Cheap standard .38 special load for practice AND carry?

[cluttonfred]

While there is a lot of discussion of exotic, expensive cartridges here and elsewhere, I'm a big believer in "practice with what you carry" and vice-versa. Since I am not made of money, regular range practice can really start to add up, so let's say less than $20 per box of 50 in the USA for argument's sake, the cheaper the better.

Starting with standard pressure .38 special loads for a light snubnose, can anyone recommend and ideally point to some test results on some good factory loads which are also cheap enough to be your practice rounds? I am thinking that some of the big, heavy wadcutters, semi-wadcutters or flat point cowboy loads might do the trick. [ducks in anticipation of the howls of protest]

Again, we are talking about standard pressure .38 special for carry and practice at less than $20 per box of 50. And the nominees are...?

 

[wnycollector]

my wife started out a kind of recoil shy with our S&W 638. She carried/practiced with the 148gr copper plated wadcutter from http://www.mastercast.net/amo.htm. I have not chronographed it out of the 2" barrel but it is listed at 825fps...which is probably out of a 4 or 6" tube!

I'm a big beliver in shot placement as the key to stopping a bad guy in his tracks. I get my wife out to the range as much as I can and she has become a pretty good shot. She has got the "failure to stop" drill down pat Between 15-30 feet she can pop 2 in the chest and one in the head all day long!

 

[Stainz]

Try Georgia Arms for their loads/reloads. You can buy regular 148gr lead wadcutters or 158gr LSWC +P, which are actually LHPSWC like the 'FBI' load, for $195/1,000 or $20/100. I have chrono-ed the latter at 820+ fps from my 1.88" 642 and ~835 fps from my 2" 10. I have had great results with them, although their lead may be a tad harder than the super Remington R38S12 version - which is pricey ($30/50) and hard to find around here. GA Arms folks are nice - and they ship quickly. They also have 110, 125, & 158 gr regular loads, too - from $185-$195/1,000.

Stainz

 

[jaydubya]

I buy a lot of www.mastercast.net ammunition (mentioned above) for range work, and I am very satisfied with their product and service. They sell hollow point loads also, but I know nothing about them. I must say this: your crusade for a cheap range load that is also an outstanding self defense load is doomed. There are moderately expensive products out there that are moderately good self defense loads. Winchester White Box comes to mind. At my range, the cheapest factory-made FMJ stuff has doubled in price in the last three years. The price of raw materials is rising so fast that they are mining copper and lead ore again in places that were abandoned a half-century ago. It is not going to get better as time passes. You have missed the good times.

I recommend you find a good reloading service for range ammo (Mastercast definitely qualifies), and be willing to pay a dollar a round for self-defense ammo. Shoot a few rounds of the expensive stuff at the end of each range session. If it is really good stuff, chances are that is all you would want to shoot anyway. And if you are talking about your life, or those whom you love, what's a few dollars?
Cordially, Jack

 

[Z_Infidel]

It's still possible to buy the same ammo for range practice and for carry, depending on your needs. I use the Georgia Arms 158 gr LSWCHP+P loads as mentioned previously and they are a good value. I also resign myself to using at least a 3" barrel to ensure reliable expansion with this ammo. Is anything else going to be that much better as a defensive round?

Heck, even one of their .45ACP HP offerings is less than $20/50.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

If you want Factory ammo rather than re-manufactured ammo I would suggest buying Remington Express standard pressure 158gr LSWC ammo, Part #R38S6 for practice. They are rated 755 fps with 200 ft/lbs of energy at the muzzle from a 4" barrel. For carry you can then buy Remington Express 158gr LSWC/HP +P ammo, that's the FBI load, Part #R38S12. Those are rated at 890 fps with 278 ft/lbs of energy at the muzzle from a 4" barrel.

Since both rounds are 158gr Lead bullets and both made by Remington, both will have the same or very close POI from the same aim point. With the standard pressure rounds you can practice as much as you want without beating yourself up and still carry a very similar round with more punch in the +P round.

As for pricing, it's a little more than $20 but a far cry from over $1.00 a round that the newer brands of ammo now cost. Sportsman's Guide has the standard round Part #R38S6 for $27.37 a box of 50 and the +P round Part #R38S12 for $28.77 a box of 50. IMO this is a very good practice/carry combination since both rounds are made by the same manufacturer and both are made with the same weight bullet which are the same shape. I'm sure you can find them at a cheaper price if you hunt around a little.

(NOTE) Remington calls their LSWC/HP bullets LHP bullets but LHP = Lead Swmi-Wadcutter Hollow Point bullets.

 

[jaydubya]

Archangel said: "If you want Factory ammo rather than re-manufactured ammo I would suggest buying Remington Express standard pressure 158gr LSWC ammo, Part #R38S6 for practice. They are rated 755 fps with 200 ft/lbs of energy at the muzzle from a 4" barrel. For carry you can then buy Remington Express 158gr LSWC/HP +P ammo, that's the FBI load, Part #R38S12. Those are rated at 890 fps with 278 ft/lbs of energy at the muzzle from a 4" barrel.

Since both rounds are 158gr Lead bullets and both made by Remington, both will have the same or very close POI from the same aim point. With the standard pressure rounds you can practice as much as you want without beating yourself up and still carry a very similar round with more punch in the +P round.

+1 -- If you want Factory ammo. My 637 Airweight is loaded with the Remington FBI load (R38S12) Archangel recommends. I am happy to fire just five of them every range session. I notice no difference in target impact -- at five and ten yards -- between this load and the standard pressure LSWCs I get from Mastercast. I send them my brass for reloading. Big savings.
Cordially, Jack

 

[kludge]

Another +1 for Remington standard and +P 158gr.