+P ? No thanks.

The .38 special "super police" load was a 200 grain round nose lead bullet sailing along at a leisurely 600 FPS
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I remember when Winchester used to sell these. I believe they were part of their "white box" line - although it's been too many years to say that for certain. Also, if memory serves (and it may not), they came in a nickel plated case. One thing I do remember, is that they were not a +P loading. I bought a few boxes just for the novelty of it. Shot most of them through my M60 snubbie. Too bad I didn't have a chronograph at the time :p
 
I am getting into reloading and want to make some super police loads when I get the chance. :) There is one bullet company that makes the .357 200 grain round nose bullets that I know of so components are out there.
 
I carried a 637 for a while, but found it just too hard to be accurate. I'm a much better shot with a semiauto ... that said, I tested a few +p rounds and found them very unpleasant .. shot two 158gr SWC +p's and put them away; my hand hurt for a week ... IMHO, the gun is just too light for that much power, especially when there are perfectly effective rounds available in standard pressure ... gun's gone now; the two .357 revolvers I own now weigh three times what the 637 did and are perfectly acceptable with even the hot 158gr rounds ...
 
@skizzums

over-penetration form a 38spl....c'mon guys, get real. if you do not want +p for whatever reason, my wife uses the hornaday standard pressure 110gr critical defense FTX. I have tested several standard 38spl loadings for her to find one that would expand every time from her 1.9" inch barrel, and this was the clear winner. DO NOT go with the hydrashock or hydrashck "low-recoil", they expand less than 60% of the time from her snubbie. obviously I haven't tested ALL of the standard 38 loadings, but these hornadays are very consistent, nice recoil and accuracy and a great price. over-penetration would only be a concern if using a FMJ or a non HP'd wadcutter.
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That's all well and fine in a <2" barrel, but the old Federal 129 gr Hydrashock +P works just fine in a Ruger SP101 3-1/4" barrel. The round expanded quite well in a badly-limping (hoof-rot) cow elk that had to be put down in a roadside ditch where she collapsed a few years ago here. The round went in just behind/below the ear.

I have no problem with using Federal .38 Spl +P 129 gr Hydrashocks for HD/SD in a 3" barrel.
 
I knew I wasn't losing it. . .

I remember when Winchester used to sell these (200g RN). I believe they were part of their "white box" line - although it's been too many years to say that for certain. Also, if memory serves (and it may not), they came in a nickel plated case. One thing I do remember, is that they were not a +P loading.
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I was snooping around at my father's house (where I used to live, decades ago) yesterday, and look what I found. . .

Win200gLead_2014-12-18_00_zpsec4779a4.jpg

Win200gLead_2014-12-18_01_zps79ebdd90.jpg


See, I knew I wasn't losing it. I knew Winchester sold these. Although, I got the "White Box" part wrong. Get a load of the price on the box. Circa 1984-ish. And I probably paid too much at the time lol. .
 
I carry a 38 Special snub from time to time and have never bothered with +P loadings. Sure, it's more powerful, at least slightly, but so what? I have yet to read anything that demonstrates to me that a little more handgun power means more incapacitation in a target. People aren't gelatin. Lack of faith in "more power" also means I get to use lower flash/blast loadings that won't blind/deafen me in the dark, which is most likely when I'll need to use it.

I use a Gold Dot 125 grain standard pressure loading (police overrun that sometime show up for sale) that Speer says will penetrate the same 12-18 inches that their +P does. I asked the Speer engineer once why, if that was the case, does anyone use +P. He shrugged and said, "Who knows?"
 
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I use a Gold Dot 125 grain standard pressure loading (police overrun that sometimes shows up for sale)
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I've long kept an eye out for that load for a couple of old airweights but have never found it. Seen it listed on their LE website.
 
Funny thing about the standard pressure Gold Dots that I learned when I spoke to the engineer about them... When I asked why they didn't produce them for civilian consumption rather than just for police departments, he said (approximately) "If we ever did make them for the civilian market, that would be the last run of them we would ever make." I got busy with other issues and didn't ask him what he meant by that, unfortunately.

If I didn't have these I'd go Hornady, I think.
 
Even 38spl non-jacketed, solid practice wad-cutters will stop a threat. Shoot what you want! But, if you ask advice from a gun retailer which ammo is best for carry/defense, etc., then expect them to sell you the most powerful and most expensive ammo they stock.

Gun stores are good places to look at guns. They are generally not the best places for asking advice and buying guns.
 
Yes but it clearly states that is the 125 grain plus P load. Thanks for the tip, though.
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But, if you actually click on the grey tabs that you use to choose which ammo you want you see both +P and standard velocity are on backorder!
 
Inside a home....

Inside a dwelling, I'D be tempted to use the 148 HBWC. Controllable, cuts tissue like a paper-punch, and is probably least likely to over-penetrate of any homogenous projectile. They're a little expensive over the counter, so the shooter may want to practice with reloads approximating it.

Even in a light revolver with a notoriously snappy recoil, I would expect that keeping 4 of 5 rounds inside a teacup at 7 yards, slowfire is possible possible for most shooters with reasonably good eye-hand coordination. Speeding up the time, say, 5 shots in 5 seconds, and maintaing 4 of 5 in the diameter of a teacup may take more time, but is by no means unobtainable.

It's prudent to strive for this level of skill at 10 and 15, or even 25 yards. The shooter might never attain it at these ranges under time pressure. But the attempt to do so will likely make it easier to do at 7 yards, where he's most likely to be firing for his life.

JMHO
 
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