I have them or some older winchester 38 special hollow silver tip bullets. the gun is not a carry gun just somthing that I target shoot with and keep in the houes (colt python) I will go for my glock or my shotgun first if I can.

Also any other ideas for target ammo gr and brand, I curently have ammercian eagle .357 mag and another no name brand, I can't seem to located any 38 specials plus p in 158 gr, are the plus p's that much more powerful then the reg 38 specials?

I am having a little difficulty with the first part of your question. When you say " I have them or some older Winchester....." what is the "them" you are speaking of? There isn't enough info to specify what you are trying to compare.

I am assuming you have a .357 magnum handgun but are just looking for a good load that is cheap to shoot in it, be it .38 or .357, correct? If so you have lots of choices. If your goal is just quality and accuracy, then you might want to try some .38 special round nose lead, semi wadcutters, or 158 gr lead HP +P's for a little more zip. If you like shooting the hotter magnum loads, you might look at the 110 gr Winchester USA .357 HP's. These are hotter than .38 loads but are still more mild on the shooter than the full power 125 gr loads. Otherwise the American Eagle ammo you mention should be good stuff. However, I wouldn't necessarily recommend most of the above loads for defensive use.

And before I go let me give you a word of caution about using .38 special full wadcutters in a .357. While you can shoot most .38's in a .357 without any problem at all, the full wadcutters can be a bit dangerous because lead shavings from the bullets have been known to hit a few people standing beside the shooter. I wouldn't recommend these unless using them in a .38 special specifically.

-Charging Handle

I meant to say that I have some 357 mag 158 gr cci blazer hollowpoints, this gun is not my primary self defense gun but if I had to use it which rounds should I leave it some win 38 spl PLUS P's or the blazers? thanks

The .38 Special "FBI" loads (the 158 gr LSWCHP +P's) are decent performers. David Difabio over on ammolab.com recently tested the Remington version and it offered satisfactory performance. They are more reliable expanders in full size guns (4" barrels) and do ok from snubbies as long as heavier clothing isn't a factor.

As far as .357 rounds go, the 145 gr Winchester Silvertip is a pretty good load, certainly as good as anything else out there for that caliber. The Federal 125 gr JHP's have been given a lot of hype over the years by the Evan Marshall crowd, but their actual performance doesn't bear out all that hype.

To be completely honest, I am not a huge fan of the .38/.357 in general. Since these calibers have been mostly replaced in law enforcement by 9mm, .40 and .45, little in the way of testing and bullet development takes place for the .38 and .357 these days. With modern bullet technology and know-how, better loads could be made for these calibers. It just seem those two calibers get far too little attention in cartridge development research. But the loads I mentioned above are as good as there is out there presently.

-Charging Handle