Not sure this is really a reloading question, but it is time to replenish my bullet supply for my 38 Special snubby revolvers. I have been shooting 158g bullets and will order some more of those again, but I would like to try some 125g bullets for shooting at 3 to 7 yards and the sights are, of course, fixed. Would you expect any significant vertical change to POI at those close ranges?

Some, but not a significant amount at those ranges unless you are doing precision shooting at very small targets.

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Pisgah

At the range that you are shooting with a snubnose it really does not matter. You are going to hit your target. If using it as a defense gun it will do the job.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

A lighter bullet usually impacts lower....at that distance.....not enough difference to make a difference.
Randy

+1;

My M49 snub nose shot the 125 jhp target loads low and right
c/o the 5 O'clock position.

FPS and brands can place the bullets in different areas.

The 110 JHP were the pits in my 2" J frame and only grouped with a fps of 998, that was over standard +P ratings, c/o Winchester data.

My M49 liked the Hornady 140 gr XTP............. if you want to bother with them?

Shot at the same POA as the 135 gr Gold Dots.

My 36 and 49 J frames and 12 and 15 K frames bever liked 125 or 110 cast bullets. They all loved 135 and above.

Lee made a mold for a 146 SWC/HP that all 11 of 38/357's love. I use Unique an WW231.

Ivan

Every 38spl or 357 load I’ve shot in any of my 38spl or 357 revolvers has shot close enough to POA for self defense purposes.

IIRC, the difference in POA/POI for a 4 inch gun with 125's is about 3 inches at 25 yards. The shorter sight radius and other factors might make a greater difference with a 2 inch J frame, but as others have noted, at the distance you're talking about, no big deal. Definitely minute of felon.

“Minute of felon.”

That’s just a perfect turn of phrase!

We called it "Minute of Chest".

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Borrowed from Evan Marshall.

The reason why we practice is to.see how out guns react with different ammo and weights. Even though at those ranges you will see minimum drop in POI once you see how low you can adjust your POA to compensate. Instead of a 6 o'clock hold aim at the center of the bullseye or something similar needed. Not to worry, you will figure it out...

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Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

The lighter bullet will impact lower on the target .

Shoot a few , see where they impact and adjust your aim accordingly .

The greater the distance ...the greater the change will be ...
7 yards may not be hardly noticable at all . But shoot some , from a rest and get a good idea of what load impacts where .

For carry ammo a load that the POA = POI is best ... in tense situations you don't have time to think about what ammo you have and where it shoots to and should you aim high or should you aim low ... things happen too fast and only hits count .

I'm an old NRA Bullseye Match shooter so prefer a 6 o:clock hold ... it lets me see the target rather than cover it up .
Gary

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Certified Cajun
NRA Member

I use the 6 O'clock hold for my target practice, ever since I went through boot camp and the Navy.

Today, if by dumb luck a bullet actually strikes at that aiming point,

I am pretty sure that a Bad Guy will stop what he is doing and seek some type of aid.

A typical wound channel is approximately 4" in diameter!
POI vs. POA is a matter of barrel time, bullet weight and velocity.
Typically, a heavier slower bullet will impact higher a closer range than a lighter faster bullet. A shorter barrel will also have an affect due to shorter barrel time.

As mentioned above the threat will be DRT if you do your part! (DRT=dead right there)

Smiles,

When I was in the Corps, we were taught to aim for the "center of the mass".

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Center of mass works when you're teaching large groups of people to shoot at targets at a distance. When you get down to the up close and personal, that's generally not a good thing. Waaay back in the last century, NIJ report 100-83 suggested that a much better aiming point (threat facing you) was center of the chest, at the same level as the top of the arm pit. It's where the critical systems, structures and components of the body are. Even given the shot dispersal patterns of their battery of the study's trial shooters, this didn't significantly increase misses.

As to "typical/average" wound channel, ballistic gelatin is a homogeneous test material that provides consistent test results. It isn't predictive of what that bullet does in the real world.

Pretty much center mass is the chest. Pretty little tight groups are nice, but also spread the wealth a bit, better chances of hitting something vital.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.