Nyclad Ammo Coming Back ??
- Thread starter Gapper 1
- Start date
Figured the place to come for the facts is TFL with all you WELL INFORMED people!! orchidhunter
Moderator
It's on there website now. orchidhunter
It is indeed back. Standard pressure only, but it's back.
Well, it is back, in theory, as I haven't actually seen it anywhere yet.
Has anyone actually seen it? If so, what is the price? I really Like the Buffalo Bore standard pressure gas checked LSWCHP, but it is really expensive. If I can save money on the Nyclad I'd probably switch, but if not I'd stick with BB.
Has anyone actually seen it? If so, what is the price? I really Like the Buffalo Bore standard pressure gas checked LSWCHP, but it is really expensive. If I can save money on the Nyclad I'd probably switch, but if not I'd stick with BB.
RainbowBob
New member
OK...I gotta ask...I know it's a dumb question...I've only been shooting a couple of years...but what IS Nyclad? And what's so good about it?
Nyclad is lead bullets encased in plastic. Kind of a non-jacketed approach to keeping dead-soft lead out of contact with the bore and when it was first put on the market (decades ago; part of the line of ammo S&W was selling back then, IIRC) it was originally marketed, in part, as a way to cut down on airborne lead on indoor ranges.
S&W got out of the ammo game and Federal ended up with the rights. At one time they made more than half a dozen different Nyclad offerings in .38 alone. Plus .357s, 9mms, etc. Off the top of my head, probably getting details wrong and possibly leaving some out, the .38s were:
P38A-148gr HBWC
P38B-158gr LRN
P38C-158gr SWC
P38G-158gr HPSWC +P
P38H-158gr SWC +P
P38M-125gr HP "Chief's Special"
P38N-125gr HP
Plus a whole plethora of similar items with alphabet soup prefixes to denote special orders.
Federal pretty much dropped all Nyclad products a few years ago, except for some special contract runs.
Right now, the one that's back in the catalog and causing the buzz is the P38M "Chief's Special" loading: used to be well regarded back in the day for short barrelled carry guns and with all the CCW activity in the market these days, it just made sense to start making 'em again.
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Uhhh, my conscience is telling me that I should add a disclaimer: I work at Federal. I normally keep out of ammo threads because I'm just one of the production staff and have no say in anything done there and because they have strict rules about divulging proprietary or confidential information. I'm hoping that nobody considers what I've written above as being advertising or anything related.
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orchidhunter
Moderator
"What is Nyclad?" It is a proven bullet known for great accuracy and stopping power. Nylon-coated design eliminates barrel fouling and reduces airborne lead. orchidhunter
Nicely explained, Molasses. Just a correction for what appears to be a typo in your post: The "Chiefs Special" load that's back in the catalog (P38M) uses a 125gr. bullet.
Can we assume they are not bringing it out in +P so as not to dilute the market share of their own 135gr. Gold Dot Short Barrel load? Discuss.
Can we assume they are not bringing it out in +P so as not to dilute the market share of their own 135gr. Gold Dot Short Barrel load? Discuss.
moccassins
New member
I've had 3 50 round boxes of standard pressure Nyclads for several years, I've been hoarding for use in my Smith 649
My Smith setting here has 5 little blue noses peeking out at me. Like tiny lead ICBM's in their silos waiting dutifully for their launch command. Plus P flavor. I heard they shut down the line because the equiptment wore out. Therefore I would not expect to see the new stuff in the bargain category! What would be cool but probably too expensive would be different colored nylon for different loads.
Thanks, fixed it.
Now for the life of me, I can't recall if the P38N was +P or not. Doubt I'll lose sleep over it tonight. One thing to consider is that the P38M loading has always been okay for non +P rated guns... There are plenty of +P loads to choose from that are designed for defensive use, including short barrel-specific, but from what I've read on some of the boards, a lot of people felt the particular niche of a short-barrel friendly, non +P load was unfilled while this item was out of production.
I think it was, because I used to load it in my M85, and I'm sure it was +P. Of course, I'm sure of a lot of things.
I definitely think that standard pressure load will find a ready market. In addition to some older guns still in use, there are a lot of ultra-light snubbies out there that would be well served by it. So, while I think the call in going standard pressure was a good one, I loved that +P load. If, of course, it was +p...
It was announced at the Shot Show. Yes, it'll be back. The standard pressure is the one we need--we already have good +P loads like Speer GD +P, and DPX +P.
The Nyclad may be the very best of all the standard pressure loads, and the reason it's back is because of all the "featherweight" snubbies out there that become more manageable with the Nyclad. Not that some wouldn't also prefer it in Airweight and steel guns.
I wouldn't mind seeing the 158 LSWC +P Nyclad coming back, also. Seems the new stuff has cause most of the old FBI load to disappear.
The Nyclad may be the very best of all the standard pressure loads, and the reason it's back is because of all the "featherweight" snubbies out there that become more manageable with the Nyclad. Not that some wouldn't also prefer it in Airweight and steel guns.
I wouldn't mind seeing the 158 LSWC +P Nyclad coming back, also. Seems the new stuff has cause most of the old FBI load to disappear.