ammo for .38 S&W SPL.MOD. 649-1

hobobob

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I'm trying to determine if it's safe to fire Hornady 38 SPCL 158 gr XTP shells as my ammo for .38 S&W SPL.MOD. 649-1. I am getting too many conflicting opinions about what ammo is safe & what is not. A dealer told me I could fire 38 SPL+P in it but I am leery of his advise. I am interested in some thoughts from knowledgeable gun people. Many thanks. hobobob
 
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I'm trying to determine if it's safe to fire Hornady 38 SPCL 158 gr XTP shells as my ammo for .38 S&W SPL.MOD. 649-1. I am getting too many conflicting opinions about what ammo is safe & what is not. A dealer told me I could fire 38 SPL+P in it but I am leery of his advise. I am interested in some thoughts from knowledgeable gun people. Many thanks. hobobob
It is ABSOLUTELY SAFE to use the 158gr Hornady® load you reference as it is a STANDARD PRESSURE LOAD. As for firing 38 Special +P ammunition in your gun, you will just get more conflicting information. Call Smith & Wesson®, give them you gun's serial number; and FOLLOW THEIR ADVICE.
 
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Thanks David. I'll take your advise & attempt to find a working Smith & Wesson phone number for info on the 38 Special +P ammunition. Meanwhile I'll keep the 38 SPCL 158gr Hornady® load in it for personal protection use.
 
Smith & Wesson® Contact Information..........

By Email: [email protected]

By Telephone:
1-800-331-0852 (USA)
Mon-Fri 8:00AM-8:00PM Eastern Time

1-413-781-8300 (International)
Mon-Fri 8:00AM-5:00PM Eastern Time

By Fax:
1-413-747-3317 (USA)
1-413-731-8980 (International)

By Mail:
Smith & Wesson
2100 Roosevelt Avenue
Springfield, MA 01104
 
David,I followed your advice fortunately & contacted Smith & Wesson about firing the 38 spcl+p ammo in this mod 649-1. They said it is not safe to do so. If I had listened to some gun dealers I might have run into a bad situation. I thank you.
 
David,I followed your advice fortunately & contacted Smith & Wesson about firing the 38 spcl+p ammo in this mod 649-1. They said it is not safe to do so. If I had listened to some gun dealers I might have run into a bad situation. I thank you.
Glad I was able to help. Take a look/try the following 38 Special STANDARD PRESSURE loads for your gun; all are 158gr loads...........
• Buffalo Bore® # 20C/20
• Fiocchi® #38B
• Hornady® #90362
• Magtech® #38E

I carry the Buffalo Bore® load.
 
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I agree the listed .38 loads are perfectly fine for use in your model 649, but from plenty of other discussion here any factory .38 +P loading is safe to use in any model stamped steel frame S & W revolver, which your gun certainly falls under. Large numbers of such rounds over a long period of time will increase wear on the gun, but it will be safe to use and will not blow it up. I'm sure others will chime in here.
 
Ok, I'll chime in. Both of you are correct. Confused? I'll explain. The OP called S&W per badge 851's advice, got an answer he thought was suitable, and went with their admonition. Judging from the OP's initial post, he was already uncomfortable with the thought of firing +P rounds in his 649-1 so S&W's response only cemented what he thought was the correct answer all along. Nothing wrong with that, as there are plenty of standard pressure rounds that will "do the job."

On the other hand, it has been well established that unless there's a serious underlying problem (e.g. improper heat treatment, stress cracks invisible to the naked eye, pre-existing timing issues, etc.), firing +P rounds in a J-frame will not cause a catastrophic failure, nor will a firing a mere cylinder full of them necessitate a trip to the gunsmith. A steady diet of them will wear the gun out faster, but we're talking round counts in the thousands as opposed to tens or hundreds.

Me personally? I have no qualms shooting +P rounds in my personal Chief's Special. I have no illusions about it wearing out and going out of time faster with extended use of them, but I've never once felt it's "unsafe." However, since the Bodyguard in question isn't mine and I'm not the kind of person who's going to tell someone else what they "should" shoot in their own firearm, I think the OP is perfectly justified in his decision, and especially so since he'd be well served by any of the loads mentioned by badge 851... ...except for the BB rounds. You already know how I feel about those. :D
 
Now I'm confused... Isn't the S&W M640-1 an all Steel revolver? Hasn't S&W stated you can fire factory .38 Special +P ammo in any of their all Steel .38 Special revolver which has a model number? (1957 and on) I think it's even been said it's safe in any all Steel post-war revolver.
 
There is a list of S&W revolvers with model numbers and dash numbers
clearly marked as to which are approved for use with +P ammo and
which are not. The list is from S&W and has been included in several
different postings on this forum. The info clearly states that the ok for
+P ammo in any steel frame revolver made after 1957 and model
stamped refers to K-frame revolvers and not J-frame guns and the
model listings clearly show that many of the various steel J-frame
guns are not approved for +P by S&W.
 
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