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It's effectively been superseded by Hydra Shok Deep (P38HSD1), which seems to work well in the tests that people have done so far.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.