Where did all the 158 gr SWC go?

You have taken me back to the good old days! As a leo in the 70"s most everyone carried S&W 357 mags on duty and shot 158 LSWC 38's for target practice and qualifying. When we had 1,000 brass we would send it off to 3-D and they would send us back 1,000 loaded 38's. At that time I was just starting to reload so I bought 2,000 of these bullets from 3-D and still have about 1,000 of them. They are a very good alloy (don't know what it is!), easily reload and never did lead up our barrels much.
 
You have taken me back to the good old days! As a leo in the 70"s most everyone carried S&W 357 mags on duty and shot 158 LSWC 38's for target practice and qualifying. When we had 1,000 brass we would send it off to 3-D and they would send us back 1,000 loaded 38's. At that time I was just starting to reload so I bought 2,000 of these bullets from 3-D and still have about 1,000 of them. They are a very good alloy (don't know what it is!), easily reload and never did lead up our barrels much.
---I still have 3DS:D
 

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"Back in the day" I used to carry Super Vel 137 grain for the Model 19. It was around this time the FBI came out with a recommendation based on some study they had done the optimal weight for the .357 was the 125 grain HP. It would give adequate penetration on windshield without splattering like the popular 110's were doing.

Shot 158's in practice all the time, shot 148 WC for matches - - -

The 125's did produce more MV and less felt recoil that a full 158 grain load and provided a faster recovery time.
 
You have taken me back to the good old days! As a leo in the 70"s most everyone carried S&W 357 mags on duty and shot 158 LSWC 38's for target practice and qualifying. When we had 1,000 brass we would send it off to 3-D and they would send us back 1,000 loaded 38's. At that time I was just starting to reload so I bought 2,000 of these bullets from 3-D and still have about 1,000 of them. They are a very good alloy (don't know what it is!), easily reload and never did lead up our barrels much.

Same here. Basic LE academy in 1976. Lots of practice with 3-D 158 lswc ammo n our model 10's.
 
The feeling I've been getting is that many of today's shooters can't handle the brutal recoil of the massive 158 gr. bullet being launched at a blistering 850 fps, hence the proliferation of lighter-bullet loadings to avoid bruising their palms.
Besides, most .38s weren't designed around such a huge chunk of
.........................oh, wait a minute..............


SARCASM is unworthy of you!:p:D
 
i've been using 158 gr magtech because that's what my model 15 likes.
but you guys say those little 130 grain things have less recoil?
if that's true, i gotta try them.
laugh all you want, 158 gr recoil is hard on me.
 
I've had a back order for 158 JSP's for almost 2 years. Almost every other bullet is in stock but those. Go figure.
 
158gr NYCLADS

I still have 2 boxes of federal 158 nyclad hps from quite a while ago that I really like in my 5" m10. Very accurate and wish I could still buy them. The price marked on the boxes is $18.95.
 
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