# My load of choice



## DirtyHarryGenX (Apr 13, 2009)

I'm always aware of the need for home defense.I know the shotgun is about the deadliest you can use for home-defense,but I prefer a handgun,better for clearing the house,and easily wielded in tight quarters.My go to gun is a Dan Wesson .44 magnum.I have a variety of loads for it,but I keep it loaded with Buffalo Bore's .340 gr.+P+,and for those who don't know,it generates over 1600 ft lbs of energy.I know dirty Harry used a "light special",but I want the most powerful ammo I can shoot.I'm also aware these rounds are intended for large,dangerous animals.I would appreciate anyone's opinions on using a .44 magnum,and the ammo I described,for home defense.I'd also appreciate any opinions on it's stopping power,and opinions in general,thanks


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## TedDeBearFrmHell (Jul 1, 2011)

in my opinion, in my home, i would NEVER use anything that big and that powerful... i would be concerned about overpenetration .... i do not want a round that would go thru the bad guy, 2 walls, a dog and the door of the buick before it stopped. how far is the closest neighbor? does the mailman have a vest? will the cats hearing ever come back?

imho, bad idea


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## denner (Jun 3, 2011)

TedDeBearFrmHell said:


> in my opinion, in my home, i would NEVER use anything that big and that powerful... i would be concerned about overpenetration .... i do not want a round that would go thru the bad guy, 2 walls, a dog and the door of the buick before it stopped. how far is the closest neighbor? does the mailman have a vest? will the cats hearing ever come back?
> imho, bad idea


Second here, I owned one. A 38 Special with good loads will drop a bad person in his tracks. A 9mm, .40 or 45 auto gives you more firepower and much less collateral damage. A 44 magnum is going to overpenetrate at least into the next room, or through something unintended. You may be lucky and hit the frig or stove to stop the round. I believe you would be responsible if you hit an innocent person, loved one, neighbor etc.. Plus, the report will more than likely damage your ear drums or at least leave scar tissue after not hearing properly for a week. I really don't think you can power down enough with that badboy. Good for shooting big holes in steel barrels and deer hunting, but as home defense not the best option.


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## TOF (Sep 7, 2006)

If your probable intruder is brown, furry, several hundred pounds and 8 to 10 feet tall keep on doing what you are doing. If it is more like 5 to 6 feet tall and wearing people clothes I reccomend you obtain and use .44 Special loads. If you have to use it your second round in the double tap sequence will be much more accurate. And yes, you need the second cause your first may not have hit where you thought it was going to'


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## DirtyHarryGenX (Apr 13, 2009)

Well,thanks for the responses.I never really thought about over-penetration,there are three other people living in my house,all on the top floor.The only thing seperating me from my brother's room is a thin wall.I do have neighbors pretty close on both sides.I may be over doing it with what I think it takes to fully stop an intruder.Someone actually breaking in here is very slim,but if they did,I wouldn't want me or my family to become victims.The very fact I am protecting my family would definatly make over-penetration an issue lol I think I'll break out my Taurus Judge,let my first shot be Federal's 4 pellet 000,and let the rest be Federal 225gr JSP .45 Colts.I'm pretty sure that would do the job.I'll put away Mr. Wesson,it would be tragic if I accidently killed one of my family members.I appreciate the feedback!


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## ozzy (Apr 16, 2011)

I suggest a NRA home defense class and drop the make my day punk quotes. Those 1600 loads are hot, not suggested for most pistols and you will probably miss and flinch from the jump. Start slow and learn. The sharpened pencil behind my ear is a deadly weapon and more accessible than my pistol in close quarters and you wouldn't think it would be a weapon. Food for thought.


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## Desertrat (Apr 26, 2007)

I always have either the 9mm Glock or one of my snubbies loaded with .38 Plus P. Sometimes have my Ruger Blackhawk 41 Mag on the nightstand....but that is the biggest I will go indoors.


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## DirtyHarryGenX (Apr 13, 2009)

ozzy said:


> I suggest a NRA home defense class and drop the make my day punk quotes. Those 1600 loads are hot, not suggested for most pistols and you will probably miss and flinch from the jump. Start slow and learn. The sharpened pencil behind my ear is a deadly weapon and more accessible than my pistol in close quarters and you wouldn't think it would be a weapon. Food for thought.


