Went to the range today. Shot the American eagle .38 130 grain FMJ from my 640 Pro. My night sights pretty much co witnessed with my laser sight. This was noted at 5, 10 and 16 yards/50 feet. Crimson trace zeroed the laser at 50 ft. I noticed that this ammo shot low on the target. At 50 ft., this ammo hit com when aiming at the head on a silouette at 50 ft. When shooting my defense +P's, my night sights and laser hit poa=poi at 5-10 yards. What happened with the American Eagle ammo? It should drop 12 inches at 90 yards/not 50 feet. Was it loaded light? Glad I did not have a squib!

+P recoils more, hitting higher on target because of increased muzzle flip. The 135 doesn't recoil much, hitting lower on target because of little muzzle flip.

Whats the velocity of each? There really isn't time for gravity to have much effect on a bullet at only 50ft. Whats changes vertical dispersion between loads is velocity, a faster bullet will print lower on the target vs a slow bullet which will hit higher. Sounds counter intuitive but with a slow projectile the gun starts recoiling upward microseconds before the bullet leaves the barrel. Likewise a faster bullet will exit the barrel at a lower position hence the lower impact point.

For example a bullet going 1000fps the bullet will drop 0.04" due to gravity in the time it takes to hit the target neglecting air resistance, it's imperceptible.

I tried different loads in my wife's 4" 66-3 at our last range trip.
130 grain fmj .38 special shot low. 158 grain fmj .38 special shot a little higher but still low. 110 grain jhp .357 magnum(her carry load) shot point of aim. Expected results.
However, when my wife shot it, all loads hit point of aim, apparently. It's her gun and she knew exactly how much to compensate for each load.

You need to do some reading on a couple of subjects to get a full understanding of what is going on here.

One subject is "Bore Transit Recoil" which is the change in the attitude of the barrel while the bullet is moving down the barrel. Heavier bullets shoot higher because they move slower and spend more time in the barrel. BTW, this is something that is nearly independent of the energy level produced. Hard as it is to believe a 158 grain 38 special will shoot to nearly the same point as a much more powerful 158 grain 357 Magnum. As for why, the higher recoil of the 357 magnum balances out the increased velocity of the bullet.

The second subject to read up on is Recoil Management. Because how we manage recoil can actually "steer" where the bullet will hit. It's one of the factors that makes shooting a handgun so challenging. Because if you are trying to shoot for precision you need to develop a consistent method of managing the recoil. It's also why some shooters will find that sights that work for others can shoot low or high for them. I'll also note that I've found that longer barreled handguns test recoil management skills a lot more than shorter barrels. That longer barrel increases the bullets dwell time in the barrel and during this dwell time is when we can "steer" the bullet.

Now, what all this boils down to is something that any gunsmith can tell you. That is that you cannot use a bore sighter to adjust the sights on any firearm without having to do some fine tuning of the sights. In addition the weight of the bullet you use to sight in your firearm is absolutely critical. Change the weight of the bullet and you WILL see a change in the point of impact.

thanks for all your replies. So, with this ammo, safe to shoot? Not loaded wrong? Just don't want a squib.

In general, a revolver will shoot to a lower point of impact with bullets lighter than it was designed for. The .38 Special was originally designed around the 158 grain lead RN bullet. A lighter and faster bullet (130 grains) will exit the barrel faster while it is still at a lower elevation point while rising during recoil - therefore it will usually hit low.

The 130 FMJ 38 Special round was really designed for Military use because of the Geneva Convention Rules (no lead exposed bullets) and IMHO is a pretty poor SD round. The reason they went to 130 grains is to make the non expanding lighter jacketed bullet faster in hopes that it would perform better. Since most of the people using the .38 special Revolvers in the Military were Pilots and guys in cramped places, it was not looked upon as a primary weapon and it was better than nothing when a Pilot could not get his hands on a 1911 pistol.

My guess is that you are pulling your shots down, probably anticipating recoil or jerking the trigger. Next time you shoot have someone video some of your shots. With the laser you will see the downward dip before the round hits the target if that is what you are doing.

The difference in where the bullet of different loads hits is relatively minor at short range. Talking an inch or so. If there is several inches difference its likely the shooter.

130 FMJ ammo is loaded really light. Hopefully you are only using it for practice, and not for self defense.