Snubbie ammo

[Texas1880]

ive been using gold dot short barrel plus p.
Just bought some Underwood 125 plus p,
Anyone have a favorite?

This is for j frames. 642, and 442

My m60 I carry Barnes tac-xp

 

[GRIZ22]

I carry factory 148 HBWC in J frame guns and 158 SWC std velocity for reload.

 

[Sistema1927]

Lucky Gunner is your friend: https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/revolver-ballistics-test/

 

[Texas1880]

Luck

Lucky Gunner is your friend: https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/revolver-ballistics-test/

lucky gunner is a great resource. They just didn’t test Underwood.

Underwood’s, 125 grain 38 special loads are hotter than any tested, at 1200 FPS and 400 pounds of muzzle with a 2” barrel.

Only other comparison is super-vel.

 

[Jonesy814]

I have shot various ammo in my 638 Air weight. I found that with really hot ammo that my follow up shots are much slower due to excessive muzzle flip making it take much longer to get back on target.
For me, controllabilty of moderately powerful ammo that I can quickly apply to center mass trumps sledgehammer blows scattered all over the target

 

[Water-Man]

Bought my son Underwood Xtreme Defender 100gr. for his 38spl. LCR.

 

[MillCreek]

I was at the range the other day, and I picked up a box of Hornady Critical Defense .38 special 110 grain FTX (they were out of the +P). I fired the entire box through my Ruger .38 LCR and my Taurus Protector Poly .357. I was struck by the low recoil and lack of flash upon firing. I picked up another box for a carry load. I had earlier read some reviews and the Lucky Gunner tests of the round. I also pondered how no one seems to have any Speer Gold Dot short barrel or lead semi-wadcutters in stock any more.

 

[The Evangelist Cowboy]

I use a taurus 605 in .357 for a backup to my 10mm, I use actual .357 ammo, right now its 158 gr federal softpoints (More likely to run into hogs than people), for .38 I like the rem golden sabers but thats just me, hard to beat the old plus p semi wadcutter hp (in a real loading not the light ones)

 

[CaptTripps]

I carry Speer Gold Dot short barrel, 135 grain +P in my M10. That has a 4" barrel however

 

[SharpDog]

And the Lucky Gunner pretty much confirms what everyone has found out about modern ammo, that 9mm is very good for self-defense and there's really not much need to look further:

If I had to summarize all the results in one sentence, I’d say we saw a handful of .357 loads that performed about the same as a good 9mm along with a few .38s that were almost as good, minus a couple of inches of penetration. A slightly less succinct version of my commentary can be found in the video below, or keep reading for the unabridged edition.

https://www.luckygunner.com/lounge/revolver-ammo-commentary/

That said, I carry .40 S&W 165 gr. HST as my primary EDC, 9mm 147 gr. HST +P tactical in my heavy 9's and 115 gr. Gold Dot in my micro 9's. I find that the 147 +P 9mm HST shoots about the same trajectory as the 165 gr. .40 S&W HST's.

 

[hdwhit]

Texas1880 wrote:
Anyone have a favorite?

My grandmother preferred 148 gr wadcutters, but she didn't reload.

I do reload and prefer 158 gr. jacketed hollow points.

The 2 inch (or slightly less) barrel of most snubbies doesn't allow for much time for the bullet to gain velocity, so most people use a heavy bullet to compensate for the fact velocity will be low.

 

[Steve C]

The .38 spl velocity is pretty marginal in what is needed to reliably produce expansion in JHP bullets from a 4" barreled service revolver and a snub nose with its short 2" barrel makes it even worse. Go to YouTube and watch some of the .38 spl ammo tests using ballistic gel and snub nose revolvers. Mostly based on YouTube tests I have selected 3 defense loads for my snub nose carry, Remington 125gr Golden Sabers, Federal HST and Speer 135gr short barrel Gold Dots. These 3 seem to have reliable expansion and sufficient penetration. The Speer short barrel gold dots are generally hard to find, the HST's are currently available in places I shop and the Golden Sabers have been relatively easy to find.

