POI/POA w/ 135gr .357 Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel
- Thread starter zoomie
- Start date
In general when you use a lighter bullet and therefore usually a faster one, the POI will be lower on the target than the POI of a heavier bullet out of the same gun. This is due to the bullet leaving the barrel before it has risen as far as with the heavier bullet due to recoil.
However, there are so many variables involved that there is no way to predict how much lower or even if indeed it will be lower in your case. Only by firing the different rounds can you tell for sure. If pressed for an answer without testing, I would take a SWAG at 1 to 2 inches lower at 25 yards for the bullets you are talking about (and using a rest since a 1 to 2 inch variation can easily get lost in the group at 25 yards off-hand).
However, there are so many variables involved that there is no way to predict how much lower or even if indeed it will be lower in your case. Only by firing the different rounds can you tell for sure. If pressed for an answer without testing, I would take a SWAG at 1 to 2 inches lower at 25 yards for the bullets you are talking about (and using a rest since a 1 to 2 inch variation can easily get lost in the group at 25 yards off-hand).
I just bought a box of Speer .38 +P 135 grain Gold Dot hollow points. Nowhere on the box does it mention "short barrel"... and when I asked the guy at the gunshop all I got was one of "those looks"... and said he had never heard of one named that, but they were 135 grain +P .38 special. I bought them, but are there 2 different 135 gr. +P Gold Dot loads ???? short barrel and standard ??
Are you sure? 
http://www.speer-ammo.com/products/short_brl.aspx
Click on "Product Listing" and go to the bottom of the list.
http://www.speer-ammo.com/products/short_brl.aspx
Click on "Product Listing" and go to the bottom of the list.
DonR101395
New member
I must have got a case of mis-marked boxes. They all say short barrel on them
As you picked up on I'm sure, there are two types, Jet Man. I guess they're relatively new for 38+P (introduced in '04). But... only the short barrel 38+P comes in 135gr. The standard 38+P is 125gr. Others (like 9mm) have the same bullet weight (124gr) in standard and short barrel.
With that said, my .357 box is marked "short barrel."
Every picture I can find does not list short barrel on the 38+P, though.
DonR101395, was yours .38+P?
With that said, my .357 box is marked "short barrel."
Every picture I can find does not list short barrel on the 38+P, though.
DonR101395, was yours .38+P?
DonR101395
New member
You're correct Zoomie, it was bugging me so I called the wife and had her look at the box. It's the .357 that was marked short barrel. The 38+P wasn't.
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Recoil
Recoil begins as soon as the bullet starts moving. The gun (and your hand) do move slightly before the bullet has left the barrel. It is not enough to be sensed by the shooter, but it does happen. So nearly all lighter bullets will strike lower than heavier ones. The amount varies with velocity, and the individual gun, so no prediction can be exactly correct. Only shooting will tell you the true difference.
Recoil begins as soon as the bullet starts moving. The gun (and your hand) do move slightly before the bullet has left the barrel. It is not enough to be sensed by the shooter, but it does happen. So nearly all lighter bullets will strike lower than heavier ones. The amount varies with velocity, and the individual gun, so no prediction can be exactly correct. Only shooting will tell you the true difference.