38 & .357 pistol Loads
Whats the most popular bullet weight for a snub nose pistol , in .38 or .357 cal ?
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For what purpose?...my favorites are for plinking 158 gr SWC and 125 gr JHP for serious work. 0 -
For serious work. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by victorlvlb
Whats the most popular bullet weight for a snub nose pistol , in .38 or .357 cal ?
Most "popular" defensive .38 special round weight is 125 grain, usually in a jacketed hollow point design.
Whether or not its the most EFFECTIVE round is debatable.
Second most popular defensive round weight is probably 158 grain (eg the semiwadcutter hollowpoint "FBI load").
Personally, given the choice, I'd lean towards this heavier bullet as likely more effective, with the caveat that it will have a bit more recoil. Also, it can be a little harder to find 158 grain loads in .38+P, so in practice I usually end up carrying 125 grain .38+Ps.
The same weights (125 grain, then 158 grain) are probably #s 1 and 2, respectively for .357 magnum as well.
For what its worth, there are a whole variety of other bullet weights available for .38/.357 though none of them are quite as popular: 110 grain, 130 grain (special Speer snubnose round), 148 grain (usually wadcutter for target shooting only), 180 grain (hunting).0 -
Hi,
Your question is very general.
If you mean most the commonly used bullet weight in either the 38 Special or the 357 Magnum, it is either the 125 grain or 158 grain bullet in various forms such as JHP or semi-wadcutter, etc.
If you mean the most popular for defense the combination is the 357 magnum with 125 grain JHP bullet. According to the database of Marshall and Sanow of real shootings, the 357 Magnum with 125 grain JHP bullet is one of the leaders for one shot stops on human beings. The 357 Magnum is tied with the 45 ACP 230 grain Hydra Shok bullet both at 96% one shot stops - which is impressive performance since the placement of the shot doesn't count - performance is simply based on the perp not being able to continue the fight.
Regards,
Heavyiron0 -
You didn't say whether the loads were factory or handrolled, so I'll opine that the 145gr Silvertip is MY