I recently acquired a very nice S&W 14-1 and am looking for recommendations on ammunition for this gun . Something that provides decent accuracy at a reasonable cost.
I have tried some German made Geco .38 Special . It was priced at $16.99 per 50 and while it provided ok accuracy at a pretty good price from both my S&W & Ruger Sec. Six it left a fair amount of leading in the bore so I'd like something that burns cleaner .
I'm interested in ammo for informal target practice not self defense .
Interested in what others use and like.

I would try several different brands of 148 gr wadcutters and see which your 14-1 likes, then try to stock up on that brand and (manufacturer's) lot. With the current ammo situation you may have to search to find any large quantities.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

they love the 148 and 158 lead bullets but some also will
enjoy the little 110gr Jhp bullets too, for killing paper.

50 for $12.00 on the net plus shipping but some offer free
shipping if you buy enough ammo.

Have fun.

I'm sure you are looking for loaded target ammo. The reply above suggests looking for 148 gr. HBWC's and that's good advice for handloaders. It's dirt-dumb easy to get a 14 to shoot world class accuracy with 148 gr. HBWC's and Bullseye, and that is the best course. I have not seen factory target ammo for years, but that may be a reflection of my local market. The manufacturers see more market volume in jacketed bullets in loaded ammo, but it makes no sense to punch holes in paper, which is how 99% of ammo gets expended. Bite the bullet and get a basic reloading rig, or make friends with someone set up to load .38. If you can find components, especially powder, handloaded .38 specials are as cheap as .22 rimfire and far more satisfying. Those wadcutters make the neatest holes in target paper you'll ever see and are great fun.

A model 14 is a gun that begs to be shot with wadcutters, IMHO.

As said, buy what you can find and see what the gun likes.

Hollow base wadcutters are easy and cheap to reload, and you may find that you prefer doing so.

Wonderful revolvers like Mod.14 Masterpiece like quick powders for practice target shooting. Under a good 148 grains wad cutter bullet once I would like to charge 1.2/1.4 grains of Norma R1 now I use Vihtavuori N310 or N320. Unfortunately I was never able to find Alliant Bullseye here in Italy, I think it is even better. You can follow this link .38 Special - Handgun reloading - Reloading Data - Vihtavuori

I appreciate all the replies so far but yes I am looking for results for over the counter loaded ammo at present . Reloading is not an option at present although that could change in the future.

Factory ammo and reloaded ammo have one thing in common..................

Don't buy by the box.

Buy by the CASE if possible............
some companies will give bigger discounts for larger sales.

If you can find the federal RNL 158 grain loading, it will be mild and extremely accurate. I have seen them at Walmart from time to time.

I have been using 158 gr. LSWC bullets for years. I just loaded my 1st batch of 148 gr. BBWC bullets, powder charge of 2.6 gr. Bullseye. Reloading is the way to go. I have a 14-3 that I purchased recently. Of course I have others that I will use them in too! Bob

Your 14-1 will handle any commercially available ammo. From your post, I guess you want target or plinking ammo, so any lead bullet load will work. You should not get leading with standard velocity loads.

Both Graf's and Midway currently have standard velocity lead bullet .38 Special ammo in stock. Graf's actually has the hard-to-find Federal 148 grain HBWC in stock for $29 per box of 50 or the Federal 158 grain RN for $18 (a good buy). Other online dealers I've had good experience with are Widener's and SGAmmo. The HBWC ammo will probably shoot the X-ring out of a 50 Yard target (but you still have to do your part!).

Wad cutters and K38's &Model 14's go together like peanut butter and jelly, they were made for each other.

S&B wadcutters seem to be easiest to find around here. For factory wadcutters, IMO they are probably not as good as Remingtons but I'm not a good enough shot to tell the difference.

I did break one down, and the S&Bs are in fact a hollow based swaged bullet despite not being explicitly marked as such.

IMO the Model 14 is THEE best factory target .38 Special ever made. Unfortunately there is no such thing as inexpensive .38 Special ammo any more, over the past 6 years at least.

Those revolvers usually shoot very well with 148gr Wadcutter ammo. 158gr LRN ammo also shoots well in that model revolver. (usually)

If you were a reloader you can build the ammo for that gun and at a greatly reduced price too. The Mastercast bullet Company here in PA makes quality reloads that don't cost a lot. If you have been saving brass you can get an even bigger discount by sending it to them. They have 148gr WC ammo for only $10.98 w/brass return, $15.24 without the brass.
Remanufactured Ammo Retail Sales

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