Here's the first six from my Model 19-5. They were very pleasant to shoot.

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Target first six Nov 22 2023.jpg (82.4 KB, 314 views)

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S&WHF #946
S&WCA #3824

I shot the whole box of fifty. This is the result:

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Target 50 Nov 22 2023.jpg (95.0 KB, 181 views)

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After that I shot some 38 Special 158 grain LSWC. Here are the first six of those.

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Target 38 Special first six Nov 22 2023.jpg (69.5 KB, 119 views)

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S&WHF #946
S&WCA #3824

You need to hit the brain to kill zombies. More practice.

Shoot on targets. Shooting at pictures of zombie's heads are a bad habit. Just my cop perspective but headshots are not stoppers.

One Florida cop did a video on YouTube describing when he was shot in the mouth by a bad guy going for a headshot on him. Cop spit out his broken teeth and fatally shot the bad guy. He mentions at least two similar cases to his that occur in the southeast.

Federal 158 Grain American Eagle is good stuff by the way.

My Police Department issued Federal 158 up until 1982.

Correct me if I am wrong. S&W .38 fixed sight revolvers (such as Model 10 or 64) are designed ("sights calibrated") to shoot 158 grain. If you are shooting a less heavy bullet you might have to adjust your point of aim to get the same result.

The 158gr. JSPs are great for bowling pin matches.

They are also great out of a model 92 lever action. I chronographed these at 1900fps out of my Browning Model 92.

I shot plenty of Federal AE 158 grain 357 ammo decades ago, before I started reloading. I have always found AE ammo to be reliable, clean shooting, and reasonably accurate.

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I’m pretty sure OP was just pointing out the consistent groups with the mentioned ammo. I would also argue that shooting at targets that don’t offer a “ bullseye” to aim at is good practice.

IMHO, in a real defensive situation, deliberate aiming for the head is not an advisable practice. Too easily missed when the adrenaline is flowing. Torso hits are easier to achieve under stress.

Yep, center of mass, that's how I practice.

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Federal 158 LRN was my main fodder when I bought ammo for my competition guns. It had light enough primers that even with my low poundage DA pull the primers would fire.

I would buy 1000 rounds the beginning of the year, shoot it up and then reload those cases over and over again.

Mine is a S&W Model 19-5 that I bought new in the 1980's. This is mainly for poking holes in paper. I use a Model 37-1 for defensive purposes.

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19-5 Nickel.jpg (111.7 KB, 40 views)

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S&WHF #946
S&WCA #3824

AE 158's are good ammo.

These are better.

.38 Special +P 158 grain Poly-Coated Lead Semi Wadcutter. (100 RND)

I use to buy a case of them at a time. They are very accurate, reliable and the brass is great for reloading.



My only centerfire gun these days is my Model 10 four inch. Other than that I'm shooting .22s because of the cost of ammo.

Correct sir. BTW Model 36 and 60 will give you POA/POI too with 158 grain bullets.

Good point. Using the OP's target with six hits. None of those shots reached the brain. So threat not ended.

When I was a cop we would put a t-shirt on a cardboard target. Now that is a test. Always adding movement to shooting drills is great because it reminds you to move. Shooting at static targets people for get that bad guys will shoot back. Don't get caught "standing" in the open.

10-4. For PPC my preferred was Federal 148 Wadcutter and the Federal 158 LSWC for the Distinguished Match.

Federal brass I always thought was the best for reloading so that was what I used for my practice loads with either Bullseye or W231 powder.

If anyone other than a Zombie gets shot in the face (head on) I’m pretty sure the threat stops. But a Zombie , I think you have to hit them in the brain and lobotomies them. I’ll have to brush up on my walking dead facts.

The LRN was my favorite target load, consistent and pretty clean. When the price per round broke the $.35 barrier I went with bulk same spec MagTech.
Good old days.

At what distance were you shooting?

15 yards. It's the distance I normally use indoors.

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S&WHF #946
S&WCA #3824

American Eagle ammo is IMHO excellent! I have been shooting it since the early 1980's and it has always performed well. The components are very good quality, the ammo is consistent and accuracy is as good as one shoots. The AE 22 RF 40 grain lead bullets are excellent as well and are just as accurate as the Federal marked line up. I do use CCI standard velocity 40 grain in my target and competition guns as they are a bit more accurate, but for general practice and plinking, the AE 22's perform great!

It is less expensive (in general) than the Federal marked line and for Range work, plinking & general shooting it can't be beat for the money. I also noticed many years ago that some of their centerfire cartridges are actually loaded to higher velocities that their Federal marked ammo in the same configuration. Example: The American Eagle 230 grain FMJ 45acp states 890 fps while pretty much every other brand of the same ammo is either 830 - 850 fps out of 1911 Gov't barrels. On the very rare occasion I carry a 1911 Gov't model, I do load it with AE 230 grain FMJ. It's the only gun I do not use HP's in.

The American Eagle line tends to be more economically priced while still maintaining the quality of basic retail ammo. When I built my Project 616, if I wanted to shoot factory ammo (esp. to get once fired brass) I mostly had two choice$… American Eagle at reasonable prices, or the High Performance (read ”high priced”) stuff from Federal. The choice was easy, and helped carry me through until Starline finally came out with their brass. I’ve only had good experiences with American Eagle cf ammo.
Froggie

The current doctrine seems to be aim for center mass, and if that does not work, try for the head shot. Remember that in a fight everything is moving and changing quickly. That head does not stay still.

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Not to get too morbid, but combat doctrine for a sure kill used to be two quick shots (a double tap) to center mass followed by a third to the head. This sure kill method was called Zambezi or some such(?)
Froggie

Mozambique ?

Sent from my SM-T500 using Tapatalk

The zombie is only presenting a head shot on my targets since his body is hidden by his hostage.

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target 9 7 2023 100 gr with 4 gr w231.jpg (97.9 KB, 17 views)

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S&WHF #946
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I stand corrected! I knew there was a Z in there somewhere!
Fro

@ $1.10 per shot … You can have all of them.

I have been getting all my factory ammo together and putting them in the plastic ammo boxesfrom Harbor Freight and others. I have very few factory 357s...maybe 5 boxes and about 2 boxes of mixed loose rounds. Two boxes are the AE 357 158 gr. I used 'em in my Highway Patrolman. Evenshot a fair sized doe Whitetail...and 3 coyotes. The yotes were not useable for hides. The major portion of my 357s are reloads with LSWCs. I also have some factory 357 Rem Max...Don't remember the factory bullets...but my Max ammo reloads are done with some Remington 150 gr Spire points for 35 Remingtons. Only have about 40 of those bullets left...Going to a friend with a Remington M-8 semiauto in 35 Remington

for some reason, all of the 38 special 158 lrn american eagle i have used was dirty. extremely dirty. And pulled bullets showed no sort of lube at all on them. But a slightly beveled base with a shallow cup indentation.

Used a hornady style waffle pattern on the sides.