"Old Fashioned" .38 Hydra-Shoks ???s

[HoosierQ]

My good buddy just hooked me up with 150 rounds of ammo for doing a bunch of custom leather work and repair for him...what a guy!

Among the ammo are some .38 Hydra-Shoks that he says come from before Federal owned the Hydra-Shok. I have never seen anything like these...they are like wad-cutters with no lead or anything above the rim of the brass but you can plainly see down in there is the normal looking hydra-shok with that center pin and everything. I don't believe these have a copper jacket.

Never seen these. I would presume these excellent rounds for a snubbie? How heavy would these be? Anybody seen these before?

 

[PRM]

Before Federal? Who made them? Like to see a pic., and other box or headstamp info.

 

[HoosierQ]

"Before Federal" is what the guy says...take that for what it is worth. They have no box of their own...they are in one of those all-purpose boxes.

 

[PRM]

Just curious - what is on the headstamp.

 

[.455_Hunter]

I bet they are all lead loads by "Alberts"- the company that invented the hydra-shock concept in the 70's.

 

[novaDAK]

Basically the original hydrashok was an upside down hollow base wadcutter, with the center post in the hollow point.

 

[kmrcstintn]

the 'pre' hydra shok load I believe was called the Scorpion; I had a jpeg of an ad featuring this stuff (before my previous HP computer crashed abruptly)

 

[9mmepiphany]

yup federal bought the company and too over production of the Hydro-shok loadings,

the bullet is in fact a reversed hollow-based wadcutter loaded flush with the lip of the case. it is soft lead and is loaded to around 700 fps. the first ones were actually reversed HB wadcutters, but the added the center post to stablise the bullet.

due to the large hollow point, it's accuracy is for a limited range...which was fine as it was intented for snubbies

 

[Byron]

Alberts bought out a company named Tarus(no relation to the firearms company. Alberts sold to Federal. I have a small supply of the bullets.These are designed for as 9MM said for about 700 fps.The mushroom is excellent.Drive too fast,the bullet comes apart. Byron

 

[JMACDONALD]

Here ya go:

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=42275&d=1153098757

http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=42277&d=1153104721

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=51258


One of my best friends and I were given a large box of loose .38 ammo by our home town PD. Lots of LRN and SWC reloads but a hand full of the "Scorpion" were found. Real decent load even when we burned through them in '07. Wish I had kept some for my dad's 37 and my other older smiths.