 

[ancientnoob]

I prefer the .38 special 77 grain fluted copper-polymer non expanding projectile, marketed as Polycase interceptor, or Ruger ARX. Low flash, low recoil, low report excellent terminal performance.

 

[John Joseph]

158 grain LSWC here. Harder to find as new commercially loaded ammo but back in the day it was considered a police standard.
The load disappeared from the Magtech line-up, but HSM and Remington still load the stuff. I prefer HSM brass (Starline) cases to Remington and Federal plated cases because I can get more reloads out of brass

I like it because of the generous meplate and 158 grains is the bullet weight most .38 spls are calibrated for POI. With a marginal caliber I'll go for accuracy and quick follow ups---the 158 gr standard velocity provides on both counts.
The bad= empty brass has to be ejected forcefully to clear the cylinder. The short ejectors fitted to 1-7/8" barrels needs considerable momentum to do it's work.

 

[NoirFan]

I keep Remington 158 gr lswchp on hand for my S&W 36. For practice, I use a hand loaded equivalent of the Speer 158 gr bullet of the same design with a max charge of HS6 and mag primer (actually slightly over max works a little better) . I haven’t chronoed it, but it is a pretty stout feeling load and groups nicely at point of aim.

 

[cal44mag]

I use Buffalo Bore 158gr LSWC hollow points in my Smith Model 49. These are standard pressure, but attain the same velocity as the old Federal SWC HP "FBI" load.

By "use" I mean they are my standard carry load. Hopefully never need to use them for self defense.

I also am considering the new HST 38 special load -- the ones that are seated down even with the case mouth. Haven't shot any of these yet.

 

[Tirod]

Do find the ammo tests and do see where two inch barrels have an issue over their short length.

A few items of note were that hollow point lead bullets still do a good job of expansion, and that some of the American Gunner loads were very consistent. Keep in mind recoil is a major factor and it does affect shot recovery even at the short ranges implied.

You only get the first five or so, you have to make them count. The rule still stands, you have to have a gun to use it, one ammo type over another can be a rabbit hole that can cause some to lose perspective.

 

[bassjam]

I have the Hornady .38 sp 158gr XTP in my snubbies. I have picked up some Buffalo Bore .38's to try, I just haven't had a chance to shoot them yet.

 

[fireman 9731]

I carry the Speer short barrel 135gr Gold Dots in my snubs and 4inch barreled revolvers. With that said, I wouldn't feel under armed if I had any other wadcutter or name brand hollow point with a wide mouth. I avoid round nose lead and FMJ.

 

[John Joseph]

Back in the day, my agency referred to the 158gr LRN as the Widow Maker due to sub optimal performance.
In the 70's, USAF Security personnel I knew felt the same way about GI 130gr FMJ.
So I avoid both those loads

 

[Jack B.]

Hornady 38 Special + P Critical Defense in a Ruger LCR

 

[Merle1]

158 grain LSWC here. Harder to find as new commercially loaded ammo but back in the day it was considered a police standard.
The load disappeared from the Magtech line-up, but HSM and Remington still load the stuff. I prefer HSM brass (Starline) cases to Remington and Federal plated cases because I can get more reloads out of brass

I like it because of the generous meplate and 158 grains is the bullet weight most .38 spls are calibrated for POI. With a marginal caliber I'll go for accuracy and quick follow ups---the 158 gr standard velocity provides on both counts.
The bad= empty brass has to be ejected forcefully to clear the cylinder. The short ejectors fitted to 1-7/8" barrels needs considerable momentum to do it's work.

Also you should check Buffalo Bore's 150 gr full wadcutter - it is standard pressure too.....

 

[RPZ]

148 Lead Wadcutter.

 

[entropy]

I have carried 130 Gold Dot snubbie loads in my S&W. Right now I have Remington 125 Golden Sabers in it.

 

[gk3]

I like 135gr Short Barrel Gold Dots. They have a slightly larger hollow point opening than the 125s and are designed to open more reliably at lower snub nose velocities. These have been hard to find, but recently came back in circulation.