Speer vs Buffalo Bore

[Eddietruett]

Which would you recommend for self-defense in a Smith & Wesson 642 Airweight: Buffalo Bore 150-grain standard pressure wadcutters or Speer Gold Dot 135-grain +P Short Barrel? My main concern with the Gold Dots are expansion reliability and consistency (out of a snub) and creating a larger wound channel.
Thanks

I’d recommend Lehigh

 

[Beju]

Never, ever wadcutters. That same Lucky Gunner evaluation shows great results with the Federal 130gr HST Micro out of a 2" barrel. That seems like the ticket.

That round was discontinued, the rumor was that performance varied quite a bit from lot to lot.

It's effectively been superseded by Hydra Shok Deep (P38HSD1), which seems to work well in the tests that people have done so far. The Hydra Shok Deep 380 uses a similar projectile design, so Federal's clean sheet design may have cracked the code on balancing penetration and expansion from lower velocity 38 caliber rounds.

Personally, I'm carrying Winchester Ranger Bonded 130 +P (RA38B). I have debated switching to a standard pressure JHP to trade expansion for less recoil and more penetration (maybe), but I didn't see any in stock anywhere the last time I checked.

 

[Chuck Edwards]

My 642 gets wadcutters. I shoot that gun very poorly with anything heavy. The poi gets real high for me on heavy ammo. It’s a 7 yard gun in my hands

My 640 pro on the other hand I can shoot heavy loaded 38s and stretch that thing to 50.

My 642 shoots high with anything over 135 grains, so it gets the Gold Dot 135s. OTOH, my 49 shoots 148-158 grain ammo to POA, so it gets Federal wadcutters.

 

[STORMINORMAN]

Buffalo Bore is always pretty hard to beat from a carry/self-defense standpoint... When it says "Standard Pressure, Low Flash, HEAVY & Short Barrel" in the description it just SCREAMS! "J-Frame" to me?

Cheers!

P.S. Way back when I obtained a couple hundred of those Federal 135gr JHP-WC projectiles: loaded some of them in 357 Magnum cases with fine results.

 

[WR Moore]

With all due respect to the LuckyGunner dude, I have to have deep doubts about his "winter clothing" substitute. I don't happen to have any winter clothing I'm willing to shoot hole in, but the difference in penetration seems strange. To the point I'd have done multiple tests.

If the recoil isn't too much, the Speer GD +P gave me 12.5 inches of penetration and 0.54 expansion from a 60 through 4 layers of denim. The short barrel load uses a different bullet.

 

[BlueLineNYPD]

With all due respect to the LuckyGunner dude, I have to have deep doubts about his "winter clothing" substitute. I don't happen to have any winter clothing I'm willing to shoot hole in, but the difference in penetration seems strange. To the point I'd have done multiple tests.

If the recoil isn't too much, the Speer GD +P gave me 12.5 inches of penetration and 0.54 expansion from a 60 through 4 layers of denim. The short barrel load uses a different bullet.

I carried Gold Dots for a long time but at 780 ft/s, their expansion and penetration are questionable, even though they’re labeled for short barrels. If they could reliably reach advertised velocity, I’d feel more comfortable carrying them in a snub. The Buffalo Bore hits over 850 ft/s and fully penetrates and cuts a full caliber wound channel.

 

[Chuck Edwards]

FWIW, the 135-grain GDSBs went 850 fps from my M49. Federal and R-P wadcutters went ~690 fps from the same gun. R-P standard velocity LSWCs went 738 fps from the M49 as well.

 

[walkin' trails]

The current crop of snubbie revolver gurus all seem to give the nod to 148 grain wadcutters, and Georgia Arms reportedly released their versions to achieve at least 750 fps from a two inch barrel, or so I've read. I wouldn't necessarily turn up my nose at Buffalo Bore, either. The Speer Gold Dot 135 were designed for short barrels. Some who test them say they work, while others who test them say they don't. Massad Ayoob seems to the a proponent of the later and has mentioned real world cases where they did work. I haven't managed to find any for a while that were convenient to purchase. The Critical Defense 110 +ps were touted as great .38 Special self defense rounds, but they don't shoot POA through my Js. 148 to 158 grain bullets do. I recently found a couple of boxes of Federal 158 grain LSWCHP +P like I used to find in agency inventory left over from the days it was considered a duty round. And others have stated, being about to make accurate shot placement is most important above all else (as is Rule #4). I also hear good things about Hydra Shok Deep and Federal Punch, but everything I've seen or read was tested by YouTubers.

 

[Lt.Donn]

I carried Gold Dots for a long time but at 780 ft/s, their expansion and penetration are questionable, even though they’re labeled for short barrels. If they could reliably reach advertised velocity, I’d feel more comfortable carrying them in a snub. The Buffalo Bore hits over 850 ft/s and fully penetrates and cuts a full caliber wound channel.

Yep .my choice also for a Winter load

 

[rwsmith]

Federal 130 gr. HSTs are my first choice. Winchester 130 gr, Train and Defend are good. I do like the Buffalo Bore standard Gold Dot loadings, more than the Speer version. I'm poor and stingy, though, so the Speer version is on my 'good ammo' list.

 

[Jerry in SC]

I like the BB wadcutters and the 150 grain SWC HC gas check in a steel J frame. The HC is a soft cast bullet and will expand in FBI gel, it has a huge hollow cavity. It’s a real handful in an Airweight. They’re just not as cool looking as Gold Dots…

 

[Smeckler]

I would suggest Remington Golden Saber 125gr +P BJHP. They are designed to reliably expand from a snubby, they don't over penetrate, and they tend to be the only round I see in testing meet the FBI standards consistently.

 

[Chuck Edwards]

I would suggest Remington Golden Saber 125gr +P BJHP. They are designed to reliably expand from a snubby, they don't over penetrate, and they tend to be the only round I see in testing meet the FBI standards consistently.

And they're warm! The stuff I have chronoed at 940something from my 642-2.