Appropriate ammo for a 1962 S&W 36 no dash

[mojave30cal]

I just picked up a model 36 in .38 special and was wondering what kind of ammo is safe to shoot. I was thinking 158 gr. lead round nose or semi-wad cutters. Any
other bullet weights I can safely shoot? What about jacketed rounds?

 

[JP@AK]

Any .38 Special factory ammo will be safe. Some might not be so comfortable to shoot, but all will be safe as far as the gun is concerned.

 

[Doug M.]

Round nose is not your friend for anything other than making empties to reload. Cheap-ish, easy to shoot and reasonably effective without counting on the iffy expansion of most.38 HP in a short barrel are standard wadcutters and SWC.

 

[Outpost75]

A 1962 gun was probably targeted at 20 yards with 158-grain standard pressure lead ammo. Wadcutter is a good choice and 158 SWC standard pressure for speed loader friendly spare ammo. A limited amount of +P is OK, but recoil will be sharp

 

[chief38]

For a Chief's Special of that vintage any standard velocity 158 grain RN, FN, SWC or 148 grain WD would be ideal for target shooting and practice. For self defense I'd go with the old "FBI" load which is normally a Remington 158 grain SWCHP +P. If shot in small amounts there will be no harm to your vintage revolver. Another viable SD load would be the Speer GDHP 135 grain +P but that might shoot a little low at farther distances because of the lighter weight. My favorite 38 special SD load is normally the Buffalo Bore "Heavy" 158 grain +P SWCHP-GC but for a revolver as old as yours I would suggest avoiding that one as it is a bit too much.

 

[SGT ROCK 11B]

I just picked up a model 36 in .38 special and was wondering what kind of ammo is safe to shoot. I was thinking 158 gr. lead round nose or semi-wad cutters …

Your revolver is sighted in with the 158 grain lead bullet.

When I started as a cop we were issued 158 grain Lead Round Nose and that was easy to reload by hand. We had dump pouches and later came speedloaders. In the early 1980s we were issued 125 grain JHP ammunition.

 

[DWalt]

Depends on your recoil tolerance. Otherwise, if the case headstamp says " 38 Special" it will be OK regarding safety. But note that some loads will shoot closer to the sights than others. You will have to figure that out yourself.