Let me add that there was not a single .38 +P 158 gr LSWCHP 'FBI load'.

Winchester was first with their X38SPD load. It was in use in several police departments before the FBI became interested, including St. Louis, Chicago and Washington DC. However, once the FBI started buying it, it became much more popular.

Remington got on board with their own .38 +P 158 gr LSWCHP load - the R38S12. It was just recently discontinued, which really means it was just renamed as their HTP .38 Special +P. Same round, new cooler sounding name and still at a very good price for a self defense suitable round.

Federal also got involved with their Federal 38G load. It was also a +P 158 gr LSWCHP. However federal had serious issues getting reliable performance as it would at various times either fail to expand or lead barrels excessively. Federal played around with the bullet cavity geometry, the alloy hardness and the lubrication in order to meet the accuracy and terminal performance requirements. A lot of Federal 38G intended for law enforcement use was instead sold through commercial vendors after failing to meet contract acceptance requirements.

-----

Leading was indeed an issue when the qualification course fire required 60 rounds and involved ranges of 50 or 60 yards.

For example the FBI's original Practical Pistol Course developed in the late 1930s involved prone shooting at 60 yards, sitting and barricade positions at 50 yards, kneeling and barricade shooting at 25 yards, off-hand shooting at 15 yards and point shooting using the “FBI Crouch” at 7 yards.

Their subsequent Tactical Revolver Course required the shooter to run 25 yards and then fire 18 rounds at a 50 yard target (12 strong hand and 6 weak hand), then fire 18 rounds at 25 yards (again 12 strong hand and 6 weak hand), followed by 12 rounds from the 15 yard line, and finally 12 rounds from the 7 yard line.

That's 60 rounds with 18 of them fired at 50 yards and 18 of them fired at 25 yards. Leading and the accuracy problem it caused mattered a great deal if you wanted to qualify.

----

Given the issues with bullet hardness, lubricant, hollow point cavity, etc, the "FBI load" is not one I would ever attempt to hand load for actual self defense purposes, as the bullet specifications are so narrow and critical. And the Remington load is still available, works as well as it ever did, and is reasonably priced (by self defense ammo standards).

I will load 125 gr Hornady XTPs in .357 Magnum for self defense but I pay very close attention to my actual measured velocity in my revolvers, as the performance window is pretty narrow. If the muzzle velocity is too slow, it won't expand fast enough and will actually over penetrate - which is the case with .38 and .38 +P loads. In .357 Magnum you need a muzzle velocity of 1250 fps or above to ensure they expand fast enough to limit penetration to less than 18". That takes some load development to achieve that in a 2.5" or 3" revolver.