A good 38 defense load non +P in an LCR?

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Bill_G

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getting me an LCR and want the wife to learn to shoot it. i'm thinking wadcutters would be good for her for practice AND for defense. am i wrong??

my cousin was a NYC cop 30 years ago and carried a Smith j frame off duty with standard wadcutters. he said he never felt undergunned with them in his Smith.

recommendations??

thanks.................Bill
 
recommendations??

Federal Nyclad

Buffalo Bore 125gr hollow points

Buffalo Bore 158gr hollow points
 
Don't under estimate 148gr wadcutter loadings.The small snubby 38s are often difficult for many to shoot well,especially lightweight J frame types.I have seen people who could not get good hits with the fanciest FBI approved jello junkie zombie loads,but with the 148 wadcutter could place decent hits on target.
 
+1 for the Federal Nyclad. Federal also has 110 gr Hydrashocks that were always pleasent to shoot
 
The first reply was the best. (The Nyclads would have less recoil than the other two choices, fwiw.)
 
Yep, Nyclads. That's what I'm carrying as I type. They're not always readily available, but any other 125gr JHP would work.

you should consider practicing with 158 grain semi-wadcutters until you get used to the gun, then with the lighter self-defense bullets. That way you've got a feel for what are likely the two most popular .38SPL bullet weights and for the differences in how they affect point of aim vs. point of impact.

Someone may be able to confirm this -- generally, I've read, the fixed sights on .38SPL snubbies are factory tuned to hit point of aim with 158gr bullets at 7-10 yards. I know it's true for my S&W 642.

There are plenty of people who use 158gr SWCs as defense loads, and if you find that load works well for you, they serve should well in that role.
 
Wadcutters have a rep for punching nice clean .357" holes thru people, just like the paper they were designed to punch nice clean holes in.

I'd use the Gold Dots or Nyclad.

BSW
 
Not ideal, but...

I have loaded up with plain jane 158-grain SWCs and I didn't feel particularly bad about it.

Federal used to make a 110-grain "Personal Defense" load (maybe they still do), and I actually like what I mentioned above better than that personally. YMMV.


I think anything Buffalo Bore makes is going to be a handful.
 
Recoil is the issue making your wife comfortable with the LCR sounds like. If you don't handload your options are limited. I've gone through the same thing the past couple of years getting my wife accustomed to the recoil of a defense load in an LCR (also a Chief's special) with little luck. However she is fine with the practice loads I cooked up using 2.7 gr Trailboss and the same 158 gr LSWCHP I use in my defense loads. Velocity is a bit under 600fps. I think the main goal is to get the women accustomed to handling and shooting--that can be done with light loads, reserving the defense loads for emergencies when they'd be unlikely to notice the recoil. Since it sounds like you don't handload, I'd try to find some "cowboy loads" which are substantially lighter than most....the lighter the bullet the better for recoil. Good luck.
 
I don't want to be guilty of thread drift here...if the OP was about people's opinion of WC's as defense rounds, then I agree with briansmith...they may not effectively stop the attacker.

If the intent was an implicit, my wife needs something light and easy for practice, then I agree with ralph on the tone of getting women used to shooting. Revolvers have an advantage here for people who hand-load because you can dial back the charge significantly.

In a life or death self defense situation, no one will care about the recoil of a +P.
 
i can't find Nyclads anywhere! anyone have a source??
Click to expand...
Another vote for the Nyclads. As far as sources, they are fairly easy to find from the on-line ammo retailers. Just google "Federal Nyclad 125" and you should get links. I know MidwayUSA carries them, as the they where where I got the last batch I bought.
 
my cousin was a NYC cop 30 years ago and carried a Smith j frame off duty with standard wadcutters. he said he never felt undergunned with them in his Smith.

Don't under estimate 148gr wadcutter loadings.

WW,RP, and Federal all make a standard pressure 158 SWC which was the issue NYPD load 30 years ago.

I usually carry factory wadcutters in j frame size guns. I have no problem handling hotter loads but what the wadcutter lacks in power it makes up in shorter recovery time and controllability. It is also easier on the gun and encourages practice.
 
+++ On the wadcutter. easy to shoot and yes it cuts that clean hole.
When it cuts that clean hole it opens those arteries so the bad guy bleeds out which caused lose of blood presure and stops the fight.

Also for thsose that are recoil and flash sensitive you won't have that with the wadcutter. Recoil and flash will cause somone to miss what they are shooting at. shot placement with penitration at most important.:rolleyes:
 
Another thing to think about with SWCs:

I'd estimate the velocity of the factory target .38 wadcutter to be between 650 and 700 ft/sec from the average snub-nose thirty-eight. Most are of soft, swaged lead, which means that "sharp" edges really aren't and they can round off as they pass through tissue.
Click to expand...

From: http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/Feedingthe38Snub.htm

I'll keep the SWCs for paper, like they were designed for.

BSW
 
Well... a .38 wadcutter is still punching a .358 caliber hole through an attacker. It's not ideal but it's still not something I'd want to absorb a few of. I say if that's what you can handle and shoot accurately, load them up and use them until you get to the point where you're comfortable with something else.
 
I'm a huge proponent of the critical defense round in .38 and 9mm I carry both. It recoils minimally, expands consitanly , is affordable and generally easy to find. All in all it's a great round also uses a low flash powder to limit the muzzle flash at night. Check em out!!
 
It's also designed to have limited penetration. I like expansion at least as much as the next guy, but if it's going to be a limited penetration load, it better be delivering some outstanding expansion, which the CD really doesn't do. It's like a limited-penetration version of the XTP, with the consistency plug.

They don't have excessive recoil, they seem to be quite accurate from what I've heard, and they look to be as consistent as any other current-design JHP load, but for me, I don't really care for the exact mix of penetration and expansion they offer.
 
I have hornady critical defense FXT 110 gr in my snub right now. Real nice on recoil. Its more for stray dogs since I roll with magnums but they are great to shoot and can do the job if they have to.
 
Well... a .38 wadcutter is still punching a .358 caliber hole through an attacker. It's not ideal but it's still not something I'd want to absorb a few of. I say if that's what you can handle and shoot accurately, load them up and use them until you get to the point where you're comfortable with something else.
Click to expand...

So using a WC or SWC to punch a .35 cal hole in a guy is better than using a JHP that might expand to ~.40" or better. Even if the JHP doesn't expand it's still going to poke a .35" hole in a guy.

BSW
 
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