125 gr /38 Special loads?

[ZVP]

Hope this the right place to ask!
Is the pressure higher with these light bullet, H/V, short barrel loads than a full house 158 gr 38 Special?
I'd like to shoot these through my Cobra Derringer, but the manual warns against shooting +P rounds and I was wondering if these rounds develop high pressures also?
If they are safe, the potential of using the Derringer as a back-up for my chiefs Special makes more sense than trying for a reload since the 2nd gun would be quicker.
ZVP

 

[dahermit]

They will be marked as "+P" only if they exceed SAMMI pressure limits for the standard .38 Special. If they have no such mark, you can shoot them.

 

[old bear]

They will be marked as "+P" only if they exceed SAMMI pressure limits for the .38 Special. If they have no such mark, you can shoot them.

+P ammo DOES NOT exceed SAMMI pressure limits. There is a SAMMI standard for both 38 special ammo and 38special +P ammo.

If this poster was referring to +P+ ammo, there is no SAMMI pressure limits for this.

To the op almost all factory ammo will list on the box if it's +P ammo. Just remember to buy standard 38 special ammo.

 

[Kosh75287]

A suggestion or two

Buy a box of .38 Special 148 grain Target wadcutter ammo for the Cobra. They are accurate, easier to shoot, and leave a nasty hole in the tissue of what (whom) ever gets hit with them.

Buy a good speed loader for your Chief's Special and practice rapid reloads twice as much as you practice shooting the Cobra.

 

[TimSr]

You are not likley to find any .38 hollow point ammo that is NOT +P

 

[carguychris]

Is the pressure higher with these light bullet, H/V, short barrel loads than a full house 158 gr 38 Special? ...I was wondering if these rounds develop high pressures also?

No, they should not.

+P ammo DOES NOT exceed SAMMI pressure limits. There is a SAMMI standard for both 38 special ammo and 38special +P ammo.

If this poster was referring to +P+ ammo, there is no SAMMI pressure limits for this.

Correct on all counts.

ZVP, just FYI, you are highly unlikely to encounter +P+ today; AFAIK the only load currently on the market is Federal P38HS2G, which is labeled as "Law Enforcement Only", and which I've NEVER seen in stock at a LGS, ever.

FWIW .38Spl+P+ was essentially as a sham to allow cops to carry ammo with a little extra "sumpin", but without the negative political baggage that haunted Magnum ammo in the late 1970s. +P+ is really meant for .357Mag revolvers, although some loads (supposedly including the aforementioned Federal) are only slightly warmer than normal +P. That said, police have largely abandoned .38-caliber revolvers, which has prompted everyone but Federal to drop +P+ from their catalogs. It never really caught on with civilian shooters because there's no good reason for civilians not to carry Magnum ammo if we want the extra power.

You are not likley to find any .38 hollow point ammo that is NOT +P

I dunno, my local Academy Sports stocks several flavors, including the new Hornady Critical Defense Lite with the cutesy pink tips.

 

[9x19]

You are not likley to find any .38 hollow point ammo that is NOT +P

That's not entirely accurate... this is all standard pressure:

http://www.hornady.com/store/38-Special

To answer the OP's question: No, lighter bullets do not raise the pressure... but that same amount of pressure will push a lighter bullet faster.

 

[Real Gun]

I believe it would take more pressure to achieve expansion velocity in a 158 gr. My smaller guns get 135 gr Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel. My practice ammo for all of them is 4.0 gr of Bullseye and 125 gr LRNFP, soon to be coated.

 

[TimSr]

That's not entirely accurate... this is all standard pressure:

http://www.hornady.com/store/38-Special

I'll stand corrected. Thinsg have chnaged. Used to be the only JHP standard pressure you could find for .38 was a 110gr. Old Speer manuals #10 and #11 did not even list non-+P load data for any jacketed hollow points. They reasoned that at low velocities, HPs didn't open up on impact. The Hornady 90gr and 110gr FTX look like they would work well. I'd favor the 90gr. As much as I love the XTP bullet at magnum velocities for hunting, as an oldtimer, I'd still be pretty skeptical about it working well at non +P velocities, especially that 158gr. The bullet is rated at 700-1500fps, and you'd sure be on the marginal fringe of their own specs for that.

 

[Cheapshooter]

Is the pressure higher with these light bullet, H/V, short barrel loads than a full house 158 gr 38 Special?

WHAT BRAND?
If you are referring to the Buffalo Bore they are not +P, and Buffalo Bore says "It won't hurt older/fragile/alloy revolvers." So your zinc alloy Cobra should handle it as well as any other standard load.