38 snub nose ammo

[toysoldier]

At an auction, I purchased about 10 pounds of assorted cast-lead bullets, almost all .38's of different sizes. I was thinking about duplicating the old British 38-200 round for my Taurus snubbie, and discovered I had 140gr SWC (sized and lubed) and 60gr cylindrical "pills". I put together some rounds with one each over 3.0gr of Bullseye. Haven't had a chance to take them to the range to see what they do. In the meantime, I have my revolver loaded with 125gr Berry copper-plated HP's over 4.0gr Bullseye. In nickeled cases, they sure look purty.

[coyotejoe]

The Speer 135 grain Gold Dot bullet,in their Super Gold Dot cartridge is especially designed for "snubbies"
A year ago,the "American Rifleman"praised it,as the cartridge of the year.
That's what I keep in my Model 36.
I am also experimenting with the Speer 145 Grain HBWC bullet with 3 grains of Bullseye.
Frank

No offence Kragman71 but the "American Rifleman" will praise what ever its advertisers want praised. I record a lot of satellite TV so I can watch it later and skip through the commercials but with "American Rifleman TV" there is no point in skipping commercials, the whole program is one big "infomercial".

[SHOOTALL]

YA have to ask why the FBI load is 158 gr. ?

like they say in racing , nothing beats cubic inches !

[Rogue Ram]

The FBI doesn't even have the 158 gr bullet on the DOJ ammo schedule anymore. I know because I have to buy off of it. Winchester "Supreme Expansion Talon" (aka BLACK TALON for all you politically correct types) 130 grain JHP +P is what is available this year for the .38 special, which for all DOJ agencies is now a back up cartridge.

Do what I do. Think of the lowly snubbie as a "GET OFF ME" gun, that is in reality a stabbing weapon with a little more range than a lance or a spear. 125 grain, 110 grain, 158 grain, who cares....if the gee whiz stuff works and the bad guy falls over with one shot, yippee. If not, what you have is a long range stabbing weapon. Shoot straight and more than once....till he "gets off of you" or you can get away. I love my SW 442.....my hand doesn't after quals with the above Winchester stuff though. Blood......


rr

[Mikey]

The new 130s draw blood from you when you qualify with your 442??  Man, I put myself through a self qualification course with my M38 and 3 full boxes of 200 gn handloads and all I get are dirty hands. 

And I certainly do not consider the 38 snubnose revovler to be 'lowly' or a 'get off of me' gun, not when I can hit to 100m with it and group to one large ragged hole at 25 with a slug that would flatten an assailant. 

I do not carry any handgun that can not make a 'rescue or eyeball shot' at 25m, and that makes it a bit more than a stabbing weapon.  JMTCW.  Mikey.

[SHOOTALL]

for years it was on the list and got the name that way .
I will stick with it .

[Savage]

In most police circles, the Back Up is considered a "Get Off Me" weapon, to be used at contact distances when the primary is down, inaccessible, or lost. Ram's comments about thinking of the back up as a stabbing weapon is pretty much on track for the average officer. Our backup qualifications were done from contact distance out to a maximum of 15yds. Very few I have seen can keep five rds from a backup on a B-27 target at 25yds, much less make a head shot. (Myself included) Steve357 and I qualified P3AT backups with scores in the 450-470/500 range. For my use, a backup that is capable of assuming the role of primary would be too big for me to carry as a backup! If I carried a .38 snubbie I'd carry the heavier bullets in SWC, as I don't have to carry DOJ approved ammo.
Savage

[Olschool]

Years ago I carried the HBWC reversed into a cup point as the first 2 rounds, with the 158 LSWCHP for the follow up in both my snubby and my duty gun, when the duty gun had to be a .357.
That way I didn't have to worry about the over penetration in a crowd,  the HBWC also holds together well and gives some penetration if I needed to fire into a car.
Also, it doesn't take long to get to the 158gr if I needed them.

[LouisianaMan]

On 26 OCT I ran a test of Mikey's load, but am just now getting around to posting results. (Sorry, was too busy playing with other guns & loads!) I used a 200g Mt. Baldy LSWC-K from Mt. Baldy, over 3.8g Win231, with standard small pistol primer. NOTE: these are seated deep. . .crimped over front shoulder, as they don't fit reliably in .38SPL chambers if crimped at crimp groove. BE ADVISED: this will increase pressure by an unknown amount.

Colt Detective Spl. (2" bbl): 761 fps average vel. (approx. 8' from muzzle). Hi vel 785, low 744, SD of 12.72. Muzzle energy 257 fpe.

Cimarron Lightning (3.5" bbl.): 816 fps average vel., Hi = 839, Low = 785, SD of 17.52. Muzzle energy 296 fpe.

Temp was about 65 degrees, elevation perhaps 100' (hey, it's south Louisiana, we call that hilly!) Sun was low--late afternoon.

A side note: although I was finishing off a few rounds of .45LC and didn't have enough for a full 10-round string, the four Winchester 225g STHPs I fired from a 4" S&W Mountain Gun ranged from 768 fps to 815 fps with a ME of 315 fpe. Although I don't rely heavily on muzzle energy figures personally, it's an interesting comparison to the Cimarron Lightning with Mikey's load. . . .

[OldCoon]

Federal 110 grain Hydra Shock

[Badnews Bob]

I carry mine with 170gr Gold dots at +P load, I like heavier bullets myself.

[Mohawk]

May have been mentioned already, but Federal has reintroduced the standard pressure 125gr Nyclad .38 Special. It is already back on their web-site. It's a good snub load from what I've heard.

[tony212]

I just picked up a box of Hornady 110 grain Critical Defense standard pressure .38 specials.  I haven't had a chance to try them , we've been burried with snow the past few weeks, but from what I have read they are just what is needed in short barreled guns for defense.
Tony212