Favorite .38Spl Snub Loads?

[Swing]

Hey pallies. One of my main daily carry pieces is a .357 Mag snub. It is loaded with .38 Spl and .38 Spl +P loads because I don't see the point in running full house .357 Mag ammo in said. Anywho, I've burned up most of my stock, so it is time to reorder. I've got some (very little, really) defense loads for carry and some cheapo soft lead rounds for practice, but I figured I'd toss it out there for discussion as I'm curious what others are using for their carry pieces.

Thanx.

 

[Water-Man]

For SD, I use Cor-Bon DPX Barnes 110gr. +P. A good combination of expansion and penetration with manageable recoil.

These are used in my Ruger LCR .38+P.

 

[WestKentucky]

For a pretty penny corbon or federal make good loads, but for me I really like magtech defense ammo. I have shot deer with it and have seen the results on flesh and bone. When I carry 357 or 38 I carry magtech, in the woods and on the street it performs.

My choices for loads...http://www.luckygunner.com/magtech-38-spl-ammo-for-sale-38specialp125jhpggoldmt-20
http://www.luckygunner.com/357-mag-125-gr-jhp-magtech-guardian-gold-20-rounds

 

[Water-Man]

^^You're using a .38 snubby to shoot deer?^^

 

[ArchAngelCD]

In my daily carry, a S&W M442, I have been carrying Speer 135gr Gold Dot HP Short Barrel .38 Special +P ammo. In another J frame I carry the FBI Load because that's what is accurate in that gun. I carry Nyclad ammo in my S&W M36 and sometimes the FBI Load there too.

 

[WestKentucky]

4"...and yes. Works well on meat critters. I shot one doe with a 2"taurus 85ch at about 10 yards, dropped and flopped.

My experience with 6" 357 was similar but more impressive, a buddy carried his S&W snub and we hunted together a lot. His 357 magtech ammo out of his ultralight did the trick a few times.

 

[357smallbore]

I go old school. I carry Federal 38 Special JHP 125 +p. I am confident they will see me through in times of trouble if I do my part. And that is in actual 38 Specials. For my 357s. I carry old school also. Federal 357B. 125JHP. Hell of a round.

 

[rcmodel]

The Speer Gold-Dot Short-Barrel 135 grain is the best HP I have tested.

But on the other hand, both my J-Frames and two K-Frames are loaded with 158 grain Keith LSWC over a healthy dose of Unique powder.

Penetration and two sucking holes in the chest are better then one each shot!

rc

 

[rswartsell]

What ArchAngelCD and rcmodel said,

When it comes to the FBI load I buy Buffalo Bore's version.

 

[Steve C]

Currently +P Remington 125gr Golden Sabers factory loads or Speer 135gr Gold Dot short barrel hand loads since I couldn't find loaded ammo at the time I was looking but did find the bullets.

 

[ku4hx]

158 grain Keith style SWC hard cast gas check bullet over 5.0 grains of Ramshot Trueblue. In my guns a really sweet shooting round that's easier on the hand than many others. In lower velocity cartridges, I prefer a heavy bullet with as large a meplat as I can get.

 

[stu1ritter]

ku4hx, large meplat, eh? At your service.

Stu

 

[SFsc616171]

I'm old school. 1950's inner-city plainclothes cops that i knew, when i was a kid, showed me these funny-looking flat-end cartridges. I asked them, what the heck are they used for, they ain't boolits? The men told me, that like the deer hunter friends I knew, two holes make for quicker work, than just one. So, i use off-the-shelf wadcutters, OR, semi-wadcutters, both in standard pressures. food for thought: In the days when 'The Civil Defense folks' were still operating, they issued SandW model 15's, and supplied standard pressure full wadcutter loads.

 

[The Bushmaster]

140 grain Remington SJHP over 5.0 grains of W231.

And if a .22 LR will kill a deer then a snubby .38 will also.

 

[Thomas Traddles]

I utilize a 148 Cast DEWC over 3.5 gns of Red Dot or Bullseye. Out of my .38+P LCR it is equivalent to the FBI load velocity @ approx. 850 FPS. I use the same bullet in .357 mag cases over 5 gns of Red Dot or Bullseye running in the 900s. Out of a 4" GP 100 it produces about 1000FPS. The .38 DEWC load is about in the snubbie is as much recoil as I can comfortably handle and get back on target in a reasonable amount of time. The Cor-bon 158 g +p hollow point SWC loads I used to shoot were just brutal on my hands.

 

[SEE IT LIKE A NATIVE]

He obviously has superior stalking skills ! Kevin

 

[Wishoot]

Nyclad's.

Wish they were still in full production. My supply is running low.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

My snub love those Critical Defense rounds.

 

[gamestalker]

Although I don't use factory ammunition, the 135 gr. Speer Gold Dot (SB) is a premium SD bullet. I haven't found a bullet that will out perform it at the velocities it's designed for. In a +p 38 spcl. setting, you can't go wrong. Heck I've even pushed that bullet well beyond it's recommended velocity, and it still performed flawlessly.

And for .357 mag. applications, I use the 158 gr. Gold Dot with full house 296 loads from all my snubs, and longer barrels as well.

GS

 

[LeonCarr]

Another vote for the 135 Grain Speer Gold Dot SB.

My practice load is a handloaded 148 DEWC with WST powder. Oddly enough even though my carry load and my practice load are different bullet weights at different velocities, they both shoot to the same point of impact at 50 feet.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[wnycollector]

I carry the Remington version of the FBI load (+p 158gr LSWCHP) in all of my 38 revolvers.

 

[Catpop]

Stu1ritter,
nice looking reloads. Accurate?
Where did you get those boolits?
Catpop

 

[stu1ritter]

Catpop, indeed Accurate Molds it is. 31-100X for my .32's both S&W Long and H&R Magnum, 36-155WT for .38 and 357 and 43-215W for .44 Special/Magnum. As far as accuracy, they are 25 yard or less bullets.
In the 7-15 yard distance they are as accurate as any wadcutter I've ever loaded. I've had pretty good results with the .44 out to 25 yards. I consider them to be wadcutters with powder capacity. They are loaded in my entire carry rotation.
Not that I would call them inaccurate, but once out beyond 15 or so yards the group starts opening up a bit. Say my S&W 14-2 will group about 1.1-1.3 inches at 25 yards with wadcutters, with these bullets that opens up to around 2 - 2.5 inches. Not bad, but not wadcutter at that distance.
Stu

 

[CZ9shooter]

I carry Buffalo Bore's 158gr LSWCHP. The standard pressure. Their +P (FBI) variety is a little too stiff to be effective with from an aluminum Jframe. Practicing to proficiency would be too costly, and too painfull. In a larger gun, or maybe a steel Jframe, I might try the +P again.

 

[JERRY]

my favorite load for self defense in the Remington 158gr. lhp +p. my favorite to shoot is the 148gr. target wc.