multiple revolvers (.38 & .357)...1 defense load for all...thoughts?

[kmrcstintn]

I currently have the following:

S&W 642 (1 7/8" barrel), S&W 19 (4" barrel)

I plan to acquire the following next year:

Ruger GP-100 (6" barrel), Armscor M200 (4" barrel)

I wish to be able to use 1 defense load (.38 +p) for them all...ie: I need a load that will effectively penetrate to necessary depth and expand reliably to prevent overpenetration and this load needs to ba able to be used in short and longer barrels...any thoughts?

 

[weregunner]

There are many excellent choices and going to hit on two. Buffalo Bore makes a 158 grain LSWCHP and it is an excellent reproduction of the older ones made by other ammo makers. It is a better round than the older 158 gr. LSWCHP in that it uses slightly softer lead for the bullet. On the other hand I have a large supply of Remington's version as the lead is soft and will expand better under most circumstances than Federal,s and other similar brands. Less expensive than the others to.This is the load that made the .38 special track record very good. All the 158 gr. rounds in .38 special seem to hit at the same point of aim the magnums in the same weight class do. So either would answer your criteria and others will be along to champion there picks. Speer's 135gr. +P load has the versatility. Light weight, but heavier than 125grains. Less perceived recoil over the heavier slugs. More penetration than the 125s. Not by much, but it is a consideration. And the 135 grain bullet will retain weight better than the older bullets for the most part. Opens at slower speeds because that is what it was designed to do. Short barreled revolvers need all the help in that department over longer ones. S let us know what you go with.Have 3 revolvers. One with a 2 inch barrel. One with a 2.5 incher and the last is a standard 4 inches.

 

[Starter52]

+1 on the 158 gr. Lead Semi-Wadcutter Hollow Point plus Pressure load. The 642 will kick a bit with this round. The other guns will handle it just fine.

 

[VA27]

Another vote for the Remington 158+P LSWHP.

 

[kmrcstintn]

Thanks all for sticking with my criteria...I posted this over on another forum and half the answers seemed to say 'why no magnums in the magnum revolvers?' Y'all seemed to understand my purpose when I forgot to mention this:

***I live in an apartment and dread the idea of a magnum going haywire and the potential damage & harm it would do (due to a pulled shot) when I can control .38 spl +p better using 2 hands, strong hand, and weak hand...NO MAGNUMS FOR HD!!!***

My other ??? deals with a specific variety of 158 +p lswchp...I bought a surplus stash of Federal Nyclad 158 gr +p lswchp? Will this load perform well (penetrate enough to do the job & expand reliably to prevent overpenetration) from a short snubby barrel?

Thanks all!

 

[Jim March]

First, I agree that the Remmie and BuffBore 158+Ps will git'r'done. My preference would be the Remmie in this case - they're a bit milder, more or less "barely enough" for that snubbie and will work fine in all the rest. The BuffBores are HOT, on the ragged edge of sanity in the snubby and from the 6" barrel might end up going so fast they come apart in somebody. Not too likely but not impossible.

The other choice across all these guns is the Speer 135gr 38+P. I considered standardizing on that between my 38snubbie and my 4.68" barrel Ruger 357. Speer also loads the same projectile as mild 357s and when I tried both the 38 and 357 versions of this load in my 357 I found the hotter round to be more accurate - 2" groups instead of 3" with the 38Spl version at 25yds. Not a big deal at home defense distances though.

As to the Federal: get somebody to let you shoot them through a chonograph, basically a radar trap for bullets. If they do at least 825fps (feet per second) from the snubbie, they may be worthwhile. At 850 or more, kewl.

Below 800fps, fuggeduboudit. And from what I've heard of those and other Federal loads, the powder charge may be wimpy enough that they'll barely clear 750 in a snubbie.

They'll probably be fine in a 4" or longer tube.

 

[kmrcstintn]

Speer Gold Dot 135 grain .38 spl +p it is...

now that I think about it, a writer for some gun rag ran these through a 4" model 10 and chronoed the load and didn't see any deficit in the longer tube, even though the load was designed for snubby applications
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a possible backup (in case I can't gather a descent supply before all the guns arrive)...don't laugh...here's the link I found earlier for it...

http://www.stoppingpower.net/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=9309

Winchester White Box Personal Defense 125 grain .38 spl +p...4 layer denim over standardized 10% gelatin out of a S&W 640 snubby; good oversll weight retention (probably lost some along the leading edge of the exposed lead~~semijacketed hollowpoint)
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some of the other feedback I got elsewhere recommended Corbon DPX 110 +p; I have had trouble with CorBon in the past:

1) hot 125 grain .357 magnum load popped primer cap outward and jammed the gun when the primer cap lodged against the breechface (spurless hammer Taurus 605) and no way to unjam the gun short of the shop banging the cylinder loose with a rubber mallet

2) 2 boxes of 9mm 125 grain +p and a Ruger P89 (that worked reliably with every other load I put through it) and a series of cartridges that didn't go off due to bad primers

 

[Sunray]

While possible, it's unlikely that all four will shoot the same ammo accurately or to the same POI. Mind you, if you know where each one shoots with the same ammo it'll help.
If your apartment building is relatively new(20 years or so old), the wall between the units are reinforced concrete. So you won't have to worry about any handgun bullet penetrating them. Doors, windows and internal walls are another thing.

 

[jad0110]

If you are living in a thin walled apartment, I might even consider some frangibles like Glazer Saftey Slugs. I don't know a lot about them, perhaps others can chime in.

FYI: My 4" 686 is loaded with the Remmi 158 LSWCHP while my 642 is loaded with Speer GD 135s. I definitely like the deep penetration that comes with the Remmi FBI Load, but disliked the kick and especially the bright fireball that belched forth from my little snubby. So the Speers get loaded in it, acceptable recoil and not much flash.

 

[Ichiro]

I would think the FBI load would be fine in all of your revolvers. Not perfect in an "optimization" sense, but perfect in a "simple but effective and consistent" sense.