Lever Gun & SD Question???

[Bayou Redd]

Starting with a 357/38 Rossi model 92...

I know that Hornady makes a 357 LeveRevolution round & it blasts loud and proud from my 92. The tip seems to be designed to keep problem touches off of the primer in the tube.

I don't want to ever need such a thing but if needed, I don't believe I want the 357 blasting inside my home for several reasons. My objective is to use the 38 special +P Critical Defense, ready to go for HD. The tip is not as profound as the LeveRevolution.

Question: Is this still a good choice for tube load even without the profound tip?
These rounds were also by far the most accurate in the 92...
All input appreciated...

 

[Malamute]

The other loads should be fine, Not only the bullet point (or lack of) but also the reduced muzzle blast.

 

[Nathanael_Greene]

If you're talking self-defense, long-range shots aren't going to be an issue, really, so the lack of a pointed tip shouldn't matter.

If someone uses .38 special semi-wadcutters in a nightstand revolver (and I'll bet a lot of people do), why would those rounds be less effective in a lever gun?

 

[Bayou Redd]

Effectiveness Is Not The Point...

I have heard & I am not sure how much of an issue it is, that conical or pointed bullets are a bad choice in a tube fed magazine (i.e. lever actions) because of the bullet touching the adjoining primer. I'm wondering about the critical defense in the tube-fed mag wondering if it is less a potential problem. A flat-nose is spread across the primer where as the Critical Defense is not as large of a meplat and possibly a problem as the soft tip, flattens in time.

 

[herrwalther]

I don't want to ever need such a thing but if needed, I don't believe I want the 357 blasting inside my home for several reasons. My objective is to use the 38 special +P Critical Defense, ready to go for HD. The tip is not as profound as the LeveRevolution.

I am guessing your concern is using Critical Defense rounds in your lever gun, will they be as safe as using LR ammo. I would say yes. The polymer tip in Critical Defense is very similar to what is loaded on top of LR rounds. In addition, Critical Defense is not as pointed as LR ammo. So it should be safe to use in a lever gun.

 

[Malamute]

I have heard & I am not sure how much of an issue it is, that conical or pointed bullets are a bad choice in a tube fed magazine (i.e. lever actions) because of the bullet touching the adjoining primer. I'm wondering about the critical defense in the tube-fed mag wondering if it is less a potential problem. A flat-nose is spread across the primer where as the Critical Defense is not as large of a meplat and possibly a problem as the soft tip, flattens in time.

It would need to be very unusual handgun ammo that would be pointy enough to cause a problem in a tubular magazine in a lever action. Most of the 30-30 loads and bullets are round nose or small flat points and are safe. The widest point I've seen is the Hornady 170 gr. The narrowest is probably the Speer 150's and 170's. I'm making a wild guess that the Speer bullets are going to be much pointier than the hollow point 38 spl loads, and in a cartridge with more recoil.


ETA: I looked up pictures of the ammo in question. It doesnt look like a problem. I dont know how dense the plastic tip is or if it would compress over time. I would load them up and look at them in a couple weeks. I doubt they will be a problem though, the tip looks flat enough. You could contact Hornady also and ask if they have an opinion on the matter.

 

[stubbicatt]

Years ago there was a manufacturer of moulds, LBT I think it was. They made a mould that threw a bullet with a wide, flat, meplat, and there were accounts of that really wide flat nose having devastating effects on game animals. Too I have heard accounts of wadcutter style bullets having a great shock effect, even when they don't expand.

I do not know of the performance of this particular bullet, but it would appear that it must depend on expansion to deliver its "shock effect". Something else I have read recently is that sort of like 30-30 ammo, where due to the cartridge shape, the rounds don't stack "point to primer" in the magazine tube, but with the bullet points resting off center, nearer to the rims, due to the comparatively large magazine tubes in 357/30 rifles, rounds tend to stack off center. Given the modest recoil of a 38 in a lever gun, and that the rounds tend to not stack "point to primer" you *may* be ok with this setup.