The best among a limited selection

[Puncha]

I recently injured my wrist and so have serious issues with .357 magnum recoil. This being the case, I have decided that the best compromise would be to shoot .38 special through a long barrelled medium frame .357 magnum revolver. (Reloading is illegal in my country so I cannot "down-load" .357 mag.) To add to my problems, the government of my country is very restrictive about what kind of ammo can or cannot be imported.

These are the best .38 special rounds that are available to civilians:

1) Fiocchi 158gr LRN (loaded hotly)
2) Magtech 124gr SJSP +P
3) Winchester 110gr STHP

With recoil, accuracy and terminal ballistics in mind, which of the above would be the best choice?

 

[Majic]

If recoil is going to be a problem because of your injury then shouldn't the long barrel creating a muzzle heavy revolver be a problem also?

 

[gazpacho]

Magtech then Winchester then Fiocchi

 

[Sport45]

How about taking a break from shooting until your wrist heals? I think you'll wind up better off that way.

For self defense carry whatever you can handle for six shots.

 

[Puncha]

Of the 3 rounds listed, the fiocchi .38 LRNs make the most financial sense. (I refer to the purple box teflon coated made in Italy version.) However, velocity data for it seems to be for a firearm with a 7" barrel. Does anyone know (through chronograph tests), how much muzzle velocity there is from a 4" barrel? If no data is available then based on having fired this round, what would be your educated guess as to it's muzzle velocity?

 

[dakotasin]

i haven't chronographed fiocchi, but i have chronied magtech, and their velocity claims are optimistic - to say the least. however, almost every ammo manufacturer fudges velocity data. still, i do like magtech ammo. it is pretty good stuff for the price.