Taurus 66 Owners: Ammo recommendations?

[junkyard]

Ok so I did it, bought my first handgun and am now officially a Taurus owner! Picked up a new Stainless Model 66 4" at a local shop. Looking for ammo recommendations, I bought the gun and asked for some help with ammo, for the range and home defense. I walked away from the shop with the gun and a few boxes of thier "range rounds" (2 boxes of .38 (148 gr. WC and 125 gr. JFP) and a box of .357 125 gr. JFP) as well as a box of .357 Hornady #90502 125 gr. JHP/XTP for home.
Looking to stock up on some more. Anyone have any good recommendations for both .38 and .357 rounds good for the range, and .38 and .357 good for home protection?

[gop1]

Ive been shooting alot of magtech .38 spl 158 grn lrn ,accurate a little dirty since its not jacketed,also the bulk winchester .38 spl they sell @ walmart in the 100 rnd pack ,dont shoot alot of .357 when I do its the american eagle 158 grn jsp shoots great

[Steelheart]

You may want to pick up a box of 38 +P hollow points for interm use as a home defense load until you've shot the gun some. The gun will handle anything you've bought but your hand will thank you.

Beyond that you're going fine.

Steelheart

[Schmidlin]

Ive been shooting alot of magtech .38 spl 158 grn lrn ,accurate a little dirty since its not jacketed,also the bulk winchester .38 spl they sell @ walmart in the 100 rnd pack ,dont shoot alot of .357 when I do its the american eagle 158 grn jsp shoots great

this is basically what i shoot. ive got some magtech 158grain .357s as well and they are nice. But true the WWB .38s from walmart are great little rounds and will dirty your gun up if you shoot to many. and im really jealous of the stainless steal you got. any thing else let us know.

you will love that little hand cannon.

[MF66SS6]

I've heard it said by a few gun instructors that you should train with what you intend to use. I originally purchased .38 +P JHP for the firing range and would end the day shooting .357 rounds through it. I've since switched to firing only 125 gr .357 JHP through as that is my choice for home defense. It definitely gets pricey. I'm now considering reloading to save money. I've been using Remington and Hornaday and have had great sucess with both.

[Steelheart]

There's a flip side to that idea.

By shooting a lesser load you can work on the basics of sight alignment, trigger control etc for longer in a shooting session until you get tired. But yes, you also do need to shoot some full power ammo so you know what you'll be touching off.

The other thing is that if the gun is going to be a house gun, your significant other may not be a shooter. They will probably be much happier with 38 +P's that they can handle than with full power magnums that they are scared of (but may not admit to you).

The other advantage to using more 38's for some range work is that they are cheaper.

Steelheart

[MF66SS6]

Steelheart,

All valid points. Thanks for the input

[NativeTexan]

I pretty much know what .357 feels like to shoot, been shooting it for 30 years plus. I shoot a LOT of wadcutter in my 4" 66 because it's so bloomin' accurate in that gun, sub 1" at 25 yards, pretty friggin' amazing. I pop a .357 or 6 out of it too, from time to time. My standard .357 load is a 158 SWC over 14.5 grains 2400, pretty mild as handloads go and easy on the gun, still putting up 600 ft lbs out of the 4" gun. I shoot that same .357 load in my 3" gun for practice, but for .38s, I like a 158 SWC over 5.0 grains Unique as well as the wadcutter load. It's got quite a bit m ore pop than the wadcutter , but main thing, shoots just over POI for the .357 load in that gun, so it requires no sight adjustment from the .357 load. I have the elevation screw on the 4" gun marked for the WC or .357 loads and adjust accordingly.

Both these guns are quite accurate with either .357 OR .38 special which is one reason I've kept them, but have sold my M19 Smith K frame and my Ruger Security Six, neither of which were very accurate with .38 special, not enough to make ME happy, anyway. I'm an extreme accuracy nut, pistol or rifle. I just can't help it. I have fun shooting at smaller targets at longer ranges. A B27 silhouette at 7 yards gets old after a while. I wanna miss once in a while. LOL And, when I miss, I wanna know it was me and not the gun's fault. Trust me, that's the case with these 66s.

[Izzie45895]

NativeTexan,

I wish i could even SEE to shoot sub 1" at 25 yds. Hehehe. I'm happy to keep 'em within 8" at 15 yds!! You know, MBG.

Getting old is tough. BUT, I hope if I EVER have to fire in defense of MY CASTLE, it will be under 15 yds, and only after I have expended all 10 rds of 12 gauge 00 buck.

Wish I still had your eyes!

Iz