http://www.handgunsmag.com/ammunition/pocket_dynomite/
OK, by all means, let's look at this. Follow along on the "chart" at the bottom:
Federal +p 129-grain H-S: FAILED. In clothed gelatin, between .358 (more or less zero expansion) and .445, which ain't squat really.
Federal +p 129-grain Nyclad: worked well. This is a plain unjacketed lead round dipped in plastic. No longer in production.
Federal +p 158-grain Nyclad: seriously failed.
Winchester +p 158-grain LSWCHP: failed. Surprising - speeds noted were around 820fps, which is known to be at the lower end of the performance envelope for this round. My snubby has a .002" gap
and would probably do better; this round has done better in other tests.
Winchester +P 125-grain SJHP: failed. Poor expansion bare, strong evidence of clothes-clogging. Fairly old design, among the most primitive JHPs here.
Winchester +P 125-grain Silvertip HP: did surprisingly well. Data's not complete, as one round did a "screwball" and got away (not necessarily a bad thing, mind you). May indicate partial expansion (one side only?).
Winchester +P 130-grain SXT Personal Protection: strong success. This is a very recent design and has an enormous JHP cavity. This round was designed for 38snubby speeds and is one of the two JHPs I'd trust in a snubby. The speeds are still disappointing but hey, they work. Drive this same projectile in a 357 and it'd be a bad joke, would probably come utterly unglued (shredded nosecone). Not sure I'd trust it in a 6" 38.
Triton +P 110-grain Quik-Shot: marginal. One failed to come apart completely in the clothed test. Penetration sucked.
Speer Gold-Dot +P 125-grain GDHP: strong success. Along with the Winchester 130, this is one of the two most modern rounds here. Clearly, they're starting to get to where they can "tune" a JHP design to these speeds (825 or so). More good news: the Gold Dot has an advantage over all other JHPs, in that it resists "over-speed problems" where a round goes too fast and breaks up. So in a 5" or 6" barrel 38, this round would be my #1 pick. This projectile is also being loaded by Proload and Georgia Arms, with GA having an excellent rep for loading 'em hot and Proload having the best accuracy rep in the biz. Black Hills may also be loading 'em, I forget, they're a competent bunch too.
Hornady 125-grain XTP: expansion is poor, but at least there. Not surprising, as this is a hunting design originally. The good news: it IS loaded warm, all round doing more than 850. Good choice for a 4" barrel gun and has potential as a "wilderness carry load" where you might want a deeper punch on a cougar but I'd skip it in a snub.
Remington +P 125-grain Golden Saber: suffered one clog. Could be a fluke.
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Upshot: yes, some very modern 125/130 JHPs are now working in snubs. This is a recent development...two or three years or so. Not enough time for a lot of stats to be compiled.
Using JHP tech of between 5 and 10 years ago, 158grain 357 JHPs weren't working well. 125s were (and of course, still do). The Remington 125grain Semi-Jacketed-hollowpoint is an extremely primitive JHP with a small hollowpoint cavity but, get that thing up past 1,400 and it just works, like it has for the last 10 years or more, I forget when it first shipped.
The Gold Dot 158 JHP is much newer, but seems to work well at 1,200+.