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  #1  
Old 12-14-2009, 11:59 AM
BigJohn BigJohn is offline
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Default 38 special 95 gr silvertip winchester

Anyone know anything about this ammo? I did not know that Winchester once made this grain of a bullet in silvertips. I just happen to see some at a gun show but did not buy it since I was out of cash. Just curious if anyone remembers it since it was in an older winchester box.
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Old 12-14-2009, 12:08 PM
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I've never seen it in .38 special but have in .380 acp.
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Old 12-14-2009, 12:22 PM
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This load is a really great way to neuter your .38 spl revolver.

Think of it as .380 in a revolver. The 38 Spl. ctg. is capable of much better performance using heavier bullets. My advice is to skip the 95 grain loads for any serious purpose.
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Old 12-14-2009, 02:20 PM
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It was 38 special because I had to do a doubletake when I saw it. I confirmed it was 38 special. I was not looking for it for self-defense just thought it was an oddity since I had never seen or heard of this load before.
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  #5  
Old 12-14-2009, 03:27 PM
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I have some 110 grain Silvertip, but I have never seen anything in 95 grain except for .380 auto.
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Old 12-14-2009, 04:24 PM
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Like I said. I checked it to be sure it was not 380 or any other calibur and it was not. It had on the box 38 special 95 +P silvertips. It was in the older white/orange box. If I had the money I would have bought just to post on her for everybody to see. Oh well, if I ever come across it again I will do so.
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Old 12-14-2009, 06:15 PM
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We've discussed that load here before. Erich offered sage words that mirror what NKJnut said. It was something along the lines of, "That's a great way to turn your .38 into a .380".
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Old 12-14-2009, 06:27 PM
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Seems like a weird thing to do to the .38 Special.
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Old 12-14-2009, 06:57 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bmcgilvray View Post
Seems like a weird thing to do to the .38 Special.
I agree. It would be another matter if the .38 had the high pressure and long barrels (we're talking rifle length) needed to get a bullet that size sizzling fast. It has neither. Not even close.
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Old 12-14-2009, 07:11 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BigJohn View Post
Like I said. I checked it to be sure it was not 380 or any other calibur and it was not. It had on the box 38 special 95 +P silvertips. It was in the older white/orange box. If I had the money I would have bought just to post on her for everybody to see. Oh well, if I ever come across it again I will do so.
John, i don't doubt you for a minute. Matter of fact I had a partial box of this ammo a while back and gave it to my cousin to shoot up.
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Old 12-14-2009, 07:54 PM
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Default 95 grain .38 Special

I guess I'm getting old, becuase I do remember this round.

I'm sure it was designed as a non +P round for revolvers not rated for +P rounds.

Remington as I recalled also manufactured a 95 grain .38 Special round at the time as well.
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  #12  
Old 12-14-2009, 08:50 PM
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I remember this load, and that Federal also had a 95gr load for the 9mm. Back in the good ol' days when velocity was king, some kind of hollow point was queen, and who cares about the rest.

(a tip of the hat to Erich
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Old 12-15-2009, 02:01 AM
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S&W had a 90gr "pill" in 38 & 357 when they sold ammo. Those were the days when velocity was king.
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Old 12-15-2009, 05:48 AM
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Most "defensive" loads in the 38spc sold today are basically .380s anyway.
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Old 12-15-2009, 08:16 PM
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Default 38 special 95 gr Win. Silver tip

This round was indeed produced mid-late 70's as best I can remember. This was during the time when very light bullet/high velocity for handgun ammo was all the rage. They should have stopped with the 110 gr. This round exhibited very shallow penetration and iffy expansion; overall very anemic. Was a very poor loading then and still is now.
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  #16  
Old 12-15-2009, 10:07 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RedBerens View Post
I remember this load, and that Federal also had a 95gr load for the 9mm.
They still do - XM9R01, I have some but haven't shot any yet.
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  #17  
Old 12-16-2009, 09:45 PM
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Thanks for the info guys. I guess the ammo was older than I thought. I can see why it did not go over big. I think magtech mags some ammo with the same grain load. I assume the ballistics would be similiar.
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  #18  
Old 12-16-2009, 10:50 PM
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Here's a link to some that was on sale online:

Full 50 Winchester 38 special +p 95 gr Silvertip : Pistol Ammo at GunBroker.com
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  #19  
Old 12-16-2009, 11:15 PM
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I too am old enough to remember these..IIRC someone thought they would be good for shootin' bandits with a J frame or other short barrel revolver...you know, velocity without much recoil.....
Never thought much of the idea myself
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  #20  
Old 12-16-2009, 11:35 PM
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What was the recoil like on these loads? It sounds like a decent place to start a new shooter if they're as soft as I suspect (in the .32-20 range).

I have someone that wants to get into it but currently she is very recoil and noise sensitive. She likes shooting .22s and is a good shot, but its time to bump up the caliber. .32-20 is just too expensive so a round like this sounds like a good next step.

