.38special self defence ammo for snubbies

I shot some Nyclads out of my Chief's Special.

Worst accuracy I ever witnessed.

It was as though the polymer coating was just "stripping" through the rifling, and no spin being imparted on the bullet. To shoot the bad guy between the shirt pockets with that stuff, you'd need to be close enough to unbutton his shirt first.
 
I use the lead SWC-HP in .38 Special, .44 Special and .45 Colt; if they expand fine, if they don't the SWC shape will help impart the slugs energy into the target and afford ample penetration. I've seen and done bullet expansion testing, but out of a 2-3" barrel, I don't count on it. My mantra is shot placement...shot placement...shot placement...
 
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Carrying Remington UD (aka Golden Saber) 125gr BJHP .38spl+P in my 642 as of now. Appears to be a great round for a short barrel, with excellent and reliable expansion. I'm sticking with this until I'm convinced there's something else as good or better for less money.
 
It pays to try out all the 38 ammo out there in a snub nose.
You NEVER can tell where it will hit the target and how well
it will group.

Last year I was testing some loads over my chrony and was
surprised at where the bullets struck on the target.

Here is a picture of an outing and a reload with Trail Boss
with a 158 LRN that I use for target practice, since it way slow.
No way can it be used for SD.

vc7ti.jpg
 
I carry 148gn lead wadcutters loaded to 840+/- in my old 3" M37. My wife carries Critical Defense in her Ruger LCR. So there you have both extremes in the same house.
 
Shooting a 37 airweight with a combination of hornady critical defense and buffalo bore 150 hardcast wadcutters. Wanted to stay away from +p and combine expansion and penetration with the two. My best modification was removing the old wood grips and replacing with pachmyr.
 
My long time load is the Federal 38G, 158gr LSWCHP +P. At 890fps at the muzzle I don't believe it will hazard the owner of any .38 revolver regardless of what material the frame is made from.

For me it tends to shoot to or near to POA in my fixed sight J and K frames (don't recall if I've tried it in my 38/44 HD) I don't find the recoil to be of any consequence.
 
Don't overlook the fact that ammo is in short supply and sometimes these recommendations are based on what they could get. Speer 135 grain short barrel is a great round in both 38 spec and 357 mag. It is optimized for 2" - 3" barrels. But it is really hard to find, especially in 50 rd boxes which is only sold by LEO suppliers. The 20 rd boxes are easier to find but tend to cost nearly as much as the 50 rd. The only supplier I've found who has it a couple times a year is SGA ammo in Oklahoma. The last time they had it a couple of months ago it was $28.50/box of 50 in case lots of 20 boxes or more for .38spec. The last I bought was .357 and it was $29.50/box of 50, last month. Good luck.
 
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SpeedSkater said:
And what do you all recommend for older .38 Spcls like pre-Model 36 and Targetmasters?
Click to expand...

Personally I would use the same load I stated above as I don't believe you would hurt either of the guns you mention by using it.

If you are concerned about using +P you could either limit it to just a few rounds to get familiar with it or get the same LSWCHP in a non+P loading like that offered by Buffalo Bore that states "it won't hurt older/fragile/alloy revolvers".
 
Don't forget that before 1970, regular .38spl factory ammo was loaded to much higher pressures than newer ammo. And modern .38spl +P is loaded significantly higher than modern .38spl regular ammo but generally - notwithstanding exceptions - modern +P pressures are about equal to pre 1970 .38spl pressures. So the older guns - even alloy frames - should not have a problem with +P ammo.
 
In a Plus P .38 or in .357 Magnum I like the Gold Dot ammo made for weapons with short barrels.

In a standard velocity .38 Special I use the Hornady Custom 158 grain XTP. There is a youtube video with some pretty impressive gel test using this ammo.

I also have both the Plus P and standard version of the 110 grain Hornady Critical Defense that I have tried but tend to go with one of the above.
 
The 110 gr. Silvertip is still listed by Winchester and is NOT +p, the 125gr is +p.
Finding that anywhere in this day and age is a matter of checking the usual sources and the stuff is crazy expensive.

Then again, I don't often carry my old Bodyguard much anymore.

Geoff
Who likes flat automatics in the land of spandex and shorts.
 
DON'T FORGET THE UNPREDICTABLE FACTOR.

The unpredictable nature of how bullets react & travel when hitting an animal, or the unpredictable nature of some to soak up lead without much affect, while others fall over and die, I wouldn't waste much time overthinking it. Use what you can get & shoot best, and hope "they hit between the pockets".
 
Different Revolvers -- Possibly same Ammo

Good Evening,

For a year or so, I have been carrying a 38 +p 442 airweight and using federal 110 gr hydra shok ammo. This week I came into a very sweet mod 66-2 with a 4" barrel which presented me with decisions on what types of ammo should I have on hand.

The federal ammo is made to give low recoil for 1 7/8" barrel weapons but still kicks pretty good in the airweight.

Without having to carry several kinds of ammo, would the 110 grain hydra shok perform well in the 357 pistol since it has two more inchs of barrel?

I will have more powerful ammo for the 357, but there will be times that both are carried together thus my wanting to have similar ammo and the recoil of the model 442 airweight is my limiting factor.

I conceal carry these weapons for self defense. If you have other suggestions please feel free to enlighten me.

Thanks,

Papa
 
papa1147 said:
Good Evening,

For a year or so, I have been carrying a 38 +p 442 airweight and using federal 110 gr hydra shok ammo. This week I came into a very sweet mod 66-2 with a 4" barrel which presented me with decisions on what types of ammo should I have on hand.

The federal ammo is made to give low recoil for 1 7/8" barrel weapons but still kicks pretty good in the airweight.

Without having to carry several kinds of ammo, would the 110 grain hydra shok perform well in the 357 pistol since it has two more inchs of barrel?

I will have more powerful ammo for the 357, but there will be times that both are carried together thus my wanting to have similar ammo and the recoil of the model 442 airweight is my limiting factor.

I conceal carry these weapons for self defense. If you have other suggestions please feel free to enlighten me.

Thanks,

Papa
Click to expand...

The Gold Dot load I mentioned above is a good load in both snubbies and 4 inch barrels; borne true by both street results and gelatin testing. My second choice is a 158 grain lead hollow point at +P velocity. My third choice, or my choice if recoil is a substantial factor is a 148 grain wadcutter as hard as possible and as fast as possible (like Buffalo Bore).

The 110 grain hydra shok, in .38 special, have been under-performers in the tests I've seen.
 
Stick with what has been used and proven to work in the real world: 158SWCHP+P by Rem, Fed or Win, Speer 125+P/135+P GDHP, Rem 125+P Golden Saber, the new Win 125+P STHP or Win 130+P PDX.

Hornady's FTX is completely unproven on the streets.

ALL solid bullet designs in 38Spl have proven to be OVER PENETRATIVE in real shootings. Don't walk but RUN AWAY from using even WC and SWC bullets in this caliber.
 
I trust only 3 loads for SD and I use them all with different revolvers because of accuracy.

I like Winchester Silvertip +P, Speer Short Barrel Gold Dot +P and the FBI Load.
 
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