.38 Special LSWCHP +P FBI load

[Rick H.]

I was a working street officer when the so-called Miami FBI situation took place, as well as the North Hollywood situation. Both these incidents rocked law enforcement to its foundations and gave pause to what we might encounter in our daily patrol functions. There was also the Newhall Incident that was a few years before I started in law enforcement. All of these were tragic incidents that led to a self examination by many departments as to tactics and equipment. The after-action investigations were typical and had the expected results. Blame ran all over the place and many officers were left wondering about not only their department training for these events, but their equipment as well. It would be many more years unfortunately before law enforcement learned from these events and made some serious changes. I could go on and on, but you get the point I hope.

After all is said and done regarding choice of ammunition for a given firearm and with old age rapidly approaching for me I have come to realize that the most powerful ammunition isn't the problem, it's being able to hit what I need to hit. The most effective load or bullet in existence isn't going to help you one bit if you can't hit your adversary who is no doubt shooting at you, or threatening to do so. I don't carry a revolver anymore and my weapon of choice for concealed carry is a 9mm or .380. Now neither one may be the best in ballistic effectiveness, but I shoot them the best and consistently hit what I am shooting at. I am more concerned these days with first strike capabilities and putting a .38 caliber sized hole in the bad guy than if I am using an ultra-powerful load. 9 inches or 16 inches of penetration with double caliber bullet expansion is secondary to hitting my target. Head shots are great "IF" you can make them 100% of the time otherwise you are wasting ammunition. I still train primarily for center mass hits.

The best advice I could give to the OP is shoot whatever ammunition you can find in your home country and select the one you shoot best and most consistently with. Don't worry about three letter alphabet soup loads or loads that have special names attached to them. Use the ammunition you are most proficient with and practice alot with it. If your range allows it, practice moving drills with your chosen ammunition and move to cover or at least concealment. If nothing else a simple post will work for this just practice getting behind it. Good tactics work to your advantage more than ammunition choice. Even going prone can help in a real life shooting situation. Just remember, ammunition selection is just one small piece of the puzzle to survival.

Rick H.

 

[rockquarry]

I was a working street officer when the so-called Miami FBI situation took place, as well as the North Hollywood situation. Both these incidents rocked law enforcement to its foundations and gave pause to what we might encounter in our daily patrol functions. There was also the Newhall Incident that was a few years before I started in law enforcement. All of these were tragic incidents that led to a self examination by many departments as to tactics and equipment. The after-action investigations were typical and had the expected results. Blame ran all over the place and many officers were left wondering about not only their department training for these events, but their equipment as well. It would be many more years unfortunately before law enforcement learned from these events and made some serious changes. I could go on and on, but you get the point I hope.

After all is said and done regarding choice of ammunition for a given firearm and with old age rapidly approaching for me I have come to realize that the most powerful ammunition isn't the problem, it's being able to hit what I need to hit. The most effective load or bullet in existence isn't going to help you one bit if you can't hit your adversary who is no doubt shooting at you, or threatening to do so. I don't carry a revolver anymore and my weapon of choice for concealed carry is a 9mm or .380. Now neither one may be the best in ballistic effectiveness, but I shoot them the best and consistently hit what I am shooting at. I am more concerned these days with first strike capabilities and putting a .38 caliber sized hole in the bad guy than if I am using an ultra-powerful load. 9 inches or 16 inches of penetration with double caliber bullet expansion is secondary to hitting my target. Head shots are great "IF" you can make them 100% of the time otherwise you are wasting ammunition. I still train primarily for center mass hits.

The best advice I could give to the OP is shoot whatever ammunition you can find in your home country and select the one you shoot best and most consistently with. Don't worry about three letter alphabet soup loads or loads that have special names attached to them. Use the ammunition you are most proficient with and practice alot with it. If your range allows it, practice moving drills with your chosen ammunition and move to cover or at least concealment. If nothing else a simple post will work for this just practice getting behind it. Good tactics work to your advantage more than ammunition choice. Even going prone can help in a real life shooting situation. Just remember, ammunition selection is just one small piece of the puzzle to survival.

Rick H.

Certainly a good post based on good sense. Regrettably, shooing skills ands using the best ammunition for the shooter aren't of great priority to many.

 

[14daMoney]

I'll say this - what you carry versus what impact it will have on each particular target subject WILL vary greatly. Just because you 5K the target doesn't always guarantee they will fall down and stay down.

 

[SGT ROCK 11B]

"Aim small, miss small" is a well-known principle in marksmanship suggesting that focusing on a specific, small target will lead to more accurate and consistent results, even if you miss slightly. It's about narrowing your focus to improve your chances of hitting your target.

 

[rockquarry]

For those few who have an interest in marksmanship, the "aim small, miss small" rule is very true.

 

[Dhawk46]

Carry what you are comfortable and can score hits with. Focus on your front sight and PRESS the trigger.

 

[ArtyM]

You need to determine what shoots well in your firearm - in terms of point of impact with fixed sights and accuracy. Loads like the Remington 125 gr Golden Saber, Speer 135 Gr Gold Dot short barrel, and the Hornady 110 gr standard and +p 38 specials are all good. See what works best for you in your revolver. What shoots well in one may not in another. I find the Federal 158 LHP is accurate, but does not expand in many online reports. The Remington load expands well, but not accurate for me. It flattened in phone books. You just need to try loads out, but I recommend one of the jacketed loads that I mentioned.

 

[decuerno]

… Full mag loads would be a bit overkill.
…

IF …”overkill”… were even possible…. For self-defense….Isn’t that exactly what you Want.???

 

[Rust E. Badge]

I am looking for new ammo to try out in my smith wesson model 27-2.

For self defense purposes I prefer to use 38 special rounds indoors for self defense. Full mag loads would be a bit overkill.

The .38 Special LSWCHP +P should offer more than enough performance needed.

As a history buff I am interested in .38 Special LSWCHP +P FBI load.

I wonder if any of the available loads are close to the "original" specs or not?

No such animal as "overkill" in a gunfight, only in your mind or opinions of those who have only experienced imaginary deadly engagements.