Brushy Bill,
Some bullets border on legendary status; think Speer 200gr 45 known as
the "flying ashtray," or the famous 158gr LSWCHP 38+P "FBI load". The Super Police,
though interesting is not one of them. It simply did not do the job for law enforcement.
I have done a lot of experimenting with the Super Police 200gr
load in several of my S&Ws. I got 575 fps from a 2" Model 36
and 624 fps from a 4" Model 15. I also handload an exact version
of the factory load using Magnus cast bullets based on the old
Lyman bullet that was almost identical to what was loaded by Winchester.
A little history on the 38 200 gr:
Back in the pre hollowpoint days when the law carried 38s, most used the "Police Service" 158 RNL for duty and practiced with 148 LWC. Skeeter Skelton, a border patrolman in the 1940-1950s and later gunwriter said that his border patrol issue sidearm in the late 40s was a Colt loaded with 158 RNL. Most were not impressed with this load and many savvy lawmen and shooters handloaded their own lead hollowpoints or simply carried a bigger bore gun. According to old cop lore, the 158 gr 38 was definitely a killer, but not a manstopper. It simply did not incapacitate subjects fast enough unless hit exactly right. Many stories exist of patrolmen putting all six in the chest and then being killed by the crooks they just shot.
I picked up 2 boxes of these 200 gr loads recently at a gun show
and an older gentleman at a table saw them in my hand and
immediately said "I hope you don't think those loads are something special." I told him I just bought them to experiment with and he again basically said they were not what they were cracked up to be.
A 200 gr loading of the 38 Special was introduced as best I can tell sometime in the late 30s. It is very similar to a 41 Colt. The 200 gr
bullet was rated at about 650fps and was supposed to be a better manstopper. It was designed to be slow and unstable and when it hit the bullet would turn sideways doing more damage. On the downside,
police need more tactical penetration through things like windshields and car doors and a bullet going 650fps into a "classic" car just doesn't cut it.
I heard of a story where one LAPD officer tried to shoot through a side window of a car with this load and it did not make it through the glass.
In my personal experience, I have seen this load bounce off the pressed metal shell of an a/c window unit. Some cops I hear called the load "nerf bullets." It was a poor police load to say the least, but for up close self defense with no barriers/ glass it was a somewhat different story.
Up close and put in the right place it would probably be pretty good.
I have carried 200gr loads in my Model 36 and felt comfortable.
Elmer Keith and Chic Gaylord both said it was the best 38 load ever made in the 1960s but remember the only other loads available at the time in standard 38 were 158 RNL and 148WC.
I have heard of several anecdotal uses of the super police against subjects that were not behind cover:
One officer carried his Colt loaded with 3 LSWC dept. issue rounds and three 200gr loads. He said one subject took a LSWC to the chest and was not phased. A 200gr in the hip floored him.
FBI agent shot two subjects center of mass with 200 gr loads and both went down.
My dad still has an original box of 200gr Remington 38s and keeps his S&W Military and Police revolver loaded with them. He traps feral hogs
and said the bullet is quite effective on them.
One thing to remember and I am the world's worst about it. Old bullets worked well enough then, but the Super Police had a very short life with the police and it was discontinued nearly 30 years ago. If it works it gets used, if not it gets discontinued. In 1971, Winchester introduced the load that pretty much made all other 38s ineffective compared to it. They made a 158 LSWCHP to +P speed and the law enforcement world jumped on it including the FBI. Cops called it the "38 splat" because of the sound it made when it hit. FBI agents said it hit like 45 ball ammo. I can personally attest to the effectiveness of the FBI 38 load on a feral dog. It works.
About the time the 38 Super Police was discontinued, a 110 gr 38 +P+ load emerged that became known as the "Treasury Load" The fad in the 1970s and 1980s was a 110-115gr bullet loaded hot in both 9mm and 38. It was said to be VERY effective when it penetrated deep enough. Some on this forum have had good results with this load in law enforcement. The Border Patrol carried it for 4 years and ditched it. This load is now no longer available to the public unless you find it at gun shows second hand. I have some of it.
The only "old" 38 load that has stood the test of time for being a fight stopper is the 158 LSWCHP FBI load. It penetrates sufficiently and expands even from a 2." The 147gr Hydra Shock 38+P+ replaced this load in FBI service sometime in the late 1980s- early 1990s and it worked too.
Just my two cents and I wanted to add in little history on the bullet.
It would work but the FBI 158 LSWCHP is certainly better. If I couldnt carry a hollowpoint in the 38, then the only 38 load I would use would be the 200gr. Especially make a 200gr full wadcutter and it would be ok.
