Best light recoiling 38spl round

[harmon rabb]

Since my wife finally got around to sending out everything for her carry permit, I picked her up a LCR. She decided she wanted to carry a revolver (which I agreed 100% with, given that she's still not familiar enough with semi-autos for me to feel comfortable with her carrying one), and I surprised her with the LCR, selected due to its excellent trigger. She was pretty excited with it, so I did well.

Anyway, what carry ammo do you think I should get for her? Her LCR is in .357, but she hates to fire .357 (even out of my GP100), so I'm thinking a 38spl load. Since snubs are snappy and since I'd like her to be able to practice with her carry load, I figured I'd settle on a good standard pressure 38spl load.

I'm thinking of something like this:
http://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=111

or

http://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=110

Not sure how much I trust anything to expand at the sedate velocities you'll get with standard pressure 38spl.

Thoughts? Anyone actually tested these themselves?

 

[rdrancher]

Nothing scientific or anything like that, but you can read my experience with Buffalo Bore .38's by following the link in my sig.

 

[Guillermo]

due to the weight of the LCR I think you are absolutely on the right track.

150 grain wadcutter is a good round for a 38 special. You will have to see how well she shoots it.

850 fps is not fast, by any means....but I would much prefer that anyone that carries be able to shoot their what they carry with speed and accuracy. With this in mind, I am very happy that you are helping her find the right combo so that she can achieve this.


Old Fuff recommends 5 feet, five rounds, five seconds and that is a great rule.
My personal standard is 6 rounds into a pie plate at 10 feet in under 4 seconds.

I do not shoot light snubbies well and while my daily carry, a Colt Diamondback, is very easy to shoot well I also have a Cobra. It is a "beater" and perfect for those times when I have to leave the gun in the car.

It took a lot of practice to get to where I could meet my standard for carrying. (I could easily get the accuracy but reacquiring the target was slow ....but changing my grip did the trick )

Like all of us, PLEASE encourage her to practice.

 

[Pyro]

I feel that 850 fps is definitely fast enough providing you use heavy enough bullet that has the momentum to do what's expected. It's better than using a factory hollow based wadcutter, which is soft lead and will slightly expand, that barely reaches over 700. If I had to use a factory wadcutter it'd be by Fiocchi, they generally load all their ammunition hotter.
How is the accuracy of a DEWC vs a HBWC?

 

[moonpie]

my 1970s vintage charter arms undercover likes theseHornady






Home » Ammunition » Handgun » Choose by Caliber » 38 Special » 38 Special 110 gr Critical Defense®

38 Special 110 gr Critical Defense®

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38 Special 110 gr Critical Defense®
Test Barrel (4 V") Velocity (fps) / Energy (ft-lbs)
Muzzle 50 100
1010/249 940/216 883/191

Hornady Critical Defense ammunition is the pinnacle in self defense ammunition





Unaffected by thick and heavy clothing, including denim and leather.
Patented FTX bullet delivers superior controlled expansion and large, deep wound cavities over a wide range of velocities.
Clean burning and stable propellants reduce recoil in lightweight handguns, and perform consistently in all temperatures.
Minimal muzzle flash protects night vision.
Feeds reliably in all pistols.
Shiny silver nickel plating prevents corrosion, and is easily visible in low light situations.
Bullets are cannelured and crimped to avoid bullet setback.
Bullets are custom designed for individual loads.
The most effective, consistent, and reliable self-defense ammunition available today!




Critical Defense provides reliable expansion every single time.

 

[dennis228]

I now use Hornady Critical Defense 110's in my S&W 36 snubbie. I like them a lot. The standard pressure versions give low recoil, are accurate, and overall are good performers.

 

[Al Thompson]

Atlanta Arms makes a great FMJ 148 grain wadcutter. It's my go to round for folks with .38s who need low recoil. Brassfletcher did some testing with wadcutters and they do a lot of deep damage.

 

[41magsnub]

I have those 150gr hardcast wadcutters in my j-frame right now and like them a lot. No expansion of course, but penetration is not going to be a problem and they are easy to shoot.

 

[harmon rabb]

I have those 150gr hardcast wadcutters in my j-frame right now and like them a lot. No expansion of course, but penetration is not going to be a problem and they are easy to shoot.

how's the recoil? she's not recoil sensitive in that she CAN'T shoot some stuff, she just doesn't like heavy recoil, and i know that if her carry load is too snappy, she won't practice with it much.

 

[PabloJ]

I would look for std. 158gr .38 load from Remington with SWCHP lead bullet load. I'm almost certain I seen such load and Remington lead is among the softest out there and with Vo of about 800fps that is a good thing.

 

[41magsnub]

Hard to quantify.. how about this:

Much less than the 135gr +P Speer short barrel gold dots, but more than a cotton candy 147gr wadcutter target load?

It is pretty manageable for me which doesn't mean anything to anybody else.

 

[Guillermo]

Harmon,

stay with your current line of thinking.

