Snowdog - I am also a fan of the 135+P Gold Dot and I just went back and read that thread you tracked down about the expansion tests. I noted somewhere in that thread the comment that the Gold Dots seemed to recoil a bit more than some other loads, though less than the 158+Ps. I was looking at the 16 or so page technical paper on the Gold Dots on the Speer website the other night and noted the design was for a maximum chamber pressure of 21,500 psi. Am I not correct in thinking that is well on the high side for 38+P? I'm thinking that is more +P+. Maybe someone who is more familiar with the "official" ranges can chime in on that. Anyway, I'm not complaining about the 21,500. I wonder, though, how many of these should be fired through older guns, especially older airweights not rated for plus P. They won't blow a gun up but they sure might shorten its life. Mine are in an SP101
so 21,500 psi is of no concern.
Edited to note: I just checked SAAMI standards for .38 Special. Standard pressure is 17,000 psi and plus P is 18,500 psi. 21,500, if that is what they are, is definitely on the high side. Like over the high side. Am I making a mistake somewhere?
from the Speer site: "Pressures of cartridges adhere to the following SAAMI guidelines:
Product Maximum Average Pressure
38 Special +P 21,500 psi"