As of today I am once again a proud S&W owner! Been a while and it feels right now!
I bought a sweet little Chief's Special but am unsure of the best loads for it.
It's not +P rated.
I was thinking about plain 158gr RN Lead or Jacketed would probablly be the best but on second thought, there are many different bullet types out there and even some H/P loads might be appropriate.
What loads are you folks favorites?
I don't want to harm this little jewel but it is a self defense gun...
Thanks,
ZVP

For my 1952 Chief, I load it with Hornady 158 gr XTP, Std MV.

Works for me too!!!!

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Existimo ergo sum armis

These short barrels tend to have some difficulty getting enough velocity to reliably open up HP bullets on a consistent basis. Even the latest, designer HPs like the Gold Dot aren't likely to perform well out of a Chief. So with that in mind, I'd stick to the 158 grain weight, but I'd look for a SWC instead of the round nose. I tend to carry these in my J frame 38s, and I don't feel like I am in danger at all. A good SWC will pack quite a wallop when it hits flesh.

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Geoff. Since 1960.

Great replies! I am new to the short barrel family and I expected that you wouldn't get much velocity out of the 2" BBL.
Makes sense that weight would be the best bullet and yes a SWC would pack quite an impact!
I have a Ruger Vaquero that I regularly shoot SWC handloads and RNFP from but that gun is a different game. I tend to shoot Cowboy action type loads (about 800fps out of a 4 5/8" barrel).
I even considered shooting CAS loads out of the little Chief just to take it easwy on it when praticing. Cost is the limiting factor there because the CAS bullets go for $ 26 a box of 50.
I will listen to the ideas you guys came up with for me because they sound good! I appreciate the help from experienced Chief shooters.
Thanks again,
ZVP

Another choice if you don't like hard lead(I don't like cleaning lead from any barrel) is a FMJ FP.

Buffalo Bore 150 grain wadcutters may be worth a try.

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-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

These are a Smokeless Powder load right? I can't see dirtying the little Chief up withBP residue! LOL!
ZVP

I use the buffalo bore 158 grain LSWCHP standard pressure low flash in my model 36.

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Wheel guns are real guns too.

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Centennial Every Day

I cast and shoor 105 gr swc with reduced charge. fun to shoot and low recoil. If you need help reloading I can help.

I use the Buffalo Bore 158gr LSWC-HC (non+P) or the Nyclad 125gr HP in my Model 36's, whichever happens to shoot best in the particular weapon. My wife likes the Nyclads in hers. Both have low flash, soft lead and large hollow points. The problem is that availabililty/cost is an issue with both of these now.

I chronographed two 5 shot groups of federal 110gr .38 special in a m36 a few months ago. the 1st 5 shot average was so low I ran a second one. 802 FPS and 803 FPS very uniform velocities but low velocities. First screen was 21' from the muzzle. The cast 158s lead very little in my guns(lyman 358156) and shoot to point of aim at 7 yards. 148 gr full wadcutters work well too. At least with the lead wadcutters you're getting a decent hole. I doubt you'll get much for expansion out of the short barrel.

148 grain wadcutters, 158 grain LSWCHP, 158 grain LSWC are a few I use.
All shoot to POA out to 15 yards or so and all are standard pressure. I tend to agree that expansion with jacketed ammo out of a chief is the exception not the rule.

This is also what I carry in my older Chief. I also carry it in my Centennial. Five for sure, and an almost ironclad guarantee that it's going to get back to the goodies. Does it expand at that low velocity? Sometimes. Even when it partially expands it's a serious projectile. Did I mention that it gets back where the vitals are? That's key for me.

I don't try and make a standard velocity .38 Special with a tube less than two inches long be something it isn't. I absolutely enjoy reading and watching YouTubes of all the terminal ballistic tests, wound data, etc. But if I choose to carry a firearm that I can carry in my front pocket all day, and I'm not convinced that pushing the envelope with +P offerings really buys me anything practical, then my choices are limited and I accept that. One thing I can do is not worry about whether my defense bullets will get to vital organs when "guaranteed expanders" are already proving marginal penetrators in plain uninhibited ballistic jello.

Do be careful. There was a poster on here a while back that had bulged a 36 cylinder by firing one +p round. Smith likely says it ought not do that, but his did and he was hunting a replacement cylinder. Just stick to the standard velocity loads and the wadcutters as mentioned above is not a bad choice. I like to load a 108-grain cast LSWC over 3.2-3.5 grains of Bullseye for just foolin' around.

I'm a bit confused by all this.

I had been certain that any post war all steel 38 was +P capable.

Further, today's ammo is downloaded and what is now considered +P was previously standard velocity.

Owing to this, I have a load for my 36 ND and 649-2 that's made from the 358156 over 4.5g W231. I consider this to be warm but acceptable as it would be identical to the standard load from the era these J frames were manufactured.

I've been using this load with great success to date.

Please correct me if I'm wrong here, I don't want to make a magnum out of them, but I do intend to use them as they were intended.

I have always been under the impression that a little +p now and then was just fine and any modern (whatever that means) S&W 38-special could handle +p loads. This particular poster said he called S&W and was told the gun should have handled it, but since it was a pre 1989 gun, they would not warranty it. He was working on a self-fix as opposed to paying Smith to fix it.

Elmer Kieth couldn't blow one up and even shot 38/44 loads.
I shoot wad cutters an 158 swc in mine. I also have a 37 and 38 and wouldn't want to destroy either of those by using hot ammo

I have an airweight Model 38.
No +Ps for me.
As I roll my own, I use 3.7 gr of Titegroup with 125 gr plated hollow point bullets.
My chronograph says they're running about 700 fps.
The bullets are not gonna expand, but will definitely put a hole in any attacker.

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John 3:17
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Why even consider shooting this hot of ammo in the guns? For practice use reduced lead loads so you can enjoy shooting it. And for self defense use the jacketed hollow points. In self defense situations we are talking about 7 yards or under.