Need something mild in .38sp for spouse

[358156hp]

Scroll down the page a bit for hard cast wadcutters at std velocities:

https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=search_list&s[search]=&s[title]=Y&s[short_desc]=Y&s[full_desc]=Y&s[sku]=Y&s[match]=all&s[cid]=23

And some background information on full power wadcutter philosophy. Yup, Ed Harris again.

Ed Harris: Revisiting The Full Charge Wadcutter | Reloading, Ammunition, Hunting | GrantCunningham.com

 

[Chris L.]

Hornady has a new loading of their Critical Defense 38 special load. They call it Critical Defense Lite, it's a 90 grain load so it should be pretty light recoiling. It looks like to me it will duplicate a good 380 load.

Yes, a good idea... but Hornady with their ever increasing penchant for marking fads decided to put "pink" polymer tips on them, and part of the sales proceeds go to Breast Cancer Awareness.

 

[LL617]

Is a wadcutter suitable for self defense? I thought wadcutters were more for target shooting.

 

[BigCityChief]

Semi-wadcutters have been demonstrated to be lethal rounds moving at subsonic speeds from 2" revolver barrels. Full wadcutters are ideal for target shooting.

 

[all357mag]

+P ammo is a gimmick. When you reload, you realize this. There is nothing special about the brass, primers, etc. A touch more powder, that's it. Stick with anything Hornady makes.

 

[Hapworth]

+P ammo is a gimmick. When you reload, you realize this. There is nothing special about the brass, primers, etc. A touch more powder, that's it. Stick with anything Hornady makes.

I guess that depends on what you mean by gimmick. +P today is what standard pressure was forty years ago -- that might be gimmicky, I suppose.

But today's +P is still different from today's standard pressure.

Take Hornady, since you like them (I do, too): their 110 grain .38 Special Critical Defense rounds, standard versus +P, produce different terminal ballistics when shot from the same barrel into the same media -- so there are differences.

How do you mean "gimmick"?

 

[rwsmith]

Just a little more velocity

A semi-wadcutter round would be a good place to start for a HD round as they can be driven faster than hollow base wadcutters. You do get a little more velocity with a +P round, but the gain in velocity over standard rounds is not very much in a snub compared to longer barrels. And in a model 10 there is still not going to be much increase in recoil. They do flash and bang a little more though and that's kind of fun. I do use +P to keep around the house just in case.