What is the best kind of .38 Special or .38+P

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Doug.38PR

Moderator
Usually I drop Glazers in my gun for home and motel room defense to prevent overpenetration, but outside in public, what do any of you think is the best ammuntion brand, point, and pressure to use? I carry a 4" revolver to get the full blast of the cartridge and can handle rounds better with the larger frame. Currently in my gun I carry Winchester Silvertip Hollowpoints in .38+P with two speedloaders in the pouch and occasionally I carry an extra two speedloaders with Corbon .38+P if I need a little extra velocity. Before that I carried regular .38 Special Federal Hydrashoks. When I first started carrying I carried UMC Lead Round Nose or Full Metal Jacket Flat Point.

What do y'all think?

Is velocity what I want? Is Energy? Is less recoil? Winchester, Corbon, PMC, Blazer, Remington, American Eagle, Goldensaber? What tip? Lead Round Nose (most agree that this is not the best but police used this for 100 years), Jacketed Hollowpoint, Silvertips, Full Metal Jacket, Full Metal Hollowpoint, Hydrashok, etc. What's the best? There is so much to choose from.
 
I'd go along with CajunBass -- 125gr JHP .38 specials. The types listed below should work fine in your gun, provided it's rated for +P ammo -- though you should use a similar weight, non +P round for range practice.

Remington Golden Saber
Winchester Silvertip
Federal Hydra-Shock (129gr)
Speer Gold Dot

I'd avoid reliance on the 110gr JHPs as my experience shows they lack penetration.
 
I have a 357 snub. I've tried the corbon +p and found them too hot for it. Even hotter than the .357's! But after a lot of trial and error, I've settled in on the PMC 125gn starfire. It's a good balance of recoil and accuracy, and the terminal ballistics are pretty good. And it's very reasonably priced. I'm sure the gold sabres and gold dots are just as good, but I haven't tried them, so I couldn't tell you first hand. Mostly I've tried lots of different 158gn hollowpoints, wadcutters, softpoints,etc. :)
 
I would go with Glaser Safety .38 special loads (the new gray tip) - in a snubby, they are as good as it gets for stopping power. Some autoloaders will not cycle Glasers 100% due to the light bullet weight, but in a wheelgun this is not an issue.
 
For home defense, I use 125 gr Winchester Super X .38 Special +p silver tip hollow point. For plinking, I use PMC .38 special FMJ, and PMC .357 mag JSP.
 
The best you can do from the 38 is the good old 158SWCHP.
It has the best results of all the available 38's.

None of the JHP's can even begin to compare and Glaser and CorBon are too specialized for day to day use.

Sam
 
I use Winchester 125Gr +P in my Taurus 85 snub. I might switch over to the Speer 135Gr if they are accurate in my gun though.
 
Best .38 Special Loading

Magsafe Agent load or Magsafe Defender load as your first round, followed by Triton 125 Quikshok or Corbon 125 HP.


"In a world devoid of semiautomatics, a properly set-up Webley is the ultimate full-size self-defense handgun."
 
I used the 158grain SWCHP load since the mid 70's when they came out with good satisfaction in 2-4" barrels. Today I prefer the Remington +P version because the lead is soft and flash is low.
I switched to the 158grain load from issue 110grain +P+"Treasury Loads" (and the earlier Supervel version)as did other Fed Agent buddies who USED those loads weren't sold on 3-5" deep holes in BG wearing heavy clothing. The 158grain swchp puts a nice 1/2" hole about a foot deep in most anything, which should get the job done. :cool:
 
Best .38 for defense

1. Don't carry anything you don't want to be shot with. IE: Glazers

2. Stick the bullet into the adversary's brain and don't spend too much time worrying about who made it. Practice, practice, practive. While were at it practice moving and taking cover behind whatever concealment is available. Practice with both/either hand.

Trust me here.....it IS possible to kick the dirt out and hide in the cracks in the concrete.
 
I like the Federal Nyclad +p 125 grain HP. I laid in an adequate supply, they shoot accurately from my J frames, and I like their performance.
 
I use the old FBI/ Miami-Dade load which is the 158 grn Lead Semi-wadcutter Hollow Point +P. I don't worry about whether I use the Winchester, Remington or Federal version of this load as they all work about the same.
Currently my 4" S&W Model 10 & 642 are loaded with the Federal version as that is what I found first when I last went looking for some 38 Spl. ammo.

This load has proven to be the most effective load for the 38 Spl. regardless of barrel length. The new Speer Gold Dot 135 grn. JHP sounds like it may be a good load, but I have been unable to find any in my area. Until the new Gold Dot load is proven, I will continue to rely on the 158 grn LSWCHP +P for my 38 Spl.
 
1. Don't carry anything you don't want to be shot with.
Click to expand...

Would you explain that one in a little more detail? My puzzlement comes from the fact that I don't want to be shot with anything.
 
1. Don't carry anything you don't want to be shot with.
Click to expand...

My puzzlement is this: Why wouldn't I? It seems to me I would want to use a bullet that I would not want to be shot with. If I don't want to be shot with, then it certainly isn't going to do the criminal any good :cool:

And like the previous poster said, I don't want to be shot with any bullet anyway. Even if it is a lead wadcutter. :eek:
 
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