Question,
The 158 grain bullet is standard for the .38 special but is it really the best weight?
Would 146 140 grain or some other weight bullet match the cartridges abilities better? I like 158 gr actually, your thoughts....

__________________
US ARMY
Viet Nam 70-71

.357-.358 bullets are readily available in weights from 110 gr to 200gr.
Due to the .38 Spl limit of 17,000 PSI standard and 20,000PSI +P, the cartridge is most efficient between 125gr and 158gr, but there is nothing to stop anyone loading whatever bullet and powder combination they wish. Typically the lighter bullet yields more energy, the heavier more momentum (penetration).
With the ready availability of .357 revolvers in all sizes and materials, there is now little rational incentive to risk blowing up a good .38 with overloads.

__________________
Science plus Art

I think that's pretty much a matter of personal likes or dislikes . Some shot 125gr , others shot 200gr and wouldn't use anything else . My std 38spl load is 158-160 gr cast bullet I cast myself . It is what works for me.
I have a friend that's a 30yr+ LEO . Told me he started off with a model 10, 38spl . Back then they could use handloads . His preference was a 90gr cast bullet . He got a lot of teasing about his " spit wad " load. It is what worked for him in qualifications , everytime .
So like I said , find what works for you and the particular gun you are using best . Good Luck and have fun

Depends on what you want to use it for. The 158 g is most likely to shoot to point of aim in fixed sight revolvers. They are designed around that bullet. I use 158 lead semi-wadcutters almost exclusively for plinking and casual target shooting at paper or steel plates. The 148 grain lead full wadcutter is the generally recognized winner in the low velocity competitive target shooting world. I go to 135 g. Speer hollow points for self defense load.

__________________
Some collect art; I shoot it!

for my cowboy I use 158. For PPC 148 wadcutters.
Many use 105 and 125 for cowboy.

Liberty Ammo favors light and fast..9mm is 50gr 2000fps. Don't know what they're 38s are. I've seen the 9mm go through an armored vest at 1 foot...and make a ham explode into well, pulled pork. And not overpenetrate (the vest was on a plastic 55 gallon barrel - left a dent in the far side of the drum).

I plan to do some testing later this year with a box of books - 357, 9 critical duty and a home defense load and liberty and see what I see.

My question is, best weight for what? I like to stick with the bullet weight used in the development of the cartridge unless I have a good reason.

__________________
Freedom is never free!!
SWCA #3437

+1;

The lead 148 and 158 are the standard bullets used for the 38 special revolver.

However I have had good luck with a 125gr LRN Cowboy and a
truncated design out of my J frame snub nose as well as my 686 6" magnum with a 38 case for a real X-tra Lite target load with
minimum recoil, for indoor work for the family.

Not that they are the last word on the subject but the LAPD approved round is the 135 grain Speer.

I like 158 gr for my model 65, it's the recommended round and I can't think of a reason to change to something else.

__________________
Back to back World War Champs.

My preference is Fiochhi 158 grain, FMJ semi-wadcutters in my current EDC (customized M64) but in my other EDCs (I do vary) I'll use Hornady Critical Defense, Silvertips, Golden Sabres, etc. Mostly, but not always, in the 158 grain weight category.

Lighter, hollow point ammo has improved considerably since the Super-vel days.

Prior to the transition to semi-autos, NYPD, which averages a shots-fired incident daily, switched from 158 grain round nose ammo to 158 grain semi-wadcutter. They were dissatisfied with the street performance of the round nose round, yet, that round did indeed keep the coroners busy.

The semi-wadcutter is a good round in revolvers. However, I suggest that if you use any reloading device such as a speed loader, you might try practicing with them. On those seldom occasions that I carry a revolver, I use SWC in the gun but JHPs in my speed loader simply because they are easier to load.

158gr in a .36 caliber bullet gives higher sectional density (thus better penetration if the velocity is adequate) than almost (?) any other pistol bullet except the 200gr in .36 caliber, but the 200gr in .38 Spl is so slow that it is probably not a good penetrator. In .357 Mag, a 200gr ordinarily makes no sense, since even the 158gr may provide more penetration than needed or desired, at least on most anticipated targets.

