Man, this thread reminds me of how I over-thought the ammunition I was buying for my J's back in the 80's. I was always looking at FPS & ME calculations in those days, too. Back then pretty much most of what we had from which to choose was the stuff designed for use in 4-6" barreled revolvers. The early frangible stuff was expensive, and was known to be shallow in penetration. Some of the specialty stuff was hard to find, and relatively expensive, like the .38 Spl Scorpion Hydra-Shok.
Nowadays we have some more options in better designed JHP's from some major makers. The little snubs are once again enjoying a resurgence of interest by folks looking for easily carried CCW options, and it no doubt helps that the venerable .38 Spl snub's are once again enjoying attention by LE users as both secondary & off-duty weapons, too.
I've reviewed my fair share of factory gel testing and hosted gel test events, and have decided that my own needs for snub revolver loads can be met by more than a single major maker, and I don't particularly see the need to resort to a specialty small ammo maker. I dislike being too attached to any one particular load, as production and market availability issues can make finding a single load difficult, or expensive.
For my +P capable snubs, I usually try to keep some various loads on hand, including the Speer 135gr +P GDHP SB, Remington 125gr +P HPJ/BJHP (Golden Sabre), and Win 130gr +P RA38B (same thing as the PDX1 sold in 20-rd boxes). I also have some remaining Rem & Win 158gr +P LHP/LSWCHP, and even some of the Speer 125gr +P GDHP (which is mostly used for range ammo, if the 135gr GDHP is hard to find at any given time and I want to cut back on burning it up for the range).
For my 37-2DAO Airweight, in which I only use standard pressure loads, I try to keep an assortment of Win 110gr STHP (newer version), Federal 110gr Hydra-Shok, and recently I added some Hornady 125gr XTP (American Gunner).
I even have some older carry loads in my ammo supply, left over from some years ago. I think I have most of a box of Federal 158gr Nyclad LHP +P (back when I rather liked the 158gr LHP +P loads), and most of a couple boxes of some Win 147gr JHP +P I was trying for a while (I vaguely remember reading about some early gel testing and deciding to pick up some boxes).
The little snub .38's are pretty much a study in compromise, though, as most people find them harder to shoot than larger revolvers. The very attributes that make them so handy for lawful concealed carry also tend to make them harder to shoot well, especially under duress and at speed.
Some folks still seem to find the 148gr HB wadcutter to be an appealing choice for them, even though it's a pretty low velocity load, and usually made with a very soft lead bullet.
Others don't seem to mind if "limited" to using plain standard pressure 158gr LSWC loads. (Those would be my last choice, along with the 130gr ball loads, but they're low recoiling & accurate enough, in the hands of folks sensitive to recoil, and at least offer heavier bullet weights than .380 ACP loads.)
I don't try to make my 5-shot .38's into something they aren't, meaning I don't try to "Magnumize" them. I can use .357 Magnum in 3 of my 5-shot snubs, if I really feel the need for that, but the only one that consistently sees Magnum loads is my Ruger SP101DAO 2.25". My pair of M&P 340's usually see one or another +P load, because of the better controllability and speed at which I can shoot them using +P vs. Magnum.
It's all a balanced compromise, especially with the little 5-shot snubs. Getting solid hits in vital anatomical spots is pretty important, regardless of the ammo choice, and misses not only fail to be hits on the intended threat target, but present real danger "down-range" to any unintended targets.
