CW: I have found most 38 caliber revolvers, including all my snubbies and fixed sight revolvers to have sights regulated to 50yds. That is supposed to be the max effective range for a fixed sighted combat handgun. Granted, the sights on the snubbies are very basic but if you can hit at 50 yds, try ringing the 100 yd gong with your snubbie, it is a ball.
I posted my preferred load of 3.8 gns of WW231 under a 200 gn swc for my snubbies and 38 spl. It is a very accurate bullet and is loaded to standard pressures. It penetrates more than any other 38 round I have tried in my snubbies. I have little faith in 'ballistic statistics' that portend what a bullet is supposed to do, based on penetration in ballistic gelatin or other ballistic medium, or the notion of a particular slug delivering all its energy to the target. I know how a 200 gn 38 caliber will perform at even slow speeds and that is exactly what I want.
In my neck of the woods there is this group of old guys, me included, and occasionally we all get out to the range on the same day and hang out the gongs at the 100 yd line and bang away. Usually, before we begin, there is always someone at the range who will question what we're doing - 'what, are you guys nuts? That's all the way to 100 yds, you can't hit with a snub nose out to there, what are ya wasting your ammo for?' They usually stand there a bit dumfounded when we start ringing the gong. One of the funniest guys in the group always turns to someone else on the line before he begins shooting and asks 'hey, I forget, do we take just a half front sight or a full front sight for the 100 yd line?' Of course, he already knows the answer and then proceeds to ring the gong with all five shots..........most of us just snicker.............
