Is it ok to shoot 38 special +P ammo in S&W model 36?

[Gordon]

SOME +p rounds are fine.

"For defense or target? Factory .38 wadcutters are usually very weak, with impact force of well under 200 ft. lbs. The wadcutter bullet itself is fine, but you might want something with a little more power."

Now Mr. Cosmoline, don't dis the midrange wadcutter for defense. SOME brands are anemic, some have 700+fps in a 2" barrel. Please refer to the gelatin test of .223 in this forum where he got 14" of penetration with them. They have a nasty way of cookie cutting a bleeding hole too. The light recoil in a snub gun, coupled with the great accuracy lets you rip off a stream of them quick with little recoil recovery and lets tyro's shoot well. BTW I slaughter animals with them (to 200 pounds) and they work very well.
I will CONFESS I carry Rem 158 grain SWCHP +p in all my .38s that are CCWed, however. Then again I am an A ticket shooter who has been at it 40 years.My wifes 36 is loaded with Winchester wadcutters.

 

[GRIZ22]

For defense or target? Factory .38 wadcutters are usually very weak, with impact force of well under 200 ft. lbs. The wadcutter bullet itself is fine, but you might want something with a little more power.


For both. If you look at the ballistics of 38 special loads you really don't gain a lot with +P, maybe 100 fps at best. I'm talking actual chronographing not what's advertised. I've chronographed some +P loads that gave the same velocity as standard loads.

I'm a retired LEO and was a firearms instructor for almost 30 years. It's hard to get reliable expansion out of a 2" with the exception of an all lead SWCHP. Any hollow point needs to expand a little to get to the shape of a wadcutter. The wadcutter goes in in that shape. It has the other advantages Gordon states.

I carry the wadcutters in the gun and standard velocity lead SWCs for a reload (easier to get in the cylinder).

If I want more power I'll carry a 357 or 45.

 

[fecmech]

What was the typical pressure with the old 1950's ammo?

I don't have any info on pressures but here is some chronograph data from a late 1960's Lyman loading manual. They chrono'd factory ammo and this data is from a 6" bbl.

148 gr wc--Western--766fps
150 gr -----Western--1015 fps
158 gr------Remington-826 fps
200 gr------Western --703 fps

The current Lyman cast bullet handbook shows that it is quite easy to get 900-950 fps out of a 4" .38 spl with lead bullets in the 150 to 160 gr range with standard pressure loads. My flat latch Mod 36 is loaded with 158 swchp + P.

 

[Cosmoline]

My wifes 36 is loaded with Winchester wadcutters.

Winchester wadcutters, like all other factory wadcutters I know of, are a target load. 148 grains at 710 fps. That's not even up to .38 S&W standards. While I like the hollow base wadcutter BULLETS for defense, the factory wadcutter cartridges for .38's tend to be seriously weak. If you want to use wadcutters, get the bullets and work up a load running at least 1,000 fps. Then you're cooking with gas.

BTW I slaughter animals with them (to 200 pounds) and they work very well.

If you're talking shot to the brainpan, that's not a very effective way of testing self defense ammo. I've seen huge steers killed with a .22 to the brain.

 

[dogngun]

Yes.


mark

 

[SaxonPig]

Yes. Factory +P is loaded well under maximum pressures for the caliber and is fine in any quality made gun.