What's a great 38 sp. SD ammo?

D

Doc Holliday 1950

New member
I have 2 great revolvers. the first is a Ruger GP 100 4.2" 357 in magnum & the second is a EEA Windicator 2" in 357 magnum. The Ruger will handle any 38 special & any 357 magnum ammo. The Windicator can handle any 38 special & some 357 magnum at 110 or 125 grains. As an all around SD ammo I have both
Remington 38 special 125 grain HP Golden Saber ammo & Winchester 130 gr.
HP Ranger ammo. Having a 4.2" & a 2" 357 in magnum I had to split the difference and choose one or the other. I know most will say Gold Dots at 125 gr. 38 sp. ammo, but I chose to go a different way.
What are your thoughts and comments on my choices?? All answers are as always accepted and wanted.
 
I shot Federal Hyrdra Shok 110 grains for the longest time. Last time I was at the range I left with a box of Hornady Critical defense.. I haven't been back to shoot some of it yet.

It is.. 110 grains, I just looked at the box.

I remember I told the sales dude specifically, "I do not want +P and I want a low grain bullet."

This is due to my arthritis - I've been stricken with arthritis all my life. Its why I carry a revolver, its why I am picky with my ammo.

So why am I trying the Critical Defense? Its got great ballistics.

Here is the official commercial https://vimeo.com/145438248
 
Buffalo Bore has an excellent 158gr 38 special semi wad cutter hollow cavity bullet.

1,000fps/M.E. 351 ft.lbs - that’s from a 2” barrel. That’s a serious self defense round.
 
I've tried tons and keep going back to...

158 grain, standard pressure,,,,,Nyclad.

Too bad they aren't made any more.

Go here and read the entire site:

http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/

The late Stephen Camp ( he was also a member/staff member here at TFL) has a lot of good real world info in guns and loads.
He was a retired detective & his writing style is "just the facts m'am" straight forward.

It's been a while since I went over his stuff - but - I believe he mentions the "FBI load" - which is a cast lead semi wad cutter hollow point - +P (158 gr +P SWCHP)
Remington still makes one - https://images.remington-catalog.com/56899bc5bfc49

Excellent load - well thought of by a lot of people on this forum.
 
Great self defense load and 38 Special do not go together. Probably the best is the Buffalo bore load above. Baring that the old FBI/Chicago PD load is about as good as one can expect from a 38 Special. Exacerbate that buy using a snubby and you have a bad situation.
 
I respectfully disagree with Nanuk. 38 special has many great offerings of excellent self defense ammo. Anyone who feels differently is ill-informed. Frankly, when it comes to actual terminal ballistics (not endless and meaningless backyard ballistic gel tests) then it turns out that there really isn’t a big difference between all the handgun defensive load calibers. As long as you choose something that will cut a .32 or larger hole about 12 inches deep, the rest is up to your marksmanship and chance. This is the underlying reason for the FBI move back to 9mm. They all are about the same (now) with 9mm appearing to perform on par with some of the other great performers but offered in platforms of greater capacity.
So yes 38 special is a very fine defensive caliber and will serve you well.
I like the current Buffalo Bore offerings. Gold Dots are great too. I’m interested in the new Federal HST as well but have not tested it.


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I was too tired to find this last night. I saw this posted in another thread here on the forum.. Notice how the Hydra Shok out of the 2 inch falls a little short of FBI standards but the Critical Defense (non +P) falls well within

https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/revolver-ballistics-test/#38spl

Anyways, these modern self defense loads in 380, 38, and of course 9 are all said to perform very well. Going back to the FBI - they developed the 40 sw after the Miami shootouts.. but they have recently switched to the 9 complaining about cost and recoil. The 9 is far more easier to shoot for the vast majority of the agents.

So it comes down to this - you know how many people have arthritis, or very little handgun training, or not $$$ to go to various defense classes, are not police officers, or veterans and just want a gun for self defense - the vast majority of these types of people get sold on striker fired 9's and would probably be far better served by the 5 shot j frame in 38 special
 
Lucky gunners data is interesting as far as it goes, but I find it interesting that he failed to test one of the loads that always gets recommended for 38 special carry. The Buffalo Bore offerings. He only tested Buffalo Bore in 357 mag. Seems like a very odd omission to me. Maybe Buffalo Bore did not pay him enough to include it in the test, or maybe it’s because he does not stock or sell B.B. in 38 special.
Lucky gunner is in the ammo sales business, and these tests and data drive sales on his website. But I find it odd that he does not stock any B.B. offerings in 38 special and also failed to test those loads. Very odd indeed.


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Seem like the above mentioned Federal 130gr HST is listed as a +P , but by evidence of the lack of recoil and lower velocity the round lays in between a standard load & +P ...
I have a couple of 12 oz of Charter 38spl snubbies ( actually weigh in at 11oz with the old style wooden panel grips) That behave a bit jumpy with +P loads .. I carry Hornady 110 gr FTX stanard pressure and/ or 148 gr Wadcutters...
In my Taurus 605 357mag I carry Underwood 38Spl 125gr +P Gold dots and Hornady 357 mag 125 gr FTX ...
But that Federal 130gr HST seems like a winner !
 
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Out of short barrels, I really like the Hornady Critical Defense stuff, specifically the Lite and standard pressure. The Lite feels like a .22, it has almost no recoil, but when I look at the data from luckygunner, it penetrates sufficiently deep for my desires, which is home defense.

With 4 inch barrels, it's hard to argue with anything Remington brand, which is the only time I'll every say anything good about Remington anything. Except maybe .22 Yellow Jacket.
 
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