1 Do HKS, Safariland or whoever make a speedloader for this 8 round revolver? The only .22WMR speedloaders I can find are for 6 round S&W J & Ks.
2 Folk usually fall around laughing when I ask about rimfire handguns and personal defence, but what do you wise owls think about a 4" .22WMR revolver for personal defence? (I do have a DW .357 and I don't have a need for personal defence but I'm still interested in yr comments).

I took up handgun shooting again a year or two backafter a break of almost 20 years. I was a regular soldier for 8 years and an active reservist for a long time after that, but didn't shoot much. We tend to make our enemies cups of tea while we chat with 'em, instead of shooting indiscriminately at foe & friend alike as one of our bigger allies does. Then sometimes our enemies become our friends & tell us where our real enemies are hiding. But I digress. I got a S&W 617 & Ruger 22/45 to sort of break myself in gently, then the Taurus 941 to prepare my recoil-shy hands & wrists for the DW .357 to come. I respect my .357 & have become mildly proficient up to 25m, but I LOVE my Taurus .22WMR. It has a slimmer profile in the same pancake which I use for the .357, & it's lighter, & it's got 2 extra rds, & I can hit the middle of the paper more regularly than with the .357. But if anyone were to need to use a .22WMR 4" revolver in anger, I haven't the foggiest how effective they are. I put "One shot stop" literature in the same category as The Gospel of Thomas, apocryphal garbage.
Your help and advice on a speedloader and the appropriateness of the calibre for personal defence will be received with humble gratitude, as will your rebuttals of my aspersions on your fine fighting forces.
Richard

Looks like it's time we land on the Gold Coast and kick some aussie, tea brewing, arse!:)

I'd rather have a .22WMR than a slingshot, but I'd stick with the .357 for defensive work if it becomes an issue. I too shoot a .357 in the DW, but mine is a 8" so it's a little bulky for that kind of work.

I can shoot a .357 for about the same cost as .22Mag ammo, but I roll my own so it's a moot point in your case.

I'd work at mastering the .357 before I put too much reliance on the .22Mag.

The .22 Mag has been know to annoy racoons at close range, so I'd look for something with a little more bullet mass to fend off drunken football players and the like. Rabid wallaby would also be a concern.

Thanks upside-down Hick. At the risk of confusing the thread, there is a deeper reason for asking. If I treat the DW .357 as a (potential, I live in a peaceful part of a peaceful country) personal handgun, then I'll get a .357 lever-action to go with it & use the same ammo. If the .22WMR, I'll get a 30-30 (got a .22WMR bolt-action already). That's without considering whether I should have a 9mm, and which one, Beretta 92FS or save $400 & get a Taurus 92. Aaagh, decisions decisions. So let's see what, if anything, others think about the .22WMR. .357 solves the speedloader question, 'cos I've got a couple of magic Safarilands for the DW. And I don't like semi-autos, I can never get them back together again after I've cleaned 'em.

A well aimed hit between the eyes with a .22 mag. is better than a miss with a .357. But I would have to agree with practicing with your .357 some more. You'd be surprised of the energy a .22 mag. can generate compared to other defense rounds (.32 or .380). Have you tried shooting .38 Specials in your .357? There are lots of loads, from easy to shoot target wadcutters on up to +P jacketed hollowpoints, which you could work your way up the power line. You can gradually build up proficiency and maybe even find an all around load that performs well and you can handle comfortably. Then save the .357 loads for hunting or the dirty work.

Thanks mate. I've played with a few different factory .357 & .38spl rds, and settled on Brazilian Magtech .357 158gr SJSP (cheaper than CCI .22WMR to get back to the thread) for the range. I think they'd make a decent hunting rd in a lever-action too. I'm not sure that my Model 715 DW would like Federal 180 gr castcore in its 4" barrel and I want to have just one round.

Richard, your choice in a heavy for caliber bullet could lead to a problem of the round being longer than the cylinder of the revolver you have in mind. If it will fit there and cycle through your lever action rifle I think you would have a great combination. I once took a deer with my S&W 624 (.44 Special) using a load I made up with a 240 gr. LSWC. It did the trick. I can only imagine what my Winchester '94 (in .44 mag.) will be capable of doing with either heavy lead bullets or some of the 265 or 270 gr. Gold Dot loads I've put together.

Richard,
your 715 will digest any reasonable load, which are above ANY factory level load, that you feed it for the duration of your lifetime. Don't worry about wearing out the revolver. My model 15 has digested more rounds, that exceed any factory load, than the average 10 pistols would ever see, and it's still tight as new.

While the .22 Mag can produce some amazing kills on squirrels and the like, it's no defensive round. Better than nothing, or a slingshot, as I said. No one would willingly use it for a defensive round when a .357 is available, no one in their right mind at least.

The Federal Cast Core is the load for hunting with the .357, I don't know how it works in rifles as I've not had the experience with it. I'd be keen to try it in a short lever gun if it will feed. It will not be nearly as inexpensive (cheap) as the BrazTech ammo you are shooting now. You'll never know until you try.

Is there a reason, like time, that you don't reload? I don't know the logistics of the proposition in Oz.

"Is there a reason, like time, that you don't reload? I don't know the logistics of the proposition in Oz"

Thanks Hick (how do I address you?), it's time and incompetence. Particularly incompetence. I can't get factory 180gr easily here on the east coast, I'm exploring how much it would cost me to have it shipped from Western Australia. Don't ask me why they use it there and not here. I'm very happy indeed with 158 gr SJSP for target & IPSC shooting, & lever-action fans here use the same stuff (but Win, Rem or Federal rather than my bargain Magtech) for 'roos & pigs up to 75m or so (although the powers-that-be frown on it, saying that .270 in a bolt-action is what one should use for pigs). I'm coming round to the conclusion that I should stick with .357 for some hypothetical personal defence need and get a lever-action with a hunting round to complement it. But I do like shooting rimfires, so let's see how the thread runs out.