What self defense ammo do you guys recommend for a 342Ti .38, 2" bbl snubbie?

Regards

Popular choices include the Speer Gold Dot 135 gr and the Federal 129 gr Personal Defense, both + P.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

http://www.thegunzone.com/speer135jhp38sp.html

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WALSTIB

158 gr lhp (FBI load) standard velocity or +p' I like Federal.

Chuck

Count me in for favoring Speer 135 Gold Dot. Shoots great out of all my "working " snubs. I use Remington 125 JHP out of my 357 in. holster guns.

I carry Speer Gold Dot 135 gr as well in my carry snub.

Federal 125 grain +P JHP

I'm a believer in the heavier bullet, Federal 158 gr +P lead hollow point. My thinking is that if it doesn't expand (velocities in a .38 snub nose are rather pedestrian and may or may not expand) it will give adequate penetration.

It also has a stellar reputation in actual gunfights for stopping power.

A close second choice would be the Speer 135 gr Gold Dot. Either will get the job done if YOU do your job. Bullet placement, bullet placement, bullet placement - that equates to practice, practice, practice...

YMMV
Dale53

Federal Premium Hydra-Shok 129-gr JHP.

The M342Ti is easily the best "go-everywhere" carry piece. Depending on attire, I use an Uncle Mike's pocket holster, Galco waist pack, Ken Null synthetic shoulder rig (under the dress shirt "Superman carry," or a simple Galco strong-side hip leather holster.

BILL SHANER #2148

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William R Shaner

Speer makes Gold Dot ammo specifically engineered to be used in short barrel handguns. For .38/.357 it comes in 135 grain, +P. They very cleverly call it, "Short Barrel" ammo.

Speer Ammo - Short Barrel

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Retired Police, Life NRA

I have found the Georgia Arms +P 158gr L(HP)SWC to be ballistically equivalent to my 'carry' Remington version, R38S12, and a lot less expensive. Great for practice, while the Remi's, with their softer lead, open better at low speeds and are my snubby carry round. Both chrono-ed from 840-860 fps from my 642 and 2" 10, while they would tickle 1 kfps from my 6" 66. I keep them in my 4" 64, too. The GA Arms variant is, like the Federals, a bit harder - great for 'penetration'.

Stainz

Id agree on the Speer SB. I use both the .38 135+p and the .357 135..... Both shoot very well.

I used to carry the Speer 135's.

Now, Buffalo Bores 158LSWCHP's. Heavy AND good expansion.

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Made in USA - Buy American

Here is another nod to the Speer short barrel ammunition. My wife carries the 135-grain .38 special +P in her pistol, and I carry the 135-grain .357 mag in mine.

I concur with Dale.

You must use jacketed ammo only with that gun if its +P ammo. So you can't shoot any of the +P LSWCHP ammo.

The 342 is very light, and in general the lighter bullets don't recoil so nasty. I carry and really like the Cor Bon DPX 110 gr +P ammo because the recoil isn't so nasty, and it performs very well. Here is a link for some ammo tests for the 3 most popular loads today...

New Page 2

I also think that this Buffalo Bore "standard pressure" .38 round looks very interesting. Its a 150 grain wadcutter that is listed as doing 868 FPS out of a model 60 2" snub, which is pretty fast for a 150 grain bullet. No expansion worries here, it just tears a hole as wide as the bullet is. Here is a link...

Standard Pressure Short Barrel Low Flash Heavy .38 Special Pistol & Handgun Ammunition

I'm of the opinion that it doesn't matter much. Handguns stink for rapidly immobilizing human-size targets, even when loaded with buck-a-pop ammo. I carry my handloads which cost much less, will do the job (possibly better than store-bought, who knows?), and with which I practice a whole lot, so can hit what I shoot at. It's working for me as well as anything else I've heard of.