Yeah I'm sure Buffalo Bore's over-loaded ammo would wear a gun out rather quickly,luckily I don't shoot it regular,it's too expensive anyway.I did go thru 20 rounds though.They do kick,and would slow down the recovery time for your next shot,but I don't flinch.I'm very comfortable with recoil,and I shoot alot,since I was seven,over 20 years.I own the black medicine books,so I am aware you can stab someone with a pencil.I just carry a folding knife on the streets.I chose such a heavy load cause I hit what I aim for,and I am really looking for overkill,my best chance that the guy will be dead before he hits the ground.But,I am concerned with over-penetration now,so I'm keeping my taurus judge on my nightstand.After testing the ammo,I'm pretty comfortable with Federal's 4 pellet 000 buck load,it should work at close quarters.And I have 3 .45 Colts behind that.I think that's enough to do the job.


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## hud35500 (May 8, 2010)

Unfortunately, the 000 buck load will overpenetrate almost as much as the .44 mag load. Most experts agree that the #4 buck is ideal for HD. It will reach vital organs, but stays within a layer or two of drywall. I think the Judge makes a good HD gun, but do some research on the various loads available. There are several shotgun loads designed for HD. Heavy is good on bears, but not for HD.


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## Packard (Aug 24, 2010)

In the late 1970s and early 1980s new homes were being built with the latest in materials and construction techniques. The latest and the greatest was exterior sheathing done in water-resistant homasote, which is nothing more than a very thick piece of shirt cardboard. 

The way this worked was they would start to put up the framing and they would nail in place one sheet of 4' x 8' plywood sheathing in the corner of each exterior wall. This was done because the homasote had no shear strength and a brisk wind would knock the entire thing over. 

Then the rest of the homasote was stapled into place. The interior was in 1/2" plasterboard and the exterior was in vinyl siding. 

The running joke was that you could take a bow and arrow, and assuming your missed the 2" x 4" studs the arrow could penetrate the vinyl, the homasote, the fiberglass insulation and the sheetrock on one wall, and exit teh building by passing through the same.

There were many thousands of homes built this way (until new building codes were created). So it does not take much to overpenetrate some of these buildings.

I too would be reluctant to shoot .44 magnums in the house. On the otherhand, .44 Special rounds would be a perfectly satisfactory round indoors and would be a easy shooting round out of a revolver designed for .44 magnum ammo.


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## DirtyHarryGenX (Apr 13, 2009)

I just kinda assumed the 000 buckshot wouldn't even pass clean thru a human torso,not from the judge anyway.I do have some 9 pellet #4 buckshot,but I wasn't sure if it would penetrate deep enough.If it will reach the good stuff,that's good enough for me.I've tested alot of different loads,for spread,and range.And I saw a guy testing everything else on youtube.Birdshot is a no go,anyone who knows what a judge is knows it spreads like crazy.The #4 buckshot didn't spread too bad,not too much for in home use,but I wasn't sure of the penetration.I recently ordered 10 rounds of Winchester PDX personal defense,in the 3" shell,giving me 4 "defensive discs",and 16 copper plated BBs.From the video I saw,the discs kept a very tight pattern,and the BBs just kinda scattered.Also the discs wouldn't fully penetrate the metal drum the guy was shooting at,while the 000 buckshot did.So when those get here,that's what I'll load in my judge,and maybe the discs wouldn't over-penetrate a home invader.And it sounds like alot of old walls are weak,just about anything would penetrate them.I'm not a wall expert,but I'm pretty sure the walls in my house are up to date.I did accidently fire a 12 gauge slug in the cellar not too long ago.It penetrated a 2x4,a pipe,the floor,and luckily hit the concrete steps outside,that stopped it.That's only the second time I've accidently discharged a gun indoors.The other time it was in a trailer,and it was a 12 gauge loaded with birdshot.It made a good softball size hole in the roof.I do like the .44 special idea,I'll have to order some and take them out for testing,they're plenty I'm sure


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