Anybody still carry the 38+P+ 147gr Hydra Shok

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BreakerDan

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Do any of ya'll still use the Federal 147 38+P+ Hydra Shock?
I know they are old tech, but I think they are still good for a
4 incher. My M28 loves 'em.
I stick to the FBI lead hollowpoint in my snubs though.

Wasn't this the last round the FBI issued for revolvers?
If not, what was?
 
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I do know it was a duty load for the US customs inthe cs-1
 
I'm carrying the "FBI Load" in all my revolvers regardless of barrel length. I do carry Remington R38S12 in my short barrel revolvers because the lead is soft enough to expand at the slightly lower velocities. Remington, Winchester or Federal FBI load ammo is fine in the 4" revolvers IMO.
 
I believe I recall brother Erich saying he runs them for his pocket carried reload, due to them not getting as dinged up as the LSWCHP's when pocket carried? I seem to recall him saying he ran them also as the reload when his gun had his combat full wads in it, due to the 147's being easier to stuff in the charge ports. Now as then, I can't find any fault with the mans logic?
 
You need to talk to my wife. :)

I've got a speedloader of them in my pocket right now, and several more on the nightstand. :cool:
 
I recently bought two boxes, when I found them at a "reasonable" price, by today's standards. I have a speed strip full of them in my pocket now, backing up my Colt Magnum Carry backup gun. The ballistics are fairly close to Speer Short Barrel .357-135s, with a little less recoil. In my very limited testing, they expand and partially fragment in water, though not with any kind of classic mushroom like ine sees in Gold Dots. I was having chronograph trouble the day I tried to clock them, but the one round I was confident of clocked 899 fps. from my Magnum Carry, which is a "slow gun," even with a true 2" barrel. Erich tells me that 900 is consistent with what he's seen in 1 7/8" guns, with 4" barrels getting the advertised 950 or better.
 
Yes, i carried them for many years in my 686, 4 inch. We qualified with them every 6 weeks on the PPC & TRC. they will do the job in a shootout. You can find them currently for sale at Ammunition To Go here on the internet at their website. I just got 1000 rounds from them last week.
 
Its good stuff - I've got it in my little Model 36 right now. You're right, it was the last .38 Special round issued by the FBI, replacing the 158 LSWCHP. I'm not sure why, but I would guess it performed better in the ammo tests against windshields, sheetrock, and car doors.

38hs2g.jpg
 
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Thanks for the replies. I like the round and am considering changing
my M36 no dash over to it. Seems like a M36 could handle it as the
+P+ Fed is not "that" hot compared to some of the other +P+ loads like the old T load 110.
 
I've got some in my stash, but do not carry them. I was going to buy another box for my stash when I saw them at a local shop for $29.99 a box of 50. I hesitated, but went back a few weeks later to the same shop to see them now re-priced at.........................hold on................wait for it.........................$64.99 a box!!!!! I went by this shop recently (this was probably 6-8 months ago they did this blatant price gouge re-pricing). Amazingly, they still have a large quantity of this sitting on the shelf. HMMM???
 
We all carried it .. up & through the time of the Miami Shoot-out on April 11, 1986. In that case the +P+, & the 9mm did not have the "knock-down .. stay-down" results desired. I saw one of the Bank Robbers after being hit with +P+ & 9mm get up & kill two of the Agents with me. Granted both subjects were high on adrenalin and were determined to take as many of us with them as they could before they died. Enough lead brought the guy down & several 12 gauge slugs finally ended the other guy. There were no drugs found in their systems. He had been shot twice through the heart with 9mm by one of the SWAT members. In several other shootings i was involved in ... yes the +P+ brought the subjects down... guess i was lucky. Thereafter, the Bureau started doing penetration & knock-down studies on the 10mm ammo. Couple years later we went over to the S&W 10mm models. There were some production problems with that pistol & they were all recalled. I continued to carry the 686 & +P+ up until i retired in 1994. Thereafter they went to the 40 S&W caliber Glocks. I still carry the +P+ in my 686 or my Glock 23 as a CW.
 
