Hornandy 90 grain .38 lite

[Grimjaws]

Sadly my wrist is messed up and shooting is a pain. I carry a steel 36. Wadcutters are okay for now but wondering if anyone has any experience with this Hornandy lite round.

My airweights are a joy to carry but 5 rounds even with standard pressure hurts.

Looking for a hollow point with light recoil.

 

[Rammer Jammer]

I've shot some from an LCR. A bit less felt recoil but really not too much. In an all steel J frame your results should be better than a 13.5 oz Ruger.

 

[hardluk1]

I would look to carry a 24oz steel frame with hogue momo grip and for ammo you might try federals 130gr hst micro load . This load works very well and is soft shooting.

You might even consider a semi-auto like the Ruger Security in 380gr with 10 to 15 rounds in a mag . Lots of choices for 380 today to try too. Might see if a range has one for rent and not this is not a blow back designs so felt recoil is less .

 

[chief38]

Well, you have a dilemma here. By using lightweight bullets you create a few different issues. First of all a light bullet will hit low all other things being equal. The lighter the bullet, the lower it will hit. Your Chief's Special was regulated for 158 grain bullets and that should be POA=POI.

The second issue is that a 90 grain bullet from a 2" barrel is going to be pretty anemic. Not a good SD rounds at all and lousy for POA/POI accuracy.

Shooting standard velocity 158 grain bullets or even better, 148 grain wad cutters (for practice) is fairly easy on the wrists. For self defense, I'd still step up to a 158 grain +P or at the minimum, a 135 grain GDHP. Yea, they will be more hurtful to shoot but in the case of a SD shooting that wil be the least of your problems.

If you just can't deal with the Chief's Special recoil, you could try a different style handgun such as a 9mm. Semi Auto's have a heavy recoil spring and slide that absorbs a lot of felt recoil! They tend to be much easier to shoot with less felt recoil and todays 9's are smaller, lighter, less bulky, while holding more than twice the capacity of your Chief's Special. So you would have way less pain, probably shoot better and would practice more. BTW, 9mm ammo is way less costly than 38 special and today's modern 9's (like the Federal HST or Speer Gold Dot) are better performers than the old 38 special.

Just something else to consider......

 

[HardToHandle]

In actual response to OP’s question, the 90gr Hornady load is noticeably less than any other .38 Special factory loading. You know you touched off a round, but the recoil is a brief push. Report volume also seemed lower - not squib level, but decibels lower.

I consider the recoil feels significantly less than any factory 148gr wadcutters, which is my normal carry in Airweights. Not sure it is 50% less, but noticeably less recoil. For me, follow up shots went from needing focus to reacquire sights to almost being a natural light push with little change in the sight picture. Powder puffy.

As noted, the issue is a 90gr did not shoot to POA in a way 125gr hollow points and 148gr Wadcutters do. I recall three inches high at 10 yards, but that’s not verified against my records.

The 110gt Hornady loading is what I carry on Speed Strips these days, with wadcutters in the cylinder. I find reloading wadcutters a fool’s errand under any stress, but the 110gr shoots closer to POA and the bullet profile makes centering easier. The 110gr loading is a bit more recoil than those pink boxed 90gr, but pretty controllable.

No reservations in recommending, but strongly suggest shooting to test groups.

 

[Model 15-4ever]

The Hornady Critical Defense Lite 90 grain load is surprisingly good. Certainly more effective than a sharp stick. Recoil is quite light... I bought this load for an airweight revolver.

At 7 yards, POI with this load is the same as the 110 grain +P load... about 1" below POA in my 2" airweight. Given the usual distance for self-defense, that seems fine to me.

PS. You will find the small 9mm "micro" pistols more obnoxious to shoot than even standard pressure .38 Special out of an airweight revolver. The micro nines have considerable muzzle blast and muzzle rise, and a standard pressure 115 grain load will produces 6.6 lbs of recoil energy in the ubiquitous SIG P365. Your airweight 642 (as an example) with the above .38 Special 110 grain +P load, produces only 5.7 lbs of recoil. The micro nine is also heavier, and in the view of many instructors, less safe carried loaded in a pocket.

The .38 Special 90 grain load above produces even less recoil, 4.3 lbs, and since you know and like the revolver, probably best to stick with that.

 

[hardluk1]

I mention the federal 130gr hst micro 38sp . My wife is a small 68 year old lady that stands at 5-2 and she picked up a s&w3 360J 357mag . It was a new 3 year old pistol , part of a s&w EDC kit My wife will shoot a speer 38sp short barrel ammo But after trying the federal 130gr hst micro thats her choice for carry ammo for the 360J .

Look at the test video linked below and maybe buy one box and try 5 or 10 rounds .

federal 130gr hst micro 38sp gel test - Search Videos

 

[jimmyj]

Glock Model 43X with a metal magazine lock and Shield metal 15 round magazines.
( I also have wrist issues)

 

[SGT ROCK 11B]

Sadly my wrist is messed up and shooting is a pain. I carry a steel 36. Wadcutters are okay for now but wondering if anyone has any experience with this Hornandy lite round.

My airweights are a joy to carry but 5 rounds even with standard pressure hurts.

Looking for a hollow point with light recoil.

A really old cop I know was at our Monthly Breakfast for retirees. He carries a four inch in a shoulder holster because that is what you do when you are in a wheelchair. Anyways a four inch is always easier to manage than a two inch.

Now if you are a revolver guy its time to consider a .32 caliber plus you get six rounds instead o five in a S&W.