DT .38 Special +P 125gr. Speer Gold Dot JHP

It is a +P .38 Special 125gr. Speer Gold Dot. These numbers are impressive for a .38. Anyone tried it before in a J frame?

DT .38 Special +P 125gr. Speer Gold Dot JHP

It is a +P .38 Special 125gr. Speer Gold Dot. These numbers are impressive for a .38. Anyone tried it before in a J frame?

I've had problems in the past with Double Tap ammo. Both boxes af .45 AR ammo I bought from them were not properly crimped. Maybe I just caught them on a bad day?

You can buy this same load factory loaded by Speer. Granted probably not as hot as Double Tap, but higher pressure/velocities don't guarantee better performance.

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Centennial Every Day

1175 fps? Gee, some of my .38 Spl handloads throw 158-grainers faster than that from a 3" barrel.

Mine don't meet SAAMI specs, though, as they pre-date them.

I've had DT loads that chrono'd just as they said they would. I've also had trustworthy friends say that they chrono'd DT loads substantially under the factory claims. I've never chrono'd the loading in question, though it's totally believable, in my mind. I'm not a fan of light bullets like that in a .38 Special, though. What you can do pleasantly in a small 9x19 is unpleasant from a .38 Special - and vice-versa.

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Now go make God proud...

Who or What Source are you quoting???

To whom is your question directed, KKG?

If it's me, and you're asking about who my trustworthy friends are, a couple of them are members here. I'll let them speak up if they'd care to do so.

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Now go make God proud...

I was wondering just who EV1L is quoting.

I was quoting their website. The link is in the first post.

KKG, thx. Gotcha.

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Now go make God proud...

Okay. But, personally, I haven't found website or the published literature to be particularly accurate. If you're really interested in this sort of thing you need to take the time and dollar$$$ to purchase several different types of ammo and a Chronograph and then shoot the stuff through "Your" gun. In the end, it's the only one that matters. You might also want to invest in some additional testing materials to decide for yourself. Same goes for reloading. You need to do the 'testing' in your gun.

Personally, I've been shooting for something over 50 years now and I've done my fair share of testing and I've even managed to blow up a few guns in the process but that was done on "Uncles' Nickel" and not out of my own pocket. One of the most important things I've learned is it doesn't make any difference what you shoot somebody with but "Where" you shoot them.

My Father-in-Law survived to be 81 and took three hits from a .50BMG in his chest during WW-2 and did his "recovery" in a German Concentration Camp! All the odds were against him and yet he managed to recover, escape and crossed the North Sea in the middle of Winter in an open boat to boot. He lost a lung but not his life or his will to live.

By the way, I have yet to find a good quality gun that wasn't more accurate than the person shooting it. So, if you're going to be testing for accuracy you need to do as much as you can to take the "you" out of the 'equation' and this means using a good set of sand bags or a Machine Rest. Bags are cheaper but will only go so far.

Practice, practice and then practice some more. And, yes, you do need to shoot with the gun and ammo you plan on carrying but "plinking" with a .22 will do nothing but improve your shooting skills as long as you shoot every gun and every shoot; remembering the basics of Sight Picture and Trigger Squeeze. You can learn to Point Shoot and do much better than you ever thought you could but that will likely take some good instruction from a could teacher.

Why are people so enthralled with DT ammo?

Double Tap use to offer similar performance to Buffalo Bore and Cor-Bon at much cheaper prices, but the last time I looked their prices had gotten a lot higher. Today I don't know how their prices compare to the other brands but I think they are still a bit cheaper.

I have shot Speer, Buffalo Bore and DoubleTap .38 Special +P ammo and feel they all shoot well. I would buy DoubleTap again because the price is about half the other 2, they are just as accurate and use the same 125gr Gold Dot bullet.

Speer .38 Special +P = $21.99/20 rounds
Buffalo Bore .38 Special +P = $24.24/20 rounds
DoubleTap .38 Special +P = $32.95/50 rounds

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SWCA #3437

I shoot DT because it is at least as good as all the other production SD ammo out there but at a better price. I can't comment on the .38 loads though as I only have experience with their .45acp and .40S&W loads.

I've run several different loads through my 638 including Hydra Shock, Speer 125 and 135, PMC and DT. Guns can be every much an individual as the shooter! The most accurate round so far has been the DT followed by the Speer 135. No complaints in this dept.

Guess I'll have to give them another try. I was not happy at all with the .45 Auto Rim they sold me.

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Centennial Every Day

I use DT 10mm ammo with the Speer GD

I have the Double Tap .38 Spcl +P the O.P refers to, and will share my experience as well as a question I have about the claim on the site. THe question I have is Speer's Short barrel load uses the 135 gr. Gold Dot they developed for velocity out of snubbie for low flash. More on the muzzle flash later. If you look at the SPeer site for the 135 gr. 38 Spcl short barrel load they tested it and listed approx. the following values.
1 7/8" = 880 fps
2 1/4" = 915 fps
& 3" was 970 fps
SO, I don't believe the 125 gr. speer gold dots are the short barrel ones most recently
developed.

Back to the DOuble Tap .38 Spcl +P GD Jhp load - I use it in my model 60-15 3" Bbl. chambered for .357 Mag. There's some muzzle flash out of my 3" bbl. I shot it after a couple of cylinders of the SPeer 38 Spcl +P with the same bullet - IMHO the DT is hotter
but not close to hot as the .357 mag. 125 gr.
I shot to end the session. I like the DT though - it shoots clean and I hit MR. Silhouette for good enough Minute of BG at 7-10 yards.

I also like the 9mm Luger +P 147 gr. rated at 1135 FPS. very accurate in my CZ 75B.

and even though the price has gone up a couple of bucks in the last 6 months it's still cheaper than SPeer's 20 rd box prices.

Randall

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I've found that Double Tap and Georgia Arms has the best prices, and also availability.

Did anyone try these Georgia Arms load? GA .38 Special 125gr Gold Dot Velocity is rated according to them at 1000fps. Any thoughts?

Because it "sounds tacticool?"

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Hottest? What about "Underwood Ammo's" 38 Special +P 125 gr JHP @1200fps, 400 MV ,50pcs @$25.08, @ $11.78 shipping. One more box only adds about $2.00 more in shipping, etc. Looks like a real winner to me.

You do realize you just brought back from the Abyss a thread that's well over 3 years old, right? I would think a new thread would serve you better, no? This sounds like a commercial, not a post... (IMHO of course)

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SWCA #3437

I've found Double Tap and for that matter Buffalo Bore to be a good substitute carry round, instead of my own .38 Special handloads.

The Buffalo Bore standard pressure wadcutter and SWC-HP perform better in my J-Frame airweights than any of the other loads.

The Double Tap 158 grain SWC +P works well in my K-Frames. Better IMO than any of the Buffalo Bore +P loads.

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I believe in the wadcutter.