Hello:
I narrowed down the choices for carry ammo for my 340PD to the Corbon 38 special 110gr DPX and the Gold Dot 38 special +p 135 grain HP. I spoke to reps from both of these companies who both stated that these new rounds were specifically designed for 2" snubbies. Corbon told me that they tested their round extensively in the 340PD without any issues at all. And I have read lots of good stuff about the new Gold Dot +p 135gr on GT and other forums. I tested the Gold Dot 125gr +p a few weeks ago and did not like it all that much due to the heavy recoil. So I expected to like the 135gr even less. Well much to my amazement this was not the case.
First off, I replaced the standard Hogue grips with a nice pair of Spegel Cocobolo wood grips from pickagrip.com. Very nice grips and they cost me about $75. I first shot the 110gr DPX round and expected to feel little recoil. Well, I felt that the recoil was pretty stout and about what I remembered from the 125gr Gold Dot round that I shot a few weeks ago. I brought a marker with me and marked each of the DPX rounds, shot four in the cylinder and then checked the 5th round. I did notice some bullet pull in the fifth round each time after shooting about 7 cylinders. This surprised me. The bullet pull did not lock up the cylinder, but it may be something to be concerned about. Also, I noticed two of the DPX rounds keyhole.
I then fired the Gold Dot 135gr +p and the recoil seemed mild compared to the standard pressure 110 grain DPX round. THis was very surprising (aren't standard pressure loads supposed to have less recoil than +p loads). The Gold Dot was more accurate and did not show any signs of bullet pull. In fact, the 135gr +p seems like it had less recoil than the 125gr +p that I shot a few weeks ago. Perhaps the Spegel grips had something to do with this? But the most surprising thing is that the standard pressure DPX round seemed to have more recoil than the +p 135gr Gold Dot.
So it is a mystery to me why the Gold Dot 135gr +p had more felt recoil than the Corbon 110gr DPX standard pressure round. Can anyone provide an explanation with this? I hear so many people on this forum state that the GD 135gr +p has so much recoil and I just did not see that. Is it possible that they sent me some lighter or standard pressure rounds from the factory and put the 135gr +p's in the wrong box? I know that this may sound foolish, but I just can't get over how easy it was to shoot the 135gr +p out of my 11 oz gun. I even went as far as checking the bullet to make sure that it said "+p" on them. Well any inputs or similar experiences are much appreciated.
I narrowed down the choices for carry ammo for my 340PD to the Corbon 38 special 110gr DPX and the Gold Dot 38 special +p 135 grain HP. I spoke to reps from both of these companies who both stated that these new rounds were specifically designed for 2" snubbies. Corbon told me that they tested their round extensively in the 340PD without any issues at all. And I have read lots of good stuff about the new Gold Dot +p 135gr on GT and other forums. I tested the Gold Dot 125gr +p a few weeks ago and did not like it all that much due to the heavy recoil. So I expected to like the 135gr even less. Well much to my amazement this was not the case.
First off, I replaced the standard Hogue grips with a nice pair of Spegel Cocobolo wood grips from pickagrip.com. Very nice grips and they cost me about $75. I first shot the 110gr DPX round and expected to feel little recoil. Well, I felt that the recoil was pretty stout and about what I remembered from the 125gr Gold Dot round that I shot a few weeks ago. I brought a marker with me and marked each of the DPX rounds, shot four in the cylinder and then checked the 5th round. I did notice some bullet pull in the fifth round each time after shooting about 7 cylinders. This surprised me. The bullet pull did not lock up the cylinder, but it may be something to be concerned about. Also, I noticed two of the DPX rounds keyhole.
I then fired the Gold Dot 135gr +p and the recoil seemed mild compared to the standard pressure 110 grain DPX round. THis was very surprising (aren't standard pressure loads supposed to have less recoil than +p loads). The Gold Dot was more accurate and did not show any signs of bullet pull. In fact, the 135gr +p seems like it had less recoil than the 125gr +p that I shot a few weeks ago. Perhaps the Spegel grips had something to do with this? But the most surprising thing is that the standard pressure DPX round seemed to have more recoil than the +p 135gr Gold Dot.
So it is a mystery to me why the Gold Dot 135gr +p had more felt recoil than the Corbon 110gr DPX standard pressure round. Can anyone provide an explanation with this? I hear so many people on this forum state that the GD 135gr +p has so much recoil and I just did not see that. Is it possible that they sent me some lighter or standard pressure rounds from the factory and put the 135gr +p's in the wrong box? I know that this may sound foolish, but I just can't get over how easy it was to shoot the 135gr +p out of my 11 oz gun. I even went as far as checking the bullet to make sure that it said "+p" on them. Well any inputs or similar experiences are much appreciated.