Cowboy Action Ammo

[LibShooter]

As you know, handgun ammunition is hard to find lately. I found myself in a Bass Pro Shop the other day. The only .38 Special they had was "Winchester Cowboy Action." Neither I nor the youngster behind the gun counter had ever heard of it.

What is that stuff? Do I want to shoot it in my J-frame snubbie airweight with the puny stock grips?

Thanks for your wisdom.

 

[ilmonster]

Cowboy action loads are very mild loads. In something like a light snubby, a cowboy load will be very pleasant to shoot. I would use this for practice, but not as a defensive load. Enjoy!

 

[Big Bill]

This is the page from the SASS (Cowboy Action Shooting Society or Single Action Shooting Society) on ammunition.

http://www.sassnet.com/Shooters-Handbook15-001A.php#_Toc220205138

 

[Bezoar]

in some calibers cowboy action loads can be on the mild side of the spectrum. However most cowboy ammo comes in a round nose flat point wich is normal for deer hunting with.
example, 44 special with full weight wadcutter at 1,000 fps is considered a good deer cartridge at reasonable distance.
44 special cowboy ammo will be doing the same velocity with a rnfp. Only thing that changes is meplat diameter.

However from where ive shopped and persued catalogs, "cowboy" ammunition is as expensive if not more expensive then regular fmj/lrn ammo in the same caliber at the same listed velocity.

 

[LibShooter]

Thanks for the fast, informative replies. The kid at the counter suggested they might be hotter than normal rounds, so I passed for my snubbie. Next time I'll pick 'em up.

 

[TehK1w1]

in some calibers cowboy action loads can be on the mild side of the spectrum. However most cowboy ammo comes in a round nose flat point wich is normal for deer hunting with.
example, 44 special with full weight wadcutter at 1,000 fps is considered a good deer cartridge at reasonable distance.
44 special cowboy ammo will be doing the same velocity with a rnfp. Only thing that changes is meplat diameter.

Actually, although Winchester's Cowboy action 44 Special ammo is an RNFP (240 gr.), stated velocity is only 750 FPS. Having shot it, I can believe that speed-it's not very hot.

 

[ArmedBear]

I load 125 grain LFN bullets over 3 grains of Trail Boss (CAS-specific powder) for J-frame practice loads. I didn't chrono it, but that's probably good for 700 fps in a snubbie. Maybe less.

It's great. Turns it into a fun gun, and I was shooting NRA Bullseye targets, double action, at 25 yards with stock 642 sights. All were on paper, some were in the center. Cowboy ammo can be pretty accurate stuff.

 

[Bezoar]

i have used ultramax and they load it to 1000fps in a 44 mag cowboy load. Thats pretty good stuff. out of a 94ae that lead RNFP will mushroom out like a xtp does at the same range of 90 yards.

Just that a big heavy lead bullet at slower velocities does get the job done. If you think about it, most +p ammo for 38 special is barely hitting 1000 fps from a snubby, yet thats a good velocity for the winchester 158 grain lswhp.

 

[kmrcstintn]

to the OP...even though that particular load is a solid leadhead, it has a flat meplat (ie: lead round nose, flat tipped); there are many out there that feel that a .38 spl snubnosed revolver doesn't produce enough velocity to promote expansion of a hollowpoint projectile;

they opt for a 148gr full wadcutter style target load that offers a flat tipped projectile that offers tissue crushing while penetrating; the cowboy load you asked about also has a flat front surface similar to a full wadcutter, but is a slight bit heavier