I just picked up a 1973 model 10-6. It will be mainly a night stand gun. I know every gun is different, but is any particular round shown to be pretty good (for home defense) for this particular model and vintage. I would like a recomendation for both +p and standard pressure rounds. Thanks in advance.
Kevin

For standard pressure, look to the Hornady FTX 110 gr or Federal Nyclad 125 gr HP. For +P consider something like the Winchester PDX1 130 gr JHP. I have several boxes of all 3 of these and find them very accurate in my pre 1970 model 10.

From my own research the 125 gr Nyclad seemed to be a good choice. I am glad you re-affirmed that. I will take a look at the Hornady ftx and the win pdx as well. Thanks for your imput.

Buffalo Bore standard pressure 158 grain GCLSWCHP. It's a soft lead bullet with a gas check so it won't lead the barrel and should get between 950 and 1000 fps. It should also shoot close to point of aim.

ECS

__________________
CPT, Armor (Ret)
Luke 22:36

If you're looking for a light-recoiling load I like the Hornady Critical Defense 110-grain FTX, it really does expand just like the advertising copy shows. For a heavy-bullet loads that will probably shoot to the sights, the tried-and-proven 158-grain lead hollow point still does the job!

My first choice for a steel K-frame is Buffalo Bore's standard pressure 158gr LSWCHP (the +P version is also good, but the standard pressure version gives me faster follow-up shots...YMMV). In general, FBI loads have a good reputation in actual shootings.

A close second choice would be Speer 135gr SB-GDHP +P (yes, it was designed for use in short-barrel revolvers, but I've read it also works well out of full-size guns). It also has a good reputation in actual shootings.

For home defense, though, I might lean more towards the Speer load as it's been shown to be effective but with less likelihood for overpenetration issues than FBI loads. Depending on the construction of your home, you may want to consider the Federal 125gr Nyclad as it also has a good track record in actual shootings but is probably the least likely to overpenetrate.

I don't think you'll find a round that has a good track record in actual shootings that will never have a risk of overpenetration, but it shouldn't be too difficult to find a balance that you're comfortable with.

The most important things to consider, of course, is how well the ammo functions in your gun and how well you can shoot it.

Winchester or Remington 158 grain LSWCHP or the Speer Gold Dot 135 grain gold dot. If you ever decide you need more you could give the Buffalo Bore 158 grain +P LSWCHP a try at a claimed 1100 FPS.

BTW your model 10 is an excellent choice IMHO.

Whichever you choose, remember to practice with the same ammo. A lot of folks will shoot tons of 158 grain Winchester White Box then put in a lighter, hotter round for SD.

"you could give the Buffalo Bore 158 grain +P LSWCHP a try at a claimed 1100 FPS."

I’m kind of old school/new school. I just bought a friend some of these (Buffalo Bore) as an all purpose load, still believing penetration is key. If I didn’t have Winchester LSWCHP+P’s this is what I’d buy.

She is a horse packer though, and might need to put down a horse. Or she could come up against a bear or lion.

I have two mechanically excellent, cosmetically challenged, 4” pre 10’s for my girls.
I also have Glock’s and AR’s for them. I however believe in not putting all my eggs in the same basket theory. Some day hi-cap guns may be hard to own.

I think it is an excellent all purpose load and terminally the most you are going to get out of a 38 Special. I prefer one all purpose load when possible. The 110’s for the house and the 158’s for the woods is just more than I’m willing to try and work out. I already have too many guns and calibers to play that game. jmho

I love pencil barrel 4” early M&P’s, or Model 10’s.

Emory

In my 3" model 10 HB, I use 125g SJHP loaded to +p ( right around 1K fps). It shoots POA at 25 yds & groups nicely.

i have a pencil barreled 10-5 with CTG (although its been claimed by my soon to be 16 yr old daughter) and we've shot primarily SilverTips thru it since i got it in '98/'99 and that mod10 loves that ammo. when i shoot it with factory sights, it will shoot clover groups at 15yds.

I got a box of Hornady ftx 110 90310 and have a box of Remington ultimate home defense 38 +p 125 grain jhp. Now I will try and get a box of Nyclad's and some Buffalo Bore. Havent heard much about the above listed Remington's. Anybody ever used them?

I'm fond of Corbon DPX +p 110 grain.

I recently discovered Aguila 158 grain JHPs. These are standard pressure, but are getting 940 FPS out of a 4" model 19, and still 840 out of the 3" model 36. Cheapest defensive ammo I found.

Squidsix, PLEASE tell me it's not this stuff. I bought a box and tested it in wetpack and water jugs, and got exactly ZERO expansion, even out of a rifle barrel! Horrible stuff............the cores are so hard the noses didn't even rivet in the wetpack. Buy something else.......anything. In 30 years of bullet testing, I've NEVER seen a load this bad.

Do it For The Children!

Yeah. That's the stuff. I had no idea it was like that!!!
I didn't test it in any target media, just the chrono. WOW.

Dang!!! The lead was hardly altered in those!!!

I still have literally dozens of other bullets to test, but right now the best ammo I've found is the 158-LHP from various makers, and for the recoil sensitive the 110 grain Hornady Critical Defense load. Those CD loads are looking pretty good in ALL calibers thus far!