Shot placement is more important than the specifics of the round...and practice makes for good shot placement and better follow up shots.

 

[moxie]

In my LCR, I prefer the Golden Saber .38 +P 125 BJHP for carry.

For practice, whatever wadcutter you can find will be soft. Also, the 130 gr. rounds you can find at Walmart are very soft as well, and cheap.

 

[harmon rabb]

Harmon,

stay with your current line of thinking.

Shot placement is more important than the specifics of the round...and practice makes for good shot placement and better follow up shots.

But having an effective round isn't bad either, hence me trying to find the best compromise for her.

Is this the remington LSWC fbi load I've seen a lot of people talk about? Doesn't seem to have the right part number: http://www.ammunitiontogo.com/produ...adcutter-ammo/cName/38-special-wadcutter-ammo

What's funny is I don't always follow my own advice. Well, in semi-autos I do. I'll carry my Sig 238 over a tiny 9mm because it's more shootable... my carry 1911 is an EMP and not something in 45 because it's more shootable... before I got the EMP, I'd carry my cz-82 because I'm good with it, even though it's a large gun for the relatively sedate 9x18 ballistics...............................but when I carry my SP101, I load it with the hottest 125gr buffalo bore loads

 

[smurf hunter]

158gr LSWC is the classic, and almost ideal target bullet. I load them light in 38pl cases for plinking and punching paper.

There are so many excellent rounds that gun can fire. I've read that in a stressful life and death situation recoil is not a consideration. If you're life depended on it, you'd probably reach your hand into boiling oil. Scary stuff, but consider the use case.

In other words, let her practice all day with light plinking wadcutters, but suggest you carry some defensive .357 like Hornady XTP.

 

[Pyro]

I have to agree with smurf. In situations requiring the use of reflexes rather than thought, your body really just blocks out the little hurdles such as recoil and pain.
Light recoiling rounds generally mean low penetration.
If you want real low recoil stuff, get magsafe of glasers...they feel like shooting a .22.
You want as much penetration as possible. Period. Which means shooting a heavy projectile. Personally I like the Grizzly .38 WFNPB for penetration. Thankfully they don't load them too hot (thank god they didn't).
Wadcutters are great for practice, get some heavy defense ammo though. The Hornady XTP is good, I don't like how light their Critical Defense stuff is.
I don't mind carrying just plain wadcutters. In gel tests they usually penetrate +16 inches and even expand a little bit.

 

[Smithiac]

I did not read through all of the posts so this may have already been covered. You should look for light bullet weight as well as slow bullet speed. It has been my experience that a heavier bullet will recoil even in light configurations.

You may consider handloading some of your own. If you get into molding bullets There was a time when I could load 1000rnds for about $90.00 in materials

 

[Guillermo]

having an effective round isn't bad either, hence me trying to find the best compromise for her

I understand what you are saying.

The best way to put it is "shoot the most powerful thing that you can EFFECTIVELY shoot"

All I am saying is to err on the side of shot placement.

also note that a 150 grain wadcutter is a very effective round.

 

[1KPerDay]

Just FYI, the 158-grain Buffalo bore loads are NOT light recoiling and are not fun to shoot out of a lightweight revolver.

 

[Owen Sparks]

Wadcutters make full diamiter holes because of the wide meplat they are the most effective non-expanding bullet shape possible for a handgun. Look at the wide flat nose hard cast bullets used for hunting, very similar. Of course the low velocity of target wadcutters limits their effectiveness but if that is all she can handle that would be my choice.

 

[dagger dog]

148 gr wadcutters are very mild recoil even through something as small as a Model 60 Smith, I realize the LCR is lighter. The full wad cutter target ammo is only going to step out of the muzzle about 750-800 fps but three of these in center of mass or a head shot will stop the best of them.

Step up to the 158 gr LSWC standard load and the recoil increases, but so does the penetration, same thing here it's not going to be a one shot stop but rather emptying the cylinder into the correct part of the anatomy, 3-4 shots and it's over.

Start her out on the mild wadcutters and work up to the 158 gr standard loads, untill she is confident, leave the +P's for the macho men!

 

[roaddog28]

Just FYI, the 158-grain Buffalo bore loads are NOT light recoiling and are not fun to shoot out of a lightweight revolver.

+1 on this.

Start her out on the mild wadcutters and work up to the 158 gr standard loads, untill she is confident, leave the +P's for the macho men!
Today 02:20 PM

+1 pm this too. Another round you can buy at Walmart is the 130 gr Remington FMJ. Its about as mild as wadcutters and only cost $16.00 dollars a box. I find them all the time. They are good practice rounds. After she gets good at either wadcutters or light 130 gr Remingtion then go up to the 158 gr Buffalo Bore standard LSWCHP standard pressure. This round is tamer than the +P round. Also Remington makes a fine LSWCHP round that is not to stiff on recoil.

Good luck,
Howard

 

[45crittergitter]

For a similar application, I settled on the Winchester 110 gr. Silvertip.