How does Hornady's .38 Special Cartridges Stack-up?

[nero45acp]

On impulse while at a local gun shop today I bought a box of Hornady's standard pressure 125gr JHP/XTP .38 Special cartridges. The label states 900fps/muzzle, 856fps/50yds, 817fps/100yds. I'm assuming those numbers are coming from a 4" or 6" barrel. I'm wondering what kind of numbers could I expect from these cartridges out of my 2-1/4" SP-101? Also, what kind of penetration and expansion could I expect out of my Ruger snub with this ammunition, and how does it stack-up in general terms of quality and reliability? Thanks.


nero

 

[Photoman]

I think you'll get very little expansion from the XTP bullet at lower velocities. They are one of the most accurate bullets available though.

 

[bja5006]

you're in luck!!!!

i tested that exact ammunition out of the same size gun, in ballistics gel.

i posted the results here

in short, they did NOT perform well

 

[nero45acp]

Thanks for the replies. From what I saw on bja5006's thread, the Hornady stuff is no better than FMJ cartridges.



nero

 

[Jim March]

ALL Hornady defensive ammo in 38Spl and 38+P is junk.

Hornady needs to really re-think what they're doing there. The XTP is a deep-punch slug unsuited to low-velocity applications. Their willingness to ship ammo that has "fail" written all over it in EVERY test I've ever seen makes me wonder about their entire product line.

Speer's God Dots, esp. the 135+P, leaves them for dead. As does the Winchester 130gr +P Supreme, Remington's 158+P all-lead hollowpoint, the Cor-Bon 110 and 125gr +P if you're willing to tolerate fairly high pressures and of course Buffalo Bore's entire product line - in 38+P Buffbore has EVERYbody beat to hell.

 

[TommyR]

ALL Hornady defensive ammo in 38Spl and 38+P is junk.

Is that true?

I have an older .38 Spl that can't take +P.

I was looking at:
Hornady Critical Defense Ammunition 38 Special 110 Grain Flex Tip eXpanding.

Would that be junk for my old gun?

-TommyR

 

[KBintheSLC]

I was looking at:
Hornady Critical Defense Ammunition 38 Special 110 Grain Flex Tip eXpanding.

Would that be junk for my old gun?

If you don't mind using one of the whimpiest .38 spl loads on the commercial market. It is both light in weight and low in velocity. You would be far better served using some Buffalo Bore standard pressure 158g LSWCHP in your old gun. I agree with the comment that Hornady needs to re-think their .38 lineup. Perhaps they need to introduce a 125g-158g Critical Defense load that will do 1000+ to 800+fps respectively in a snubby. If they are bent on sticking to the 110g bullet, they ought to at least figure out how to squeeze some more velocity out of it. Currently, the anemic 110g loadings they offer are little more than a simple .380.

This also goes for many of their other loadings. The 200g XTP 10mm Auto for example is only loaded to 1050 fps... which is about 150 fps short of what it ought to be. Hornady creates excellent bullet designs, but their factory ammo is underwhelming.