Indoor range 38 spc fodder question

Depends on how much you want to clean your barrels.

There is cheap jacketed. As for its quality? No idea.https://ammoseek.com/ammo/38-special?ikw=Target

bikemutt said:

It seems as if non-jacketed ammo is cheaper than jacketed, is there a reason to pay more for jacketed?

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If, by “non-jacketed”, you mean lead, then yes, to me there is, since lead is Smokey and typically dirty. The smoke alone would be an issue for me in an indoor range. I’d certainly shoot plated bullets if the ammo was cheaper.

I prefer wadcutters. You?

For indoors, a clean burn is nice; lead with lube tends to be smokey.

Coated lead should be as clean as plated or jacketed. I suggest buying a small lot and doing a thorough accuracy test before you order a pallet.

jimherb said:

I prefer wadcutters. You?

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Me too. Old-fashioned, but they work for me.

Personally, I have a distaste for scrubbing lead out of the bore of a revolver so I would only shoot FMJ's

Being a handloader, I fired my last lead round thirty years ago and never looked back. I load only copper plated bullets but did try a few powder coated bullets but found them to be very smelly and nowhere as clean as plated or FMJ.

If you handload your own, go to HyTek coated lead. A lot cheaper than jacketed. Also cheaper than plated and in my opinion, its as accurate as any and it shoots as clean. I love the old swaged Lead HBWC for target shooting and it is arguably the most accurate bullet out there at leas in the .38 but I've found that the Coated bullets to be almost as accurate and so much cleaner to load and shoot that I'm willing to make that little sacrifice.

For 38 special range ammo, I like to stockpile a medium power lead semi wad cutter. If you handload, 4.5 grains HP38 will get you there. Very accurate and moderate recoil. For a +p load, try the same bullet with a max charge of HS6 with a mag primer.

I find that a good lead bullet load is slightly more accurate than a jacketed or plated bullet all things being equal. Plus lead is cheaper and just seems right in a revolver.

Indoors, I'll shoot mostly 130 grain FMJs (seems to be the most common factory .38 range load), as noted by several, you don't want the smoke. However, much prefer 158 grain lead WCs and SWCs given the choice.

I'm not a fan of the cheap FMJ .38 Special ammunition. It's equivalent to the wretched GI .38 Special ball.

When I was shooting a lot, I loaded all of my own .38 Special ammunition, usually with 148gr. DEWCs. For service equivalents, I use 158gr. LSWCs. I've had bad experiences with plated bullets and won't use them. I stick with lead.

I used to use lead, but when I joined a new range that didn't allow lead bullets, I switched to using Berry's plated. WOW. I had no idea they'd be that much easier to clean up after. I wouldn't go back to lead if someone supplied them (and the range would allow it).

The plated don't cost much more than I was paying for lead either.

A small public service note here:
If you have a revolver that has the correct sized cylinder throats (all six of them!!) for the size of the barrel, shooting lead projectiles of the correct size will not lead the barrel. Many (most) revolvers have undersized throats with respect to barrel fitment and the lead bullets will flame cut and lead the barrel like crazy. Undersized jacketed, plated , or coated do not do this. I have had to ream the throats of almost all my revolvers and now experience NO leading. You can use a piece of Chore Boy (make sure it is all copper, not plated steel) wrapped around a cleaning brush and a couple trips down the barrel will remove all that lead easily. No scrubbing for me. The small amount of smoke I will deal with for the added accuracy. YMMV
ETA I find the plated now cost almost what the cheap FMJ cost while the lead if purchased in bulk still are a substantial savings over them both.