Effective .38 caliber for Self Defense - S&W 642

[rwsmith]

You have a lot of good choices....

Just make sure that it is something that you can adequately train with and control to repeat shots and hit the target. Personally, I think Gold Dots are great. I have a compact 9mm that I have loaded just enough that I can shoot about 50 rounds before my hand and wrist says 'quit'.

 

[Jim1392]

Speer GDHP: Speer 135gr +P GDHP Short Barrel available here

I would call and make sure these are short barrel. I've only bought them in twenty round boxes but they always said short barrel on them like the picture below.

 

[CoMF]

I would call and make sure these are short barrel.

They are. I've yet to see a "short barrel" moniker on a Law Enforcement 50-count box.

If you're still skeptical, go to le.atk.com and compare the P/N shown on the box to ATK's own list of available Gold Dot loads. It's the real deal.

 

[sellersm]

They are. I've yet to see a "short barrel" moniker on a Law Enforcement 50-count box.

If you're still skeptical, go to le.atk.com and compare the P/N shown on the box to ATK's own list of available Gold Dot loads. It's the real deal.

That's my experience as well... But a phone call may ensure some peace of mind!

 

[CoMF]

That's my experience as well... But a phone call may ensure some peace of mind!

This is true. It can't hurt to call.

To be honest, I'm really surprised this batch hasn't sold out yet. Usually, when they get a shipment of the GDSB load in, it doesn't stay in stock for very long.

 

[JohnHancock]

Contrary to what many have stated above, I wouldn't recommend the Buffalo Bore 158 gr. +p in an Airweight .38 special as they will jump crimp. I shot two cylinders full a couple of weeks back and saw the 5th round jump crimp twice. Buffalo Bore even states this on their site. I'm currently carrying the aforementioned Speer 135 gr. +p short barrel rounds in my 442 while I wait on a shipment of the Buffalo Bore standard pressure to show up on my doorstep.

 

[Hapworth]

FBI test is for penetration.

Yes, and expansion, too. FMJ isn't going to expand, and is at greater risk for over penetrating. Too, because of FMJ profile, is less apt to crush or tear when passing through, and can end up making a wound that spreads then collapses on itself, diminishing chances for rapid blood loss.

FMJ can get the job done, but modern hollow points go a long way to solving the terminal performance problems of FMJ; there's a reason why zero law enforcement agencies use it and FBI doesn't test it.

And placement above all else.

 

[jmace57]

I use 148 gr full wadcutters. Make a nice big hole.

 

[Hapworth]

Contrary to what many have stated above, I wouldn't recommend the Buffalo Bore 158 gr. +p in an Airweight .38 special as they will jump crimp. I shot two cylinders full a couple of weeks back and saw the 5th round jump crimp twice. Buffalo Bore even states this on their site.

I don't doubt your experience of crimp jump, but to be clear, Buffalo Bore does not advise against using their .38+P in Airweights; they advise against using their .357 in light alloy revolvers.

 

[JohnHancock]

Mr. Hapworth I stand corrected! I could have sworn I read that line in the .38 special description. I also use their .357 magnum 158 grain and must have gotten my wires crossed, sorry for the misinformation. I'm a fan of BB's ammo and hated to find those results, but better in the range than in the street.

 

[Acebow]

If one wants to use wadcutters as a defense load, I'd suggest checking out Buffalo Bore's Hard Cast version; they're more harder, and will give much better penetration than the standard-velocity, slow poke, softer lead target loads. Acebow

 

[tops]

I use Oregon Laser Cast Silver bullets. If silver bullets are good enough for the Lone Ranger they are good enough for me. Larry

 

[Babalooie]

No one mentioned Federal Hydra-Shok ammo. Is there something wrong with it?

 

[chief38]

The two loads I use in a 2" Chief's are 158 grain Buffalo Bore LSWCHP-GC +P and the Speer 135 grain +P Short Barrel Gold Dot.

While the Heavy BB bullet has much more foot pounds of energy and a much faster muzzle velocity, I've been gaining quite a bit of respect from the Speer GD lately. The almost perfect expansion and consistent performance is hard to deny and the recoil is quite a bit more mild than the BB which will definitely make follow up shots faster.

Anybody who finds the recoil from the BB load objectionable or slowing them down on follow-up shots would be well served using the Speer 135 grain short barrel GD. IMHO they are both great loads and are better than 95% of all other .38 Special offerings shot from 2" barrels.

The velocities and performance of the old standard FBI loadings from the "big three" have been watered down and IMHO no longer perform reliably. When they were loaded to their full potential they did perform well, but the lots I've tested lately are nothing less than DISMAL and would no longer load the into my Chief's for SD/HD.

 

[Pointblank2U]

An often overlooked load that does very well in tests in the old Remington 125 grain +P Golden Saber. Check some of the tests on YouTube and you will find nearly universal results. It is a hot load though and I put Hogue Tamer grips on my 642 and 442. The bullet shape also lends itself to faster reloading than the rather blunt-nosed Gold Dot.

 

[Gamecock]

Yes, and expansion, too. FMJ isn't going to expand, and is at greater risk for over penetrating.

Now that's funny. The problem is ADEQUATE penetration.

 

[Hapworth]

Now that's funny. The problem is ADEQUATE penetration.

Funny is suggesting a cheap plinker's load for self-defense.

 

[vipermd]

How wide is an average man from chest to back? How deep are heart and lungs from the front of chest? 10"-16"-20"? Questions to think about in the real world. Be Safe,

 

[Nevada Ed]

vipermd;

test also take in the possibility of striking the BG's arms and
bad angles that are not frontal shots, which call for the 12-18" penetration in the FBI tests.

 

[Hapworth]

How wide is an average man from chest to back? How deep are heart and lungs from the front of chest? 10"-16"-20"? Questions to think about in the real world. Be Safe,

The 12"-18" penetration in 10% ballistic gelatin stipulated by FBI tests accounts for obstacles a bullet might have to overcome in different scenarios; a round that, say, is meant for a clean shot into a target's center mass, but due to happenstance first clips through a leather jacket sleeve, fractures the tip of the elbow bone, and only then enters center mass still needs enough terminal performance to penetrate to an organ or artery.

The gelatin approximates the density of the various types of tissue in a human body combined; the required depth is to assure performance whether the hit is ideal or less than.

It isn't meant to indicate that there's 18" from the surface of a man's chest to his heart...