In .38 Spl, the 158 is probably the best weight. Gelatin tests may indicate that others are adequate, as well.


As brother Erich used to remind us, shot placement is king, penetration is queen, and the rest is angels dancing on the head of a pin. Or close to it.

I've taken to using 158 gr bullets. My thinking is that the bullets are longer so that they will be stabilized the most during their travel through the barrel. Thus the most inherently accurate.
I have found that most S&W's seem to be sighted in for 158 gr bullets as others have mentioned above.

__________________
Accuracy supercedes Speed

IMHO It is Barrel Length. I carry 2" S&W revolvers/Colt Detective special. I went from Speer to Liberty 38 Special 50gr, 1500fps after watching Video. In a airwt. you forget it is there it is so light, and it goes BANG!!!!

I always have preferred the heavier bullets. For one, as stated above, fixed sight guns are most likely to be regulated for the 158 gr.

Secondly, this was the bullet the cartridge was originally loaded with. The .38 Special has plenty of case volume to accommodate heavier bullets. I've even used 200 gr. blunt nose with success. Try loading that in a 9mm. Longer bullets have more bearing surface, and in my experience are more accurate over a broad spectrum of loads than lighter bullets.

Not that a 110gr can't be super accurate in the .38 Special. It's just a good bit harder to find the right combination. You can pretty much stuff anything behind a heavy bullet in .38 Special and it will shoot pretty damn well.

Elmer Keith always favored heavy for the caliber bullets;read that a 173gr for both the .38Spl and .357Mag.But in his last years,he revised his position towards a weight of around 150gr for the .38Spl.
My fovorite is a SWC dropped from my NEI mould;it comes out lubed at 154gr.
Qc

I use hard cast 158 gr or solid, hard cast 148gr wc's in my 38's for everything.

Of course, I cast them. And reload.

I've shot a few larger animals with these (injured in auto collisions) with these. All with a M 38.

Great penetration, prompt results.

Can't ask for more.

I like all weights in the 38 Spl, from 110 gr through 200 gr LRN. 158 gr SWC or LRN is what I use most.

The greatest all around cartridge in my opinion along with 357 Mag.

...the 200 gr LRN of course has not been offered in 35 years or so. I reload my own (see reloading forum). I still have two factory boxes of 200 grainers left though.

The factory standard velocity .38 Special 158 grain lead RN bullet load is fully adequate for LE use against live targets according to the FBI's cloth/gelatin penetration tests. Maybe not the best performance possible, but good enough. The FBI puts great stock in deep penetration without overpenetration, i.e., enough penetration to reach and perforate all vital organs without coming out the other side, or at least not coming out very fast.

Even though my favorite is the mighty .44,I must agree with the term ''all around caliber'' for the .38Spl.And I also think that the LRN bullet doesn't get the merit it deserves in the department of accuracy.My RCBS 158gr LRN comes out at 160gr and is as accurate as any of my 148gr WC.Sadly,it doesn't punch neat round holes in paper but nonetheless very accurate!
Qc

I do believe the 158 grain is over-all the best weight for the .38 Special. My go to round for SD is the Buffalo Bore heavy 158 grain LSWCHP-GC +P. My Target rounds are hand loaded 158 grain RNL. The 158's are closest to POA = POI.

In fact the ONLY exception I would personally consider is the Speer/CCI Gold Dot 135 grain +P. While it is not nearly as potent as the BB load, it is much easier to control, has reliable expansion, descent penetration, relatively accurate, close to POA/POI and even though it's 20% slower out of a 2" snubby, everything I know about this load says it gets the job done.

I just got some 158gr rounds from Brownells. Can't wait to try them out in my 10-8.

__________________
Mike
S&WCA #3065

The bulk of my 38 special shooting is some form of target shooting. Whether it's steel, plinking or some kind of matches, I almost exclusively use 148 wadcutters moving around 750 fps. For carry, which I do often with a S&W 37 or a 3" Cobra, I like the 158 LSWCHP, usually in +P because it's the easiest to find. I'd be comfortable with the standard pressure load.