exfebee wrote:
We all carried it .. up & through the time of the Miami Shoot-out on April 11, 1986. In that case the +P+, & the 9mm did not have the "knock-down .. stay-down" results desired. I saw one of the Bank Robbers after being hit with +P+ & 9mm get up & kill two of the Agents with me. Granted both subjects were high on adrenalin and were determined to take as many of us with them as they could before they died. Enough lead brought the guy down & several 12 gauge slugs finally ended the other guy. There were no drugs found in their systems. He had been shot twice through the heart with 9mm by one of the SWAT members. In several other shootings i was involved in ... yes the +P+ brought the subjects down... guess i was lucky. Thereafter, the Bureau started doing penetration & knock-down studies on the 10mm ammo. Couple years later we went over to the S&W 10mm models. There were some production problems with that pistol & they were all recalled. I continued to carry the 686 & +P+ up until i retired in 1994. Thereafter they went to the 40 S&W caliber Glocks. I still carry the +P+ in my 686 or my Glock 23 as a CW.
Click to expand...

Wait - you're saying that you carried the .38 Spl +P+ 147-grain Hydra-Shok prior to April 1986? :eek:

Maybe my recollection is off, but I believe that would require a rather amazing and creative application of Einsteinian physics . . . :rolleyes: Was your issue FBI ride a DeLorean by chance? :D
 
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Full of brown stuff

I don't recall that 12 gauge slugs were used in the Miami shootout. I'll call BS on this one! :mad: Don't play PX hero and pretend to be something that you're not.
 
The 4/11/86 Miami shootout was a watershed event in Bureau history. I would urge anyone interested to check the actual documents created in its wake for the real facts:

Federal Bureau of Investigation - Freedom of Information Privacy Act

The first section (1A) lists the guns used in the shootout by make, model, and serial number (pages 66, 70), as well as the types of ammunition used. The agent's .38 ammo is described uniformly as lead +P semi-wadcutter hollowpoint. The crime scene guys recovered a speedloader full of Bureau .357 Silvertip from a g-ride, as well as some loose wadcutters probably left over from a qualification session.

Supervisory Special Agent Gordon McNeil carried a personally owned Model 19-1, serial number 6K29169. SA Mireles carried a personally owned 4 inch 686 - serial number AAH8939. There were also Model 13s, 36s, 60s, and 459s.

Some of the stuff is blacked out, but what is there is pretty eye opening.

There's also a good summary and another account of the guns in Part 02.
 
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Sig 220 thanks for the website on Miami. Very interesting stuff.
Also goes to show that just because you have a revolver
up against 223 assault rifles, you cant get the job done.
Sounds like the high cap 9mm carriers sprayed and prayed while
the revolver carriers made 'em count. Just sad that two agents got killed in the line of duty.

I had remembered reading that the FBI was still using LSWCHP back in 86. I thought that the FBI picked up the 147+P+ in the early 90s. Glad you guys could clarify that.

It also validated the stories that the FBI loaded 38 in their revolvers
and had 357 only for backup.
 
My impression is that the F.B.I. guys shot well, including the guys with autos. The initial killing shot was landed by Jerry Dove with a 9mm auto and the silvertips in his gun really did work well. Blaming them was the F.B.I.'s attempt to find a scapegoat. The agents were in the sunlight. The crooks were in the shadows, so the lighting was working against them. Ed Mireles was slow to get his 870 into the fight (the only cop with a long gun) due to a gunshot wound to his left arm. The BGs had long guns and sure as heck knew how to use them, since Mattix was a former Marine and Platt was a former Army Ranger. No doubt the good guys made mistakes, but we've had years to pick apart split second decisions they had to make on the fly.
 
Can I take a moment to thank all of the "usual suspects"?
You folks are great! You don't get flustered or angry, just more determined to get down to facts. Even when taunted, you stayed focused! An awful lot of the reasons people come here to learn, has been shown in this thread. Your readers were the real winners here! And a T/Y for that link 220!
 
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