hello, i have two vintage light weights a 1966 vintage cobra and a S&W model 12 no numbers, I would like to buy a box or two or carry ammo, plus p is out of the question, , any recommendations,
I have been carrying either federal 125 gr HP nyclads or , western 200 gr rn
please post, many thanks,



lightweight carry ammo options

Look at Hornady (non +P) 125 gr and 110 gr.

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6/23/2022

hi hornady, make ammo ?
i know they make bullets ?

Maybe try some 148/150 gr. wadcutters?

Any quality brand 158 semi-wadcutter standard pressure load should provide everything your snubs are capable of performance-wise, and also be the most likely to shoot to point of aim with the standard fixed sights.

Lightweight? A cylinder-full of 125 grain loads will have 750 grains of bullets on board. Six 158 grain loads will weight 948 grains, a difference of 198 grains (0.45 ounce). I doubt you will notice it. You could carry another 6 rounds and still be under one ounce difference.

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Life of the party until 8:00PM

For defensive use there is no issue with .38 Special +P in either of your Aluminum framed revolvers. Federal, Winchester or Remington F.B.I. load, 158 grain SWCHP. How many rounds are you ever going to shoot in legitimate self-defense situations in your lifetime? the most likely figure ranges from 0 to 5 rounds! Then shoot standard pressure 158 grain SWC ammunition for everyday use. There is no sense to the often seen claim that you should always shoot the same ammunition you will carry, this is utter nonsense. Most, if not all, police agencies use different, less expensive, ammunition for practice/qualifying than they issue for duty use!

The only place that .38 +P ammunition is a problem is on the internet forums like this one! +P was originally intended to provide slightly higher performance than standard velocity, at slightly increased pressure. There has never been a warning against using +P 38 in air-weight guns by any ammunition manufacturer! There was never any question until after the invention of the internet and internet forums like this one.

There is no definitive evidence that shooting +P has resulted in the widely claimed cracked frames on air-weight revolvers just a lot of BS hearsay anecdotal claims. Just in the past week there have been 2-3 posts on this forum about steel framed J Framed S&W revolvers with frames cracked just like the aluminum frames are supposed to be, including one NIB Model 60 that was found to have a cracked frame from the factory!

I would use standard pressure 148 grain wadcutters.

I carry wadcutters in my 442, and have fired literally thousands of rounds through the gun with zero issues.

The ammo that I use is ammo that I have manufactured myself (I own a small custom handgun ammunition manufacturing company, Lost River Ammunition Company). With that said, just about any full wadcutter from a high quality manufacturer should work, provided that it provides some decent velocity and accuracy for you.

When I developed a load for commercial purposes, one of the things that was kept in mind was people who would be using it as a carry load for their snubby handguns. With that in mind, I developed a load that provided a little better numbers velocity wise, but was not a +P load.

Most factory wadcutters when fired from a 1&7/8ths" barrel are often only doing in the high 600s and low 700s at best. In a 4" I discovered through testing that most were doing in the low to mid 700s.

The load I produce runs 828 FPS from a 4" gun and 757 from a 1&7/8ths" J Frame. They averaged about 75-100 FPS faster than some big name brands, and had the accuracy I was looking for. Been using and carrying that load for years now.



But regardless of brand, I would opt for a standard pressure wadcutter, and make sure it shoots to your sights, or close to your sights and then get some practice in.

I would prefer a 158 grain LSWC but a 158 grain LRN will do.

Liberty Civil Defense

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SWCA 3749 SWHF 867

Underwood 150 grain nylon clad hard cast wadcutters, advertised at 1000 fps. Probably in the 800 fps range
out of a 2" barrel. That's been my carry load in my model
36.

tt