Let's talk about loading for J-Frames...

[340six]

The wife likes her 642 and the self cast 148 Wad Cutters

 

[sps282]

For my 642 & 638 I use 4.5 gr. Unique and hard cast 158 gr. SWC for target loads....not too hard on the hand or gun. For social work I bump up the charge of Unique to 5.4 gr. and use "Rim Rock" soft lead 158 gr. swchp w/gas check....this load is a little hard on these old hands and I only shoot it enough to stay confident with it.

 

[Kavinsky]

Jeff Cooper (the Guru) said:

"The .38 Spl. I consider this cartridge to be a two-inch-barrel-only proposition. In a snubby I like a 160-grain lead SWC and either five grains of Red Dot or 8.5 grains of SR4756, to break 1000 fps. Such a load is hard on the gun, but you don't get something for nothing. For a policeman who is forced to use a .38 Spl. but can go to a six-inch barrel on his duty gun, I suggest the Speer 146-grain JHP and 10 grains of SR4756, for 1300 fps. This is an overlooked combination that gets the tired old .38 up into low-end .357 performance."

Important disclaimer: I take NO responsibility for advocating or suggesting these loads, but I will tell you that I have loaded up his Red Dot load and it was really harsh in a Model 60. I only shot a few of them, and the rest have been sitting in my closet since the 1980s. As always, YOU are responsible for what you load. Just sayin'.

John

Jeff Cooper may have come up with one of my favorite guns of all time (the Bren Ten) but that's crazy and I know for a fact that +P's do damage old steel guns

so I would just make a point to do what the FBI did and not use anything under 140 gr in them with standard pressure loads and with anything under a 140 gr loads use hollowpoints or semi wadcutters like Keith advocated use for to make the most out of them.

after all a heavier bullet at low velocity does the job and its all about the area of impact, not the speed of the projectile that does the damage.

and todays standard loadings are probably a hell of alot more accurate and closer to the actual performance than the old stuff was, negating need for +p usage even more

 

[125JHP]

Out of my 642....
5.1g N-320 pushes a 125 JHP at around 900 fps while 7.0 g of AA-5 pushes the same 125g at 860fps.
These are at the upper end of the load tables I am using.

 

[Treeman]

Actual J frame is a 3 inch M&P Airweight .357 but I have 2 Rossi 68/88 5 shooters and a Charter Undercover all in .38 spl. ad a Ruger LCR .357. Standard load is a 158gr Speer HP or a 160 gr.cast FP over 5.0 0f Unique. 2nd standard for the snubbies that prefer it is a 115 gr cast WC over 4.2 grains of Red Dot. 3rd "standard" load is the 4.2 of Red dot and a 125FP cast. For the .357s 8.2 gr of 800X under a 125 is controllable but significantly hotter than a .38 spl.