My goal is to one day have her driving nails with .44Mag, but thats a very long way off
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  #21  
Old 12-17-2009, 10:09 PM
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Default Rich, the solution is easy!

Big Rich, get her shooting .38 wadcutters. If you handload, I have a recipe good for 15" penetration from my wife's 3" gun.
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  #22  
Old 12-18-2009, 09:54 PM
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I found the load to have lighter recoil than 147 grain factory wadcutters and less recoil than the 110 grain 38 rounds I had.

I also found it to be produced in +p in one box.

However, it still was not abusive.

I don't think its a good load, but for a recoil sensitive shooter that can shoot them accurately it allows a light weight 38 to be used comfortably.

I know my wife would not mind these in an air weight Smith.

ANY other round makes the air weight unsuitable for her.

They are much disparaged, but they DO have a purpose. I keep a couple of boxes in reserve for my women folk.
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  #23  
Old 12-21-2009, 06:38 AM
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I have a 50rd box of them, it is marked +p. I picked it up at a show for around $10, I don't reload and it was a good price for "range" ammo.
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  #24  
Old 12-21-2009, 01:28 PM
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I probably have close to a case of the 95 grain Silver Tips. We used them at the Academy for night fire exercises on steel plates. As I recall, recoil was almost non-existent in a 4" gun. The jacket might have had some magnesium in the alloy because these suckers would flash when they hit the steel. We called them "Hollywood bullets" because of the flash, but that flash also gave visual verification of hit. I'll try to snap a picture of a box for y'all to see.
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  #25  
Old 12-24-2009, 01:32 AM
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I have a box and a half or so of the 95gr Silvertip left from '79 or '80. I carried it in a 2" Colt Cobra. In a 15oz revolver the recoil was little or none. The muzzle flash was something else. It was like producing your own little sun.

At the time, according to the gun rags, this load and the Remington 95gr were supposed to give the same muzzle energy from a 2"bbl as the 158LRN gave from a 4" bbl. No one had a chronograph, so who knows the actual energy. The POI out of that Cobra was about 4" low at 7 yds. I gave up on it for that reason.

Also, about that time it began to dawn on me that a little penetration might be a good thing. Even without the jello junkies around to do the test, some people began to wonder if these light for caliber bullets (no matter how much their theoretical expansion) would go deep enough to do the job.
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  #26  
Old 12-25-2009, 02:23 PM
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As promised, I finally got around to taking a coule pics of the 95 grain Silver Tips. I also included a couple boxes of other duty carry ammo I had in my ammo stash for comparison. These include what was known as the Treasury Round (110 grain .38 +P), 145 grain Silver Tip Magnums and 158 grain Magnum, The 158 grainers really let you know when they go off .
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  #27  
Old 09-08-2020, 07:07 PM
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Default 95 Grain 38 spl.

Remington also loaded a 95 grain bullet for the 38 spl. I have a box of the bullets they marketed for reloading. They look just like the scalloped jacketed bullet they made in 125 and 158 grain for the .357 magnum.These have a concave base almost like a hollow base. I've been cleaning out my reloading room for several days. Besides the Remington 95 grain bullets I found two boxes of new Winchester 380 brass and two boxes of new Winchester .357 brass. The price tags on the 380 brass are marked $2.03 and the tags on the .357 boxes were marked $2.60. I set up the loading room over 25 years ago so they have been there at least that long.
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  #28  
Old 09-08-2020, 08:31 PM
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The Remington and Winchester 95 bullets had nothing to do with in relation to 380acp. The 88/90/95 380 bullets are .355" diameter. The Rem & Win 95s' are .357" diameter for 38sp use. The light grain weight was necessary to obtain reasonable velocity out of 2"/2.5" barrels.
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  #29  
Old 09-08-2020, 09:07 PM
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  #30  
Old 09-12-2020, 04:54 AM
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I blew a dime sized hole in a steel road sign with one of those 95gr scalloped Rem loaded for 2 and 2.5" barrels. 158gr just made a dent. I was impressed but I wasn't planning on needing to stop a road sign.......
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  #31  
Old 09-12-2020, 08:18 AM
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Those 95gr SJHP that I show in my post #28 I was able to push to 1700-1750fps with 2400 and SR4756 from a 6" M19. Primers were slightly flattened and extraction was normal. Was an interesting 357M high velocity load.
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Old 09-12-2020, 10:24 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bmcgilvray View Post
Seems like a weird thing to do to the .38 Special.
Oh, I don't know. Just recently I loaded some lead 95 grain Flat Nose bullets in 38 special over 4.X grains of Unique. These bullets are meant for the 380. They shot OK. I think it is a viable load.

I used to have a 380. Still got a couple molds and dies, cases, etc. That's why I have the bullets. I repeat - they shot well. Mine could use some load development. I would hate to get hit with one.

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