Federal 158 gr. .38 +P Hollow Point Semi-Wadcutter all the way

Remington Golden Sabre's out of the 4" are very good. These are a Plus P loading. I do not carry non Plus P's but Buffalo Bore does make excellent rounds in this type.

This is still my fav 38sp load, snubby or 4", Fed, Win or Rem.

__________________
NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

With the Hornady CD ammo, just make sure you use the.....
+P 110gr ammo and not the standard 110gr CD ammo.

The fps on the standard load 110gr is not enough to let the
jacket expand correctly and you will get complete pass through
in a gel pack and even worse in the 4 layer test with minimum expansion.

Recoil with the little 110gr +P bullet is the same as a 158gr lead
bullet at target load speeds, out of a 38 snub nose.

This surprises me; out of a 4" barrel like the OP's 10-6, standard pressure will be underdriven?

Also, zombie thread.

I don't know about the Winchester rendition of the FBI load; but one of our members chronographed the new Remington version and found it notably slower than their original, which I carried for years.

I now load both my J-frame carry gun and my 10-5 house gun with the standard pressure Buffalo Bore 158 grain LSWCHP-GC load. It clocks at velocities identical, or very nearly so, to the good older Remington stuff. Like the old Remington the lead bullet is quite soft for better expansion, and the powders used produce reduced flash--helpful in a night shooting event.

__________________
Oh well, what the hell.

I'm also a fan of Federal Hydra-Shok .38 +P.

Hapworth;

If your 4" barrel gets 900 fps or less....

YES.

I had to use deadly force during my 30 yr. LEO days and the FBI +P load (158 grain) did the trick. I carry it in all my revolvers to this day b/c I know it will work.

__________________
Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

Winchester's FBI load (158 grain LHP +P); the Speer GDSB; the Buffalo Bore "Outdoorsman" (158 grain SWC at 1,150 fps) will pretty well cover all of your needs.

Still surprised. Hornady's standard power .38 Special Critical Defense has a mixed but largely good record in the testing I've researched, comparable to other popular loads.

Doc GKR's bare gelatin testing got FBI protocol worthy penetration and expansion at an average velocity of 876 fps using a J snubby.

In the first test, there was overpenetration and no expansion with denim and gelatin, but in a follow-up test the Critical Defense load aced both the bare and denim tests.

<b>.38spl: Hornady FTX vs. Speer 135gr GDHP vs. CorBon 110gr DPX</b>

Brassfetcher gets decent penetration and expansion in bare gelatin, again with a snubby barrel, and in bone and gelatin test Hornady standard pressure CD is one of two (CorBon DPX being the other) to at least partially expand; all the others plugged and overpenetrated (Speer GD SB; Buffalo Bore FBI load; Winchester SXT; Federal Hydra-Shock).

http://www.brassfetcher.com/38%20Spe...%20Special.htm

And Stephen Camp got excellent results, again from a 1-7/8 snubby, in informal tests:

hi-powers--handguns: Informal Tests: Hornady Critical Defense .380 & .38 Special

It would seem that in a properly functioning four inch revolver, the Hornady load would perform properly.

Anything in 12 gauge #1 or #4 shot.

__________________
Tom
NRA Pistol Inst

#4 is generally considered to have sub-optimal penetration on an offender wearing a heavy jacket.

In a .38, it is hard to go wrong with plain old wadcutters, with SWC also a good choice and used as reloads. If I were really pushing for HPs, it would likely be the Black Hills with the all copper Barnes bullet.

__________________
NHI, 10-8.

But how to get #4 buck through a Model 10?

Yeah, going by the tests, #1 is the smallest buck that still makes protocol penetration. I've also found #4 kicks more and spreads wide fast compared to a dedicated defense buck load like Remington's Managed Recoil or the Federal LE Flight Control rounds.

As for wadcutters, I follow the discussions on their defensive utility, but assume it's the bullet itself that's being discussed, loaded to defense velocities; I'd assume the cream puff "waductters" -- meaning match loads -- at approximately 600 feet persecond would be a bit weak for defense?

Another vote for the "FBI load", that is 158 gr, lead semi wadcutter hollow point, low flash from Buffalo Bore. In addition to the effectiveness of the round, your lawyer will be able to say "the FBI used this exact same round"

This is one long running thread!

I've taken to running hot loaded full wadcutters out of my J Frame. I back it up with older lswchp loads, simply due to the wadcutters profile being somewhat prone to being difficult to speed reload.

I'm not a scientist so I've done no scientific research, but in shooting a whole bunch of critters with handguns, I've observed that large meplats tend to put the smack down on stuff better that ball,rnl, and some hollow points, which quite often fail to expand.

There is good reason why the most experienced handgun hunters I know tend to favor large meplat, heavy for caliber projectiles.

I've also read a bit of Doc GKRs research on the subject, and his testing tends to parallel my field observations.

A belated happy Easter to y'all.

In post #29..........

the 38 Special snub nose with the standard CD Hornady load, if you read the article..........

only penetrated 7.6"..........


