Lowest recoil in a 38 round

The wife is doing lots of practice with the 642 S&W and it is beating her hand up pretty good. What would be the best round that will allow her to keep on practicinig? Price is not a problem.
Or if you can point me to a site that explains it all so I can put it all together. I get lost in all the languange.

THX

A light target load, like American Eagle's 130-grain .38 spl, will be best.

Better still would be to start reloading, and make some powderpuff .38's with a light powder charge.

Here's a link to a recent thread right here on THR which discusses some of this. Some replies go off-topic on whether the shooter should be shooting light loads, but posts such as #18 off some relevant advice. Hope it helps. Good shooting!

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=336817#post4156354

What have you been using?

Like Evan said: 130gr target loads or if you can reload you can make som powder puff rounds.


I use the WWB I think it is 130gr fmj in my 37-2. The gun is now with my g/f on a daily basis and loaded with the same ammo. I am limitied to what can be used(no +P). The 130gr fmj's handle well in the j-frame. We both shoot about 50 rounds at the range.

148 Grain Lead Wadcutters have soft recoil. They also leave a nice wound channel. Good stuff.

The Federal 148s are a very accurate and soft target load. Unfortunately they are fairly expensive.

I reload some very soft loads with 148 grain hollow base wad cutters. If you have any friends who reload ask them to make some up at about 700 feet per second or so and your wife will have no problem.

Other ways to accomplish this:

1. double plug - foam in the ear plugs + muffs.

2. padded gloves, preferable fingerless, such as bicycler's gloves.

I third what Evan recommends.If you're uncomfortable with reloading,check around and see who does and what they would charge.Better safe than sorry:)!

The Federal 130-Gr FMJ rounds are pretty easy on the hands, along with the 148-Gr or so Target Wadcutters

If you can find them cheaply, the "Cowboy Action" loads are usually mild shooters too. Only caveat...some of them are VERY soft lead, with A LOT of bullet lube...so they can be a bit well...smoky.

www.mastercast.net has a 100gr DEWC that feels like a .22 out of my 638.

A 148 WC ontop of 3 grains of unique.

I do 148gr wadcutters with 2.8gr of Bullseye.:)

Agreed that the wadcutters as loaded by the factories have almost no recoil. They're also extremely accurate and leave a nice clean hole in the target for confidence-building. For defense I'd want them cranked up in power a bit, but even underloaded I'd rather use them for defense than the poorly-performing LRN's.

Georgia Arms ... http://207.97.193.147/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2240 ...

500 rounds come in an ammo can ... costs me $110 inc shipping ... reloadable brass ... :)

Chester

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+1 on the wc's for the recoil shy in SD situations.

148 Grain Lead Wadcutters have soft recoil. They also leave a nice wound channel. Good stuff.


I'm not recoil shy and prefer the conrollability wadcutters give. Many like the 642 because of the weight but less weight in the gun gives you more recoil. The 15 oz 642 has over 2X the recoil (everything else being equal) as the all steel 640 at 23 oz.

8 oz is not a lot.

Factory wadcutters (or equivalent reloads) and a good set of larger rubber grips would help.

UglyOldPoorMan,

I'm in the same boat as you are in. My wife doesn't like shooting my 642 either. I have laser grips on mine or I'd change to a softer rubber grip for her to use at the range. She'd much prefer shooting our 9mm beretta, 1911 45acp, and even our s&w 500!! (with lighter loads) I'm interested in this thread for a milder target reload recipe. Try reloading. It gives you more flexibility and you'll save $ PER CARTRIDGE. You probably won't save money though, but you'll shoot a lot more. :)

Berry's 125 grain copper-plated hollow-point bullet, 4.0 grains of Red Dot. If the recoil is still too much, reduce to about 3.7 or even 3.5 grains. This is a *very* accurate light load.

Georgia Arms ... http://207.97.193.147/index.asp?Page...OD&ProdID=2240 ...

500 rounds come in an ammo can ... costs me $110 inc shipping ... reloadable brass

The exact load I get for my wifes M36. I also put a set of Pachmayr compact grips on for her and it shoots like a pussycat. They use a good hard lead as well, doesn't foul the barrel.

Check www.mastercast.net. Their reloaded 100gr LWC lopes downrange at the mid-600s. In recoil, it is almost in the .22 range. I've fired 500 of them from my 637 Airweight. The only problem I've had is that they tend to rip strips out of some targets. Mastercast is a quality reloader, inexpensive (especially if you send them your brass), reliable and prompt. I have used more than five thousand of their reloads of various configs. Highly recommended for any caliber.

Oh! If you send them your brass, do it USPS Priority Mail. It costs me eight bucks and change to send a thousand cases of .38sp that way, as against more than twenty any other way I know of.
Cordially, Jack

Thanks guys, lots of great advice and I am definitely going to get into reloading. I like the idea of controlling what I am shooting instead of whatever place is selling what I need.

THX

I've found Remington UMC 130gr. .38spl to have low recoil.
The other one I like is 158gr. CCI Blazer Aluminum.

What is .38 special "DEWC"? I figure WC has got to be wadcutter, but I don't know what DE is.

I went to Mastecast at...http://www.mastercast.net/amo.htm

And the second .38 special load down labeled 38 SPL 148 grain TCJ/DEWC looks interesting at 825 FPS. I'm sure out of a 2" snub you can knock off at least 100 FPS off of that figure though.

If someone lets me know what DEWC is, I'll know for sure. But it sounds like this is a wadcutter load covered in copper so there is no lead clean up, but still does about 700 FPS maybe out of a 2" snub. It sounds like a good light recoiling load.

"DEWC" means double-ended wadcutter. The bullet is shaped like a barrel and can be loaded either end first. They can also be loaded to higher pressures than HBWC's (hollow-based wadcutters)

Thanks for the explanation. Next time I get ammo, I'll probably try some of that ammo I referred to.

Try using a Convert-a-pell. It is a kit for like $40 that allows you to use shoot .177 lead pellets out of your .38 using primers only. You still get the pop, you still get a projectile to hit the target, and you get absolutely no recoil for next to nothing in cost. This is what I did with my wife's .38. She would not go to the range with me because it hurt her hand after 6 shots. So now, with the Convert-a-pell, she can shoot all day long with me with no complaints. Usually at the end of the day I put a few real .38s in show she doesn't forget. I can tell you - she no longer flinches and shoots with her eyes closed.

Great little tool. Google convert-a-pell or PM me for more info.

Speer make the plastic bullets that use a primer too. You can practice in your garage.

What is .38 special "DEWC"? I figure WC has got to be wadcutter, but I don't know what DE is.

I went to Mastecast at...http://www.mastercast.net/amo.htm

And the second .38 special load down labeled 38 SPL 148 grain TCJ/DEWC looks interesting at 825 FPS. I'm sure out of a 2" snub you can knock off at least 100 FPS off of that figure though.

If someone lets me know what DEWC is, I'll know for sure. But it sounds like this is a wadcutter load covered in copper so there is no lead clean up, but still does about 700 FPS maybe out of a 2" snub. It sounds like a good light recoiling load.

As someone above pointed out, DEWC means double-ended wadcutter. It can be loaded either way, a considerable convenience for reloaders. It also cuts just as good a circle in a target as a standard wadcutter -- because it is a wadcutter. I am currently shooting up 500 rounds of Mastercast's .38sp DEWC loads. In my 637 Airweight, I find them only slightly less punishing than their 158gr SWCs, which is my standard range load in my 686+ (I have fired almost five thousand of these, and love them).

Anything Mastercast offers is a quality product.
Cordially, Jack