it again.

Later I was given the remainder of the ammunition from that box of Federals and chronographed some of them. They clocked a little over 1300 fps from my six-inch Smith & Wesson Model 27 so were probably good for 1300 fps or near to it in that 4-inch Comanche.

A jacketed soft point probably wouldn't be the choice of most for defensive use in the .357 Magnum revolver but it certainly did the big job on him. I made sure to be close by when they turned him over. The exit wound was a good inch in diameter, likely due to shattered bone though I can't know that.

He'd repeatedly beat her so her boss had found her a rental house in another town in an attempt to hide her from the creep. The ex found her and abused her some more that evening. She was bruised up and and had bald patches where he'd yanked out handfuls of her long hair. The boss had provided her with the Llama revolver in case she ever needed it. She needed it that night.

Was a case of good riddance to bad rubbish. A pool of blood had covered most of the kitchen floor and it smelled of wine. Later I was to find that he was exactly the same age as I was, born on the same day. I recalled the old phrase: there, but for the Grace of God, go I!

A .357 Magnum is one of the all time great handgun cartridges for self-defense. Don't worry about the skinny guys. Shoot straight and let the skinny guys worry about you.

[dgg9]

Don't worry about the skinny guys. Shoot straight and let the skinny guys worry about you.

Best line of the day award is bestowed right here.

[msgt/ret]

Many years ago while flying as aircrew for the USAF we were issued weapons and ammo for anti-hijacking defense. The weapons we either S&W M10s or 15s and the ammo consisted of 3 rounds of 38spl “bean bag” loads and 3 rounds of 158gr hollowpoints, supposedly we were to fire the bean bags first then use the hollowpoints if the hijacker is not stopped, but as most range instructors taught in a hijacking you will probably fire all six rounds anyway. This is the only time I have heard of using any kind of mixed load.

[Logan5]

Escalating ammo types assumes that you always have an escalating threat.