.38 Special +p Ammunition for Short Barrels

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dgludwig

New member
I'm thinking about loading my Ruger LCR snub-nose revolver with Speer Gold Dot "Personal Protection", .38 Special +p ammunition-which claims to be made specifically for short barrels. No ballistic information is provided on the box except to say the cartridge is topped with 135 grain weight (JHP) bullets. Anybody have any information and/or experience with this ammunition?
Thanks.
 
Good question, and don't have an answer. If guessing, he might be firing all the shots from one bullet type into same block.
 
Lucky Gunner has already been posted. Even though they sell ammo, I've found them to have great unbiased info about different loadings (they are trying to sell ammo, but what do they care which brand or loading we pick). There are other sources to check as well (but Lucky Gunner is my go to). They all tend to tell the same story for Speer Short Barrel loadings. The Speer GD SB in most calibers and most loadings seem to be the perfect medium of enough expansion and enough (but not too much) penetration.

The Winchester PDX is another that seems to do a good job of the right blend nearly across their range of offered calibers and weights.
 
The short barrel Gold Dots gave good results in a couple of other ballistic gel tests from two inch barreled revolvers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khazbS9pWjE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k890Rio2oBY

Why does each consecutive shot of same ammo penetrate more?
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Just a guess, but strict protocol for true, calibrated ballistic gel is to fire only one shot into a block. Multiple shots in the same block might be subtlety weakening the synthetic gel used by Lucky Gunner. Still a great collection of data.
 
Ballistic gel tests are about bullet expansion and don't really mean a lot. More about being impressive than anything else
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And yet every mainstream law enforcement agency and every credible “expert” heavily considers controlled ballistic gel test results because a bigger hole is better than a smaller hole
 
I'd rather have the Federal 130gr +P HST, it's specifically made for short barrels and it penetrates and expands very good.
 
Another option is the hot Buffalo Bore 158 grain +P, lead, semi-wadcutter, hollow point.

This is the load that ended the police problems with failures to stop with the old standard load. 38 Special with a round nose bullet.

The Buffalo load is what the original +P load was before manufactures began down loading it because of problems with people shooting +P in older small frame guns not built for it.

The Buffalo load has a soft lead bullet with a gas check to prevent leading.
These seem to work well in short barrels, and it's loaded with low flash powder.

https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=108
 
That Buffalo Bore stuff looks like good ammo loaded even hotter than my version of the same load. I bet its a tough load to shoot in a light weight snubby. Heck even in an SP-101 I bet it has some notable recoil.

But at a $1.60 a round I think I will stick with my loads. I don't understand why that can't be sold for $25 a box of 50 and still make money? If they did this they might own the SD market for that type of load.
 
Ballistic gel tests are about bullet expansion and don't really mean a lot.
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And penetration! Probably the more important measure of the two.
Dnium covered ballistic gel is a good "standard" for comparison, not an exact replacement for a human body. Because we can't just shoot up a bunch of cadavers in controlled tests for comparison, ballistic gel is the best we have.
It's about comparison, not being impressive.
 
Better practice
Better placement
Better penetration

:)

And you can roll your own for peanuts with almost no equipment

148wadcutter.jpg
 
Cheapshooter said:
Yes, tangible examples to back up your claim that the lead, wide meplat bullets you show do in fact deliver the penetration of the Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel rounds.
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Now that we have a complete sentence that I actually understand what what you’re asking...
;)
Yes, I have my own experience
There are also numerous examples available online
Plus the link above to LGL also details both specific loads quite nicely
 
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