Does anyone have any chrono data on what to expect from standard vs +P .38 special from the 1 7/8 inch barrel from a J frame? Are there any +P loads that make sense to carry or does enough of the powder burn fast enough to even rate the extra recoil and muzzle flash? Right now I have the Federal low recoil in my 637 but I'm curious if anyone has any real data to back up their loads in their gun, not just what some package data says about what it can do in a pressure barrel. I've tried the Speer GD SB and the Remington GS and they were both decent but lots of flash bang and recoil. Haven't bothered with any BB or Corbon because they all tend to be barn burners in my experience.

Google "ballistics by the inch". I would provide the weblink, but I'm not clear about the new rules concerning providing links. The website doesn't provide information about standard pressure loads, but it will give you a sense of the performance of +P loads in various barrel lengths.

I chronographed several 38 Special loads a couple of years ago. My results were:

Rem 148 lead WC
2" - 625 fps
4" - 662 fps

Fed 125 JHP +P
2" - 776 fps
4" - 840 fps

Win 147 JHP +P
2" - 756 fps
4" - 824 fps

Win 130 SXT JHP +P
2" - 847 fps
4" - 939 fps

Rem 158 lead SWCHP +P
2" - 817 fps
4" - 925 fps

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6/23/2022

armadillo,

I knew the J spits slow but that is a heck of a thing...

Goffman,

"Ballistics by the Inch" is an interesting website. It's good to see when someone puts in a lot of work and then shares it like that.

My PACT chrono showed the Speer 135gr SB .38 from a 442 very close to the Speer published data: just over 860 fps avg.
If you want light recoil try a 148gr WC at around 600 fps; great for extended practice.

I carry the Speer SB.

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Science plus Art

Here are the results a friend of mine got comparing all the ammo that we could lay hands on at the time over a chronograph out of a 2" 442 and 4" 686 & GP100:

Temperature 70 degrees, no sure of the elevation but done in Mississippi so it couldn't have been very high.

Winchester 125 +P generic USA ammo
442-1: 782, 804, 779, 805, 799
GP100: 873, 931, 872, 941, 908

Georgia Arms 148 full wadcutter
442-1: 671, 691, 678, 694, 672
686: 717, 716, 710, 725, 703

S&B 148 full wadcutter
442-1: 475, 499, 489, 544, 526
686: 547, 571, 541, 560, 556

Speer Gold Dot 135 +P JHP
442-1: 906, 883, 854, 897, 804
GP100: 994, 1034, 1036, 992, 1013

Winchester 110 +P+ JHP treasury load
442-1: 906, 1007, 942, 953, 973
GP100: 1015, 1100, 1040, 1106, 1084

Speer 125 Standard velocity JHP old style semi-jacket, no serrations in the jacket
442-1: 774, 775, 771, 782, 781
GP100: 828, 870, 838, 881, 872

Winchester 158 +P lead semi-wadcutter HP
442-1: 767, 768, 764, 800, 753
686: 853, 861, 815, 827, 884

Eldorado Starfire HP 125 +P
442-1: 799, 805, 819, 782, 825
GP100: 885, 947, 873, 942, 896

Federal 110 Personal Defense non +P?!! Hydrashok JHP
442-1: 821, 884, 820, 854, 844
GP100: 902, 1007, 943, 982, 922

I still like plain ol' +P 158 grain ammunition in my 2-inch snubs. I like a little bullet weight. Here's a little bit of data posted back in the summer.

Some .38 Special Chronograph Tests

Want hot loads? Check Buffalo Bore! Also, terry_p on the Ruger site reloaded to almost exactly BB's vel. with Rim Rock 158Gr. SWCHP GC and 6gr. of Power Pistol. He chrono'd his loads. BB is what I carry and/or Gold Dots, except for 9mm for my Glocks. For those I carry Win. 127Gr. +P+. From my Glock 26 they come out at 1250, per Stephen Camp.

I have a 686 with 4" barrel. If you had to choose between the two following .38 Special +P rounds for this gun, which would you choose: the Speer 135 gr. Gold Dot Short Barrel, or the Remington 158 gr. LSWCHP (the FBI load).