38SPL Question
- Thread starter Tom B
- Start date
4thHorseman
New member
Tom thats a "loaded" question.
Honestly though, most ammo is under the SAMI standards. Most have a required pressure to meet for the industry. Proably the best performer projectile, and purely my opinon, the 38 +p in the 158 gr range. Winchester, Remington and others. Always remember, shot placement is the key. I consider the 38 a fine round. Most of the police used to use the 158 gr also.
Honestly though, most ammo is under the SAMI standards. Most have a required pressure to meet for the industry. Proably the best performer projectile, and purely my opinon, the 38 +p in the 158 gr range. Winchester, Remington and others. Always remember, shot placement is the key.
I consider the 38 a fine round. Most of the police used to use the 158 gr also."Loaded" indeed.
Forget the "+P"
Find the ammo that has the projectile performance you are seekin. It may or may not be "+P"
The term +P is an indicator of PEAK pressure. No direct bearing on velocity.
Different powders have different pressure profiles. The addition of flash inhibitors often raises the peak pressure.
Sam
Forget the "+P"
Find the ammo that has the projectile performance you are seekin. It may or may not be "+P"
The term +P is an indicator of PEAK pressure. No direct bearing on velocity.
Different powders have different pressure profiles. The addition of flash inhibitors often raises the peak pressure.
Sam
I research this a lot, and the highest velocities tend to be from Speer's Gold Dot, which also has a hollow point like the mouth of a hungry bass about to engulf a minnow. I think the Cor-Bon is hotter, but uses a 115 grain bullet, and I won't use bullets in this caliber under 125 grains.
The Gold Dot is EXTREMELY accurate in my guns, but one S&W has "tight" chambers that barely take CCI-Speer ammo, which seems to be wider than most brands, at the limit for SAAMI specs.
I have heard that Speer needs to replace their loading equipment, which may be worn to the point that it doesn't size cases down as much as most brands do, but I don't have any idea if this is true. I do know that Speer is a tight fit in some chambers, and requires a really solid smack of the hand on the extractor rod for ejection. In the gun mentioned, I use Hydra-Shok or the various lead HP's, which seem to be overall the best performer in .38's for defense. Still, if your gun handles it well, that Gold Dot gives close to 900 FPS even in a snub!
Lone Star
The Gold Dot is EXTREMELY accurate in my guns, but one S&W has "tight" chambers that barely take CCI-Speer ammo, which seems to be wider than most brands, at the limit for SAAMI specs.
I have heard that Speer needs to replace their loading equipment, which may be worn to the point that it doesn't size cases down as much as most brands do, but I don't have any idea if this is true. I do know that Speer is a tight fit in some chambers, and requires a really solid smack of the hand on the extractor rod for ejection. In the gun mentioned, I use Hydra-Shok or the various lead HP's, which seem to be overall the best performer in .38's for defense. Still, if your gun handles it well, that Gold Dot gives close to 900 FPS even in a snub!
Lone Star
Mannlicher
New member
I am a big fan of the Federal NyClad 125 grain load. These are very accurate in both my Taurus 85CH, and my Smith Mod.60-3 with the bobbed hammer. The other load I like for CCW, is the Federal HydroShock 129 grain HP, but it is not quite as accurate as the NyClad.
Find the load you fire most accurately
I experimented with a dozen .38 spcl loads and I especially liked Georgia Arms ammo. I finally settled on their "Sheer Power" 125 gr PLUS-P JHP White Dots because they grouped beautifully right on the bulls eye and had less muzzle and gap flash than other rounds. The 110 gr PLUS-P JHP's shot lower and the 158 gr SWC's shot higher.
Placement over power is preferrable. Best Wishes.
I experimented with a dozen .38 spcl loads and I especially liked Georgia Arms ammo. I finally settled on their "Sheer Power" 125 gr PLUS-P JHP White Dots because they grouped beautifully right on the bulls eye and had less muzzle and gap flash than other rounds. The 110 gr PLUS-P JHP's shot lower and the 158 gr SWC's shot higher.
Placement over power is preferrable. Best Wishes.