I have an almost full box of +P+ 38 Special Thunderzap ammo given to me by a friend. The box says "for law enforcement use only" and the headstamp is FC 87 or FC 86.
The "bullet" appears to be a deep and wide hollow point plastic projectile. About like a HBWC loaded base forward.
I remember that stuff! Came out right about when I graduated from college and began working in a gun store. We never stocked it. Nylon, super-lightweight (30-some grain bullet), pretty much the epitome of the fast'n'light '80s thinking on ammo. That Davis fellow with Second Chance, wasn't he the distributor?
What a terrible idea, based on what I've seen in shootings. Might be good to use on a rat in the garage, but I wouldn't use it on anything bigger than that.
Shot-placement is king. Adequate penetration is queen. Everything else is angels dancing on the heads of pins.
There's another thread about this ammo on here. Unfortunately, I can't remember the title.
"Never part with your weapons when you are in the field. You never know when, on some lengthy plain, you may suddenly need your spear." From the Norse book of wisdom, The Havamal.
Posts: 1335 | Location: Michigan's Upper Peninsula, USA | Registered: 29 July 2004
Thunderzap? Sounds like some rot gut brand of indigestion whiskey to me.
Geoff. Since 1960. -NRA member-
"Our destruction, should it come at all, will be from another quarter. From the inattention of the people to the concerns of their government." -Daniel Webster
"A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government." --George Washington
Posts: 3158 | Location: N 43° 14' 52.7" W 71° 44' 29.5" | Registered: 19 August 2005
With the claimed velocities of the stuff I wonder about how much melted and charred plastic you would need to scrub out of the barrel after shooting a cylinder or two of these things.
A candidate for one of the wierdest ammo loads ever sold?
We never stocked it. Nylon, super-lightweight (30-some grain bullet), pretty much the epitome of the fast'n'light '80s thinking on ammo. That Davis fellow with Second Chance, wasn't he the distributor?
Might be good to use on a rat in the garage, but I wouldn't use it on anything bigger than that.
