Opinions on .38 Special 110 gr Hydrashocks

[hurrakane212]

So I grabbed a box of these for my 642 a while back and I've been meaning to ask the forum if they knew anything about this particular round.
The bottom of the box claims 1000fps and 245ftlbs of energy at the muzzle. I assume they chronoed these out of a 4" barrel so I'll knock mine down to about 800fps and 200ft-lbs?
Are these any good?
~Nathan

 

[Doug.38PR]

I've never shot anyone with them (never shot anyone at all for that matter except on video games as a kid) but I prefer the other end of the .38 family. The 158 gr Lead Semi Wadcutter Hollowpoint .38 Spl +P.
Hydrashoks are light, have a lot of velocity and VERY LITTLE recoil. That's my experience at the range. They are more suited for airweight revolvers and people who don't like a lot of recoil. My dad carrys them in his airweight Colt Agent. They aren't prefered, but are better than throwing rocks. And with good shot placement, they will probably get the job done (keeping you alive)

You could do worse, you could be shooting an 80 gr .380 FMJ out of James Bond's Walther PPK. Hydrashoks are heavier, have more energy, and have much better expansion.

 

[Master Blaster]

I have shot them out of my 642 and carried them until I started using the Speer 135 Gold dots+P.

I compared them to the corbon 110s and they have just as much recoil. Its not unmanageable but it is less than pleasant.

I would say that they are as good as anything else in a lighweight snubby.

 

[Shawnee]

Hi Hurrikane...

We Pistoleros, myself include, sometimes get in sort of a rut with our ammo thinking. Typically we think in terms of lethality - and that certainly isn't a bad thing. But we/I sometimes have to remember that it isn't necessary to actually kill an adversary on the spot in order to save one's life. If you've ever seen the pictures of the effect 38 Hydrashoks have on the ballistic gelatin it quickly becomes clear that they will wound the Everloving Raspberry Marmelade outta somebody and there is a good chance that someone hit with one - whether they immediately die or not - will immediately stop their attack and, that is the goal. And the easy-handling of the 110 Hydrashok counts for a LOT. As the Texas Ranger said - "I'd rather hit a Bad Guy once with a .45acp than miss him 6 times with a .44 mag.
Same principle with the Hydrashok.

Ok, that's my 110 cents wurff. Local opinions may vary.

 

[Gary A]

The Federal 110 Hydrashoks are an interesting round to me. I don't have a chronograph (anyway our range is temporarily shut down anyway for construction) but all the data I have found on this load suggests you will get somewhere in the mid 800s, maybe anywhere from 830 to 870 plus or minus. Power from the short barrel should be in the 170 to 180 fpe range. Of course, all guns are different and lots of ammo vary, but I think you'll get more than 800 fps. From what I've read, the Federals run a little faster than Winchester 110 Silvertips and penetrate a bit more but the Winchesters reputedly open better and more reliably at the cost of less penetration. I would like to test both those propositions for myself and hope our range is up and running fairly soon...long story.

 

[The-Fly]

I wonder if such a light bullet would get enough penetration. For .38 spl, i think the 135gr gold dots are the way to go.

 

[Oregongundude]

The .38 special is only effective as the rounds used.

The .38 special isn't effective as the 9 mm or the .40 S&W which have replaced it on most major police forces in the country. However, that being said it will work with the right rounds. Since it is actually a .36 caliber balistically, not a .38 caliber. How that confusion ever happened I never understood. Anyway, I would think that Heavy level +P rounds would be the most affective rounds for the 38 special.

Here's how they rate in real world street shooting. (Not that one shot stop stats really mean that much)

.38 Special Caliber: 2-inch Barrel
One Shot Stopping Success: 49-67% (Actual)
Self Defense Rating: Good
Recommended Cartridges:

Winchester +P LHP 158 grains 67%
Federal +P LHP 158 grains 66%
Federal +P JHP 125 grains 65%
Remington +P LHP 158 grains 65%
CCI +P JHP 125 grains 64%

The effectiveness of the .38 special really goes up in the 4 inch barrel.

.38 Special Caliber: 4-inch Barrel
One Shot Stopping Success: 51-83 % (Actual)
Self Defense Rating: Very Good
Recommended Cartridges:

Cor-Bon +P+ JHP 115 grains 83%
Winchester +P LHP 158 grains 78%
Federal +P LHP 158 grains 77%
Federal +P JHP 125 grains 73%
Remington +P SJHP 125 grains 73%
Winchester +P+ JHP 110 grains 71%
CCI +P JHP 125 grains 70%
Remington +P LHP 158 grains 69%


The .38 special may not be the best self defense round available today,but it will do the job with the right rounds.

 

[Bob79]

Do a search for Stephen A Camp's write-up on standard pressure .38 ammo from a S&W 2" snub.

During his testing the Federal 110 grain did 877 FPS, which translates to 188 ft lbs of energy. But he states it doesn't reliably penetrate past 10" of ballistic gelatin in formal testing.

 

[Gary A]

The Fly wrote, "For .38 spl, i think the 135gr gold dots are the way to go."