One reason to move up to at least the CD +P for a SD loading
if you go the little 110gr route.

You think I posted an article I didn't read?

Let's give context to the above cherry pick: the author, Camp, goes at length to explain that he's without resources to replicate FBI protocol testing, and is using wet pack. He specifically states that this therefore isn't a proper test of penetration, but will likely approximate typical expansion.

Camp indeed reports the Hornady Critical Defense 110 grain FTX .38 Special standard pressure load penetrates 7.6"...and then goes on to say that based on how the CD load performed in wet pack, "I would expect this load to penetrate approximately 11.4 to 12" or so in ballistic gelatin."

Why leave that out?

Camp concludes, "I have not seen any ammunition from any maker that is more consistent and any more likely to expand under varied conditions as this", and endorses the load for self defense use.

And Camp knew his stuff...

Why, too, exclude the other tests linked? In calibrated ballistic gelatin the CD standard pressure load yielded:

- (bare gel) 12.1", 12.7", 9.5"
- (denim+gel) 19"+, 14.2"

So whereas I agree with you that opting for the CD +P is preferred to build in performance breathing room, the standard pressure can do the job, too; competes on even footing with other popular .38 defense loads in overall very good though not flawless performance; and shouldn't be assessed with selectively chosen facts.

hi-powers--handguns: Informal Tests: Hornady Critical Defense .380 & .38 Special

<b>.38spl: Hornady FTX vs. Speer 135gr GDHP vs. CorBon 110gr DPX</b>

38 Special 10 Percent Ballistic Gelatin

.38 Special JHP Performance through Bone Simulant Plates with Ballistic Gelatin Backing

Whichever load you choose you must practice with it. You must determine point of aim and recoil. Keep in mind that 110 grain loads will shoot lower than 158 grain loads. At self defense distances there will not be a huge difference but you still must keep that fact in mind. Also find out the penetration and expansion of the load you choose since you may need to discharge it indoors and it may penetrate interior walls. Hopefully you will never need to fire a round inside your home. This is all part of being a responsible citizen.

The load you and your gun shoot the best.
Accuracy counts and a fast follow up shot is not a bad thing !.
Get a selection of suggested ammo and go to the range, let your targets and shooting feelings guide your selection. And with fixed sights, choose something that shoots close to point of aim. They are usually regulated to standard velocity 158 grain loads. Kentucky windage in a defensive situation is not the best thing. Only hits will save you.
Gary

I feel it my duty to warn y'all about another defensive ammo debacle, I don't expect a lot from the various off-brands like Aguilla, but I expected a LOT more from a brand like Hornady! On simple blind faith, I bought a box of the "Hornady Custom" ammo in 38 Special, which lists a 158-grain XTP Hollow point bullet at 900 fps at the muzzle, to carry on duty.

Thank heavens I didn't have to use it! When I got a chance to test it I lined up four gallon jugs and let one fly, it easily perforated all four and kept right on going. So I put up five jugs, and tried again. Same result, and the exit hole in jug #5 was tiny. So I put up SIX jugs, and the bullet was found in the back wall of the last jug, with ZERO expansion. I was flabbergasted. I have always trusted Hornady to put out good stuff, spent around $4K of my own money to test all the defensive loads in various calibers, and always got good results with Hornady ammo.

Not this time. XTP bullet or not, the slugs could have been reloaded and fired again, they were that pristine, except for the rifling marks. If and when I get time, I will write Dave Emery and ask why on earth they put out such a horrid product, I trusted them to give me good ammo for defensive purposes, but this stuff is absolute ****. The Aguilla stuff wasn't any worse, and might even be better than this "premium" Hornady Custom ammo, which sells for about a buck a shot. Absolutely HORRID stuff. Barely suitable for paper punching, let alone defensive use, unless the bad guy is in an armor-plated Buick. Yeesh.

Although Hornady advertises the XTP round for hunting and duty, among shooters it's considered a hunting round for the reasons you experienced; for social work, if you prefer Hornady stick with Critical Duty or Critical Defense.

+1 for the traditional LSWCHP. The track record is tough to refute. Not a magic bullet, but solid. I also like the .38+P Gold Dot as relied upon by NYPD and LAPD for the remaining wheel guns in service.

Many good choices, but I prefer 135 Speer Gold Dot.

For as long as XTP has been on the market everything I've read said it was designed for maximum penetration with minimal expansion so I'm not surprised at all about your results. I'd only use XTP in a .380, assuming it fed reliably.

I'd buy Gold Dots in massive quantities if I could find them. Other calibers seem to be readily available, but the long-hoarded case of Gold Dots I bought ten years ago is nearly gone, and I'm looking for a suitable duty load. The Critical Defense ammo is light-for-caliber, the Critical Duty ammo is hard as a rock and designed for barrier penetration, and the good old FBI load is nowhere to be found. What I want is a good expanding bullet in a weight of 140-158 grains that works well from a 4" barrel.

Is that asking so much? I can find Gold Dots in 40 caliber any day of the week, but I haven't seen a box of 38's in several years, and I've been looking hard.

Given modern technology and all the excellent designs available, good defensive ammo shouldn't cost $1.50 a shot.