.38 Special TAP ammo?

[arizonaguide]

I just recently purchased a SW442, and will CCW it and keep it as a bedroom gun. So I've been comapring ammo specifications (assuming there's ever any more on the store shelves) and have found some surprises.

I had been hearing about the 135grain Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel HP's, and was leaning in that direction for carry, and was also looking into a TAP round for the bedroom. Anyway, at the hornady site I didn't find a 38special TAP round, but was surprised at the numbers on this:

38 Spcl 110 gr FTX Critical Defense Muzzle 1175fps/337ftlb

38 Spcl 110 gr FTX Critical Defense +P rated even higher at 1270+/394

Anyone familiar with these, and are they okay to use in the 442 with the smaller 110grain bullet?

What about a TAP type or "safety" round? Anything?
Has anyone done any gelatin testing with such in .38?
I wonder how they do in gelatin.

 

[icebones]

glaser makes .38 special saftey slug ammo for the .38, you could consider it a frangible round, because it has a core made of bird shot unstead of solid lead,

Extreme shock also makes frangible .38 too

if youre wanting it as a nightstand gun, i would reccomend anything up to a 115 grain, especially with frangible ammo, as you are probably concerned with over penetration. i read once in a G&A magazine that old school solid lead hollow points from a short barrel revolver are provide roughly the same ammount of "stopping power" as .45acp full metal jacket rounds. either way, i would want something light 115 grains or less and hollow point.

check out midway's website, they have all kinds of .38 ammo to choose from.

hope this helps

 

[Bubba613]

Speer GD SB is the way to go here. I shot Rem Golden Sabre out of my 642 and the flash was blinding in the daytime. The Speer shot much better. I am a fan of heavier bullets over lighter ones.
I wish Hornady would make a TAP for both .38 and .357.

 

[arizonaguide]

I know that Bullet design plays a big part(as well), but is anyone seeing any "better numbers" higher than 1270fps/394ftlb from any .38 round? I just wonder if those 110grains are okay from the lightweight S&W442. Maybe that's the 340 that I'm remembering that has the issues with lighter bullets. (a 125gr minimum).

Anyone familiar with these:
Hornady 38 Spcl 110 gr FTX Critical Defense +P rated at 1270+/394
or anything with close to 394ftlb energy?

Also has anyone come across any gelatin tests on the .38 safety rounds (glaser/extreme shock/etc)?

 

[BADUNAME37]

I realize

that energy numbers transform into stopping power, which is vital information when choosing an effective defense cartridge.

However, I also believe we (including myself) can get all "wrapped up" in the numbers.

More important than the energy (numbers) is shot placement. A .22 pistol or rifle could easily incapacitate or kill someone depending on shot placement.

I agree that lighter bullets will most likely not penetrate walls and overpenetrate the BG in most instances, however one needs to weigh how much the bullet will penetrate thick clothing if one is shooting center-of-mass. Will the ligher bullet incapacitate the attacker if said attacker has on typical indoor clothes plus a heavy coat and the shot is placed center of mass (COM) in the chest bones?

For this reason, I typically prefer heavier bullets over lighter bullets. The only exception is if the bullet composition is 100% copper Barnes XPB (copper hollow point X Pistol Bullet), in which case Barnes typically recommends going with the next lighter bullet than that weight which one would typically shoot when using conventional jacketed lead bullets or all-lead bullets.

I believe the Speer 135grain Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel HP's are about as good as you can get for stopping power. If these are a bit too powerful for a petite woman, then a non+P load would likely work, in which case the proven LSWCHP (Lead SemiWadcutter Hollow Point - aka the FBI load) would be my choice for a reduced power load.

That being said, I have shot non +P's and the aforementioned Speer 135g +P's out of my 642 (which is the stainless version of your 442) and found very little difference in felt recoil. Yes, the +P's were a bit more 'snappy' in my hands, but barely noticeable. Had someone else loaded my cylinder using either non+P's or the 135g +P's, and I were to shoot the bullets, I truly believe I would really have a hard time distinguishing which were the +P's and which ones weren't.

As for your question, I believe the 110 grain bullets will work fine in your 642. The only mention of restriction on light bullets in the S&W revolver manual indicates that cylinder throat erosion may occur on heavy loads using light bullets when the clyinder is a TITANIUM cylinder. Since your 442 and the 642 do not have titanium cylinders, this is a non-issue for you.

In my research, I have found that I want to stay away from the Glazer bullets, unless there is an explicit purpose for which these frangible bullets must be used (i.e., you are an Air Marshall and may need to fire a round inside the cabin of a jet flying at 6,000 feet). From what I understand, any disruption of the bullet "shell" will result in disintegration of the shell thus the encapsulated small lead birdshot entering the BG. Upon apparent testing, the Glazer bullets disintegrate when hitting a solid object (such as the interior shell of an airplane). What happens when that same bullet hits solid bone?

 

[LKB3rd]

You may already know this, but I have found that in .38 special and especially .357 that the lighter bullets make for a very noticeable increase in noise and muzzle blast. I like heavier bullets as well, because I find them to be smoother shooting and less noisy, and without a giant fireball out of the muzzle. This surprised me after the first time I fired some 158 grainers out of my trusty Detective Special, as it is counter intuitive.
It is sort of fun every now and again to fire a 125 grain .357 at the range on a busy day for the 3 seconds of stunned silence it usually gets after the first shot, though But, I digress.

 

[Stephen A. Camp]

Hello. From a 1 7/8" bbl'd J-frame, the standard pressure Hornady Critical Defense .38 Special 110-gr. averaged 856 ft/sec based on 10 shots fired 10' from the chronograph.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=415994&highlight=informal

Best.

 

[arizonaguide]

Thanks Steven, so their "marketing" numbers were from a 6" barrel or something. Thanks.
That does bring me back to the Speer short barrels in 135grain HP.
Thanks inspector for the info on the safety slugs.

 

[BADUNAME37]

You are quite welcome, it was my pleasure.