Right now, I like to keep the Speer Gold Dot 38 Special +P short barrel defensive ammo in my 642. They seem to have a little less recoil and flash than other defensive loads. Law enforcement around the country use Gold Dots and they always rank very high in ballistic testing generally speaking. That is with the GD standard projectile design. The GD short barrel projectile is specifically designed for snubbies. I like knowing the hollow point design will most likely not exit the backside of the bad guy and inadvertently hurt an innocent. A wadcutter has a tendency to get really good penetration and could have and an increased possibility of pass through.
That being said. As I age and my hands become frailer over time I am planning on replacing hollow point defensive rounds with wadcutters. I shoot a considerable amount of wadcutters now for practice out of my 642 and its very enjoyable. I can comfortably shoot many rounds without any pain.
Underwood extreme penetrator defensive ammo? My experience with the solid copper rounds out of a snubby has not been good. The extra flash and bang with these types of defensive rounds was extremely noticeable! Not a fan. And, in a 642 will you achieve the velocity needed for this projectile design to perform? If so, will it over penetrate?
My advice for carry ammo in a 642 would be to either stick with proven hollow points designed specifically for snubbies or go with wadcutters. The solid copper rounds really need velocity to work well, with a 642 you are definitely going to less velocity than advertised.
