What do LEOs load their snubs with?

A

AdamSean

New member
This is directed toward those law enforcement officers who carry a snub nosed revolver as a BUG. What ammunition do you carry in this type of handgun? I am currently using Corbon DPX .38 Special +P. if there is a better bullet, I want to be using it.
 
I'm using the Speer Gold Dot 135 grain +P JHP. I've chronographed it at an average of 900 FPS (+/-) in my 642.
 
In preparation for reloading .38 special I have been doing some online reading. There seems to be a fairly decent following of the so-called FBI load - 158 grain lead SWC hollow point. A google search turns up Speer 158 grain lswc hp as well as Winchester (and a few others I am sure).
 
My brother carries Winchester PDX-1 130-grain +p. I think that round and the Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel 135-grain +p are the most modern police-oriented loadings.
 
I'm retired now, but when I was on the job, I carried 150 gn LSWC, both in my 2 in Model 10 38, and the same bullet in 357 for my Model 28 Service pistol.

Now that I'm retired and have went to a 642, I carry 150 gr LSWCs in 38.

If I was to do it again, I wouldn't change except in LE I'd replace the Model 10 with the 642.

I've shot just about everything from snakes and rabbits to moose and buffalo with that bullet, it works.
 
Not as a BUG, but as a plainclothes revolver, I carried the Federal Ny-Clad load and still have a box or so left in my stash. I've also carried the 158 grain LSWCHP FBI load. Nowadays, when I'm not in uniform, I still carry the Ny-Clad load in my model 38 as a pocket revolver.

I don't like +P ammo, simply as a point of personal preference.
 
My BUG is a S&W 360J .38spl that has been customized and rechambered to 9mm. I load it with Federal 9BPLE 115gr JHP +P+.
 
my 3 J frames (mod 36, mod 360PD and mod 649) are all loaded with either remington 38 +P 125 grs golden saber or 38+P 158 grs LSWCHP depending on the purpose... I like the Federal HST +P 129 grs too because the recoil is very light on this one.
 
LawScholar said:
My brother carries Winchester PDX-1 130-grain +p. I think that round and the Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel 135-grain +p are the most modern police-oriented loadings.
Click to expand...

I'm using the same thing right now I'm my S&W Airweight. I prefer a standard pressure JHP for quicker follow up shots but the PDX are not as bad as other +p's.
 
I used to carry the PDX 1 ammunition, but after seeing a video on youtube. I stopped. The PDX 1 ammuntion in a short barrel doesn't seem to achieve enough velocity to expand. It clogged with denim both tests and did not expand at all. I am really thinking of going to the Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel. It has been performing rather well. I am still wanting the Federal Nyclad, but it is hard to find.
 
I think even those who are not LEO have excellent experience and advice as to which type of rounds work best for defense.

You say you are using 38spcl+p. Is that out of a +p snub or a .357mag that you have "loaded down?"

Corbon is a great co.

135grn is very common.
 
I know a couple of dozen guys who still carry snubs using, WC, RNL, Nyclad, Speer short BBL, assorted +p 125gr HP, FBI load, and a lone ranger still using an old stash of WW/Fed Treasury loads.
 
I use Ny-Clad's, still have five boxes of them. I shoot mostly lswc at the range.

Back in the last century when I worked with law enforcement, the guys I knew used lswc in snub nose .38's. Didn't have designer ammo back then.
 
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