[guajiro]

I shot some speer gold dot short barrel 38sp +p out of my dads s&w with a 6in barrel yesterday. I know this is not the ideal round for this gun but it was the only round available at the time. I was surprised at how innacurate they were compared to the lead wadcutters I am used to. Is there a reason for this? And what would be a better defence round for this barrel length.

[Elvishead]

If it's a S&W 38 spl your fine.

If it's a .357, go to a .357 HP round for SD.

[ArchAngelCD]

Just because the box has "short barrel" on it doesn't mean you can't shoot those rounds in a 6" barrel revolver. The Short Barrel Gold Dot bullet was designed to reliable expand at the lower velocities associated with a 2" barrel. They will work fine in a longer barrel too.

As for them being inaccurate, I have not seen that happen. I've shot those rounds from a 2", 3" and 4" barrel and all shot equally well. I will admit I don't normally buy the Speer SB rounds for a longer barrel but only because the price is too high to use them in anything other than a short barrel. For longer barrel revolvers I prefer "The FBI Load" which is a 158gr LSWC/HP +P round. I like the Remington R38S12 rounds best but the Winchester or Federal offerings will also work well from a longer barrel.

[9mmepiphany]

you'll find very few rounds that will match the wadcutters for accuracy. that's why they are usually labeled "Match Wadcutters". if they are HB wadcutters, out of any good quality 6" wheelgun, they should be cutting one big hole on the target at anything closer than 25 yards

for defense, outof a 6" barrel, in .38 spl, i like a 125gr +P JHP

[Hungry Seagull]

Try Cabelas for Gold Dots. Sometimes they sell just the short barrel version but regularly they make the long barrels availible. I pounced on a batch some weekends ago after confirming my specific speer stock number that I desired for my gun.