I picked up some gold dot plus p ammo in a hurry, didn't see the short barrel description on the box. Would this be ok to shoot out of my 4" barrel mdl19?
Yes, perfectly safe. There are posts here stating the only difference between the short barrel and regular Gold Dot load in .38 Special is a slight bullet jacket change so the SB load opens at lower velocities.
When I emailed Speer a while back they told me the SB version was good up to 4" and to use the standard version for barrels over 4". Had to do with the expected velocity and expansion.
When the NYPD made those Speer 135gr .38 Special +P rounds standard issue they were also standard issue for those officers who were still carrying service revolvers with 4" barrels.
The only problem you would run into using a bullet designed to expand reliable at the lower velocities associated with a short barrel is lower penetration depths. If you add 200 fps the bullet will expand sooner and possibly prevent the bullet from penetrating to it's tested distances. In any case, they are perfectly safe.
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SWCA #3437
38 plus p gold dot short barrel in a 4"?
Linear Mode
