158-grain +P LSWCHP In Moms S&W 637?

J

Jelly

New member
What would be your pick for a .38 Special +P defense load to be used in a 637?

Mom doesn't go to the range that much for practice (uses regular, inexpensive "value pack" stuff for that), and while she won't be winning any competitions soon, she is capable and proficient, and I feel more than comfortable with her shooting ability.

From what I've read, the 158-grain +P LSWCHP looks like the best choice...what say you?
 
Thats whats in my 357 snub and my old CA undercover 38spl snub. Its worked for many years and I don't see why it shouldn't today. Its still about placement. :)
 
I got some too

I have boxes of the Federal and Winchester load and I like them in both my J frames, but they are both steel. Have no idea what it feels like in a lightweight. And I have good neoprene grips on both revs. too. Alot of folks prefer the lighter weight JHP hitech rounds in the snubs but I don't see alot of advantage as most loads are just sorta slow out of the snub whatever they are. Therefore I go for the biggest thump I can get. Hmm.- the .38 S&W used to be loaded with a 200 gr. lead projectile- wonder what that would do maybe 100-200 fps faster!?
 
She should try the +p first...with the heavy bullet it has some kick...she might be more comfortble with a standard load if that is what she practices with...
 
If and when I can drag her to the range, she uses the least expensive .38 Special rounds, but otherwise has the gun loaded with +P...she practiced a good bit with them to get accustomed to the recoil and POA/POI differences and did quite well...I sure as heck wouldn't want to piss her off! :D
 
I've used Remington's 158gr +P LHP for years in my lightweight Colt Agent without breaking any bones, or the gun. Have mom give it a try. She's the final judge anyway. If she doesn't care for them, try Speer's new 135gr "snubby" load. Any .38 hollowpoint you find is likely going to be a +P. The fact that she's willing to practice at all puts her way ahead of the game.
 
I can shoot 357 magnum loads from my taurus 605, but I don't find it comfortable, nor do I find the recovery time between shots satisfactory. Also, a lot of the hollow points seem to be very inaccurate with a short barrel and just seem to take off and miss the target completely. My wife shoots the gun as well, and taking this into consideration, I would only load mine with 158 grain 38spl, either in a jsp flat nose, or a leadnose jhp. Mag tech makes rounds like these that go about 800 fps, about 80fps less than the "fbi" load wadcutter. Their brand of jhp has the same nose as the winchester swchp, but is also jacketed, so it's easier to clean the gun after practice. With these loads, you can easily dump five shots in five seconds into a nice tight group, and shot placement being what it is, It might be better to hit with 3 out of 5 instead of maybe 1 out of 5. You can look at these bullets on the midway usa website, but they have the pictures reversed, so look what's on the box in the picture carefully. ;)
 
sighting

As I recall, the 158 loads printed in a group just above my front sight,(on the steel J's) I think that the factory designed the sights on the 38 specials to shoot that weight and the lighter bullets often print lower. Unless they updated the new gen. snubs. I guess you could practice with standard vel. 158 LRN, possibly. I don't think the recoil of the +P lead bullets is that much worse than the standard load, but presumably more than the 148 wadcutter target loads. But I suspect even those might punch a nice sharp hole in a soft target to some effect!
 
I can't see anything wrong with that load. Like somebody said, its been used for years, so why it wouldn't be ok now, I don't know.
I would be concerned about plus p loads as mom gets older though.
The Speer Gold Dot snubby loads look very interesting. They seem to have come up with a design for reliable expansion. With lower bullet weights, there should be less recoil. Of course, it could all be marketing.

Mike
 
Sorry to go O/T but how's your mum like the 637? My mom wants a gun(she's getting her permit soon), and she wants it small...
 
I like Jkwas's idea...

When I carry my old (not +P rated) J frame, I shoot the Mag Tech 158g SJHP. It's fairly priced so you can practice with it quite a bit and I'm hoping that even though it's not +P, the 158g will give enough penetration.

Actually, what I do is load 4 with the Mag Tech and the final shot is a 158g +P LSWC from Georgia Arms. I'm sure that'll give enough penetration.
 
Sorry to go O/T but how's your mum like the 637? My mom wants a gun(she's getting her permit soon), and she wants it small...
Click to expand...

We started her out on a 317 (.22LR), and after "learning the ropes" with that, moved her up to the 637.

Good:
Lightweight
Small size
Ability to shoot double or single action

Bad:
Recoil relative the .22LR - She wasn't expecting it and shot placement certainly suffered when starting with the 637...a little practice remedied that issue though.
 
This is my favorite carry load in .38 spl +P, but there are a lot of good .38 spl loads right now..If the LSWHP+P isn't comfortable to shoot in a light gun.

Good luck, Mom.Enjoy shooting.

Mark :cool:
 
mom's gun

how old is mom? mine is hitting 80. makes a diff.
if you want her to be able to use the thing and not have the bad guy take it from her hand..then, go LIGHT...I promise you..nobody likes to bleed...and all the spooky talk of ther doped up big guy is the exception..not the rule...most folks shot about an inch above their bellybutton with a 32, 380 or whatever begin to reconsider their position and feel bad about their decision. The notion that a handgun will knock sasquatch to his back is a mistake....for that get mom a shotgun.
the handgun for mom should be one she is not afraid of and will use...probably not bigger than a 38 special...and SIMPLE..not a gun all riddled with safeties and trgger lokcs and such, but one she can find and put to hand in a panic without shooting herself in the foot..any good revolver in anything less than 357 mag caliber will probably do fine.
 
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