First, TFL is my favorite handgun forum. I've been lurking and learning for a few weeks - and I'm very impressed with the quality of information, and patience with neophytes like myself
Anyway, even after reading dozens/hundreds of threads, I have some additional questions. I was going to batch them, but evidently the protocol/etiquette is to post each thread separately.
Here is the first - THANKS IN ADVANCE
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I recently purchased my first ever handgun, Taurus 2" 850 CIA stainless steel, .38 SPL. I bought a variety of ammo to practice with at the range. Some from my local gun store, some from a reputable internet site.
I was surprised that the length of the cartridge varies - by more than a few mm. I was assuming these were produced to precision so that there is little or no variance.
Remington 130 gr FMJ
Independence 130 gr FJM-Flat -- bit shorter than Remington
MagTech 125 SJHP -- mailed back, damaged (more on this in a mo')
Federal Hydra-Shock 110 gr JHP -- bit shorter than Remington
I understand .357 rounds are purposely made longer than .38 SPL so they cannot be loaded inadvertently in a .38 SPL. However, given the variance I'm seeing just within the .38 SPL family, I'm wondering if this is ever a possibility?
Few more ammo questions
1. My Magtech 125 SJHPs arrived with a lot of debris (lead? hard residue) in the hollow points. They looked in really bad shape, and there was a slight condensation inside the box. I called the internet shipper and they immediately offered to replace. My question is, should cartridges always look pristine, or is dirty sometimes OK? I'd never seen a cartridge up close until about a month ago, so I'm unfamiliar with acceptable vs. non-acceptable appearance.
2. Right now my goal is to go to the range about once a week and practice...practice...practice. Which type of rounds would be easiest on my revolver in terms of cleaning -- yeah, I'm female and much as I think this is going to be a great hobby, I don't want to spend hours each week cleaning it
Anyway, even after reading dozens/hundreds of threads, I have some additional questions. I was going to batch them, but evidently the protocol/etiquette is to post each thread separately.
Here is the first - THANKS IN ADVANCE
-----
I recently purchased my first ever handgun, Taurus 2" 850 CIA stainless steel, .38 SPL. I bought a variety of ammo to practice with at the range. Some from my local gun store, some from a reputable internet site.
I was surprised that the length of the cartridge varies - by more than a few mm. I was assuming these were produced to precision so that there is little or no variance.
Remington 130 gr FMJ
Independence 130 gr FJM-Flat -- bit shorter than Remington
MagTech 125 SJHP -- mailed back, damaged (more on this in a mo')
Federal Hydra-Shock 110 gr JHP -- bit shorter than Remington
I understand .357 rounds are purposely made longer than .38 SPL so they cannot be loaded inadvertently in a .38 SPL. However, given the variance I'm seeing just within the .38 SPL family, I'm wondering if this is ever a possibility?
Few more ammo questions
1. My Magtech 125 SJHPs arrived with a lot of debris (lead? hard residue) in the hollow points. They looked in really bad shape, and there was a slight condensation inside the box. I called the internet shipper and they immediately offered to replace. My question is, should cartridges always look pristine, or is dirty sometimes OK? I'd never seen a cartridge up close until about a month ago, so I'm unfamiliar with acceptable vs. non-acceptable appearance.
2. Right now my goal is to go to the range about once a week and practice...practice...practice. Which type of rounds would be easiest on my revolver in terms of cleaning -- yeah, I'm female and much as I think this is going to be a great hobby, I don't want to spend hours each week cleaning it