Looking for ammo help- LRN vs FMJ vs FMC

[sundaz11]

Would like to get opinions on what I should get for my .38/.357 as far as LRN vs FMJ vs FMC. What are the differences and does one dirty the barrel more then the other? The 686 will be used almost exclusively at an indoor range shooting targets. Thanks so much for the help.

 

[OKFC05]

The 686 will be used almost exclusively at an indoor range shooting targets.

The indoor range rules are going to be the main concern for you. Some ranges do not allow lead bullets because of the smoke from the bullet lube, and some require bullets with NO lead exposed to reduce lead contamination of the range.
You just have to ask the rules for the inddor range you intend to use.

Outdoors, shoot whatever you want; the gun could care less.
The obsession with "how dirty does it make my gun?" bores me to tears. Just clean the gun when it needs it, and you will soon find that although low-pressure lead bullet loads leave soot in the gun, it cleans off easily. Now, a good copper buildup in the barrel, that's harder to clean out: use a copper solvent occasionally.

 

[AveragEd]

And then there are indoor ranges that don't allow jacketed bullets because they are often found in loads that exceed their backstop's energy limit.

I shoot about 80% 148-grain lead wadcutters and the rest as 158-grain lead semi-wadcutters in my 66s and 686s, with all ammo loaded to "target" velocities. Since I use jacketed ammo solely for hunting and might fire a cylinder or two of the stuff a year, I use factory loads for that.

Ed

 

[corpulent]

Can you recommend a good, readily-available copper solvent?

 

[AveragEd]

Many custom barrel manufacturers recommend Sweet's 7.62 Solvent but most of the ones on the market work well. Sweet's is a lot thicker than any other that I've used and doesn't drip off a patch or bore brush.

Ed