I agree with you and am very impressed with the Speer 135, however, personally I think it is too "vigorous" for much use in alloy-framed revolvers, especially older-ones or ones not specifically designed for hot loads. The Speer technical manual, available as a pdf file on www.le.atk.com states that the maximum average pressure of that load is 21,500 psi which is way above the often-stated SAAMI limit for .38 Special plus P which is 18,500 psi. Reading the technical paper it should be noted that Speer uses a steel-framed model 640 for testing, not an airweight. I'm not saying the Speer product would blow up an old airweight, but I do suspect that it would not take many rounds to adversely affect one, e.g. stretch the frame, loosen it up, etc. I could be wrong, but I have some really nice examples of "pre-magnum" J-frames that are virtually irreplaceable and will never be manufactured again in all likelihood and I have no desire to needlessly shorten their life. I can certainly see loading an airweight with the Speer load for the purpose of protecting my bacon, but I don't see practicing with such a load in an older Model 37, for example. It is, however, not the easiest choice to find a suitable non-plus P defense load for a snubby. I do think the Federal 110 load is a pretty good choice, especially in warmer weather. I'm not sure a good 158 lead SWC wouldn't be a good cold weather choice. Most snubby loads don't expand much, if at all anyway. The Speer load does seem to be an exception to that but it is rather high pressure.

 

[Marko Kloos]

Dunno about you guys, but one-shot stop stas don't mean diddly to me, as I plan on emptying the contents of the cylinder into the bad guy if I ever have to use my .38 in anger.

That said, I'm in the "heavy bullet" camp, stoking my K-frames with the 158-grain LSWCHP +P load. The light bullets step out of the barrel faster, but they also stop faster, and the heavy stuff tends to penetrate better. I figure that penetration is the main goal, and expansion is gravy when it happens.

 

[Confederate]

Good for Some Uses

The Hydrashock ammunition is highly touted as a devastating frangible round with high lethality. Its only drawback is that if someone's wearing heavy clothing the penetration usually isn't great enough to penetrate it and come apart in the human body. Thus if you're carrying in Miami or some other warm climates, it's fine. If you carry it in Minnisota in the winter, best switch to something else. The bullets also don't tend to do well against car vehicles, but many .38s fired from short barrels don't, either.

A good lightweight .357 125-140 JHP works very well against people, has very good car penetration and can blow out a tire with no problem. To me, being able to use a defense firearm against a vehicle or heavily clothed person is important. Buying Hyrashock ammunition for .357 also is a waste of money as the 125-140 JHP is difficult to improve upon.

 

[cslinger]

Nothing less then 125 grain for me.

 

[TOADMAN]

For self defense 38 spl ammo, definately go with the Speer Gold Dot 135grn+P short barrel ammo or Remington 158grn+P Lead Semi Wad-Cutter Hollow Point (LSWCHP). I like the heavier grain especially during the winter.. The heavier grain ammo tends to get thru the thicker winter clothing best..

 

[Ala Dan]

In sticking to Federal Hydra-Shoks, I think I would use the 129 grain +P's
out of the short barrel .38's. I have NO stats to back this way of thinking
up; but I imagine it would penetrate a little better~?

 

[sm]

Markos spoke for me.


Be the firstest with the mostest - Bedford Forrest

 

[P. Plainsman]

Hmm ... Jim March must be off somewhere chasing election fraud, since he hasn't chimed in on this thread yet.

Jim's usually got something scathing to say about Federal defense ammo, esp. in snubs. (Not complaining -- his criticisms usually strike me as well reasoned. I have to admit I've gradually stopped loading Federal ammo for defense in my handguns. I do keep the .357 lever carbine full of Fed American Eagle 158 gr .357 Magnum jacketed softpoints. Nice round. Good zip. Semi-affordable.)

Oh, and ditto Marko and Toadman. 158 gr lead semi-wadcutter +P hollowpoints for me. In snubs I'll also go down sometimes to the 135 gr Gold Dots. Feisty recoil, but very accurate; high quality round.

 

[fireflyfather]

I've done a bit of testing with these, out of a 4 inch barrel, I managed to recover one after firing into water jugs. It penetrated a couple of jugs, 2 or 3 if memory serves, but the jacket separated from the core. From the same weapon at same range and target, starfire hollowpoints were a much better solution. Mushroomed nicely and no separation. Of course, eldorado/pmc are no longer making those, so stock up if you can. (but don't use in older guns...they are +p).

Those 110 grain Hydrashoks are not something I would trust my life with, and frankly, I'm just waiting for federal to release EFMJ in .38 special standard pressure.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I agree with the comment above on bullet weight. 15 years ago the chief pathologist for the US Army, who had done extensive wound tests and gathered extensive data, said that regardless of the caliber for self defense from a handgun, 125 grains or heavier.

His tests and additional data from shoots around the country noted that the vast majority of one-shot-stops would've dropped the assailant if they had been from a .22. Otherwise, one needed moderate recoil (as one generally must shoot the assailant quickly, multiple times, and recoil is a factor in bringing the handgun back on target), and good penetration.

As the guy's job was to look at real dead badguys, not just gelatin, I figured he knew what he was talking about.

So 125 grains or better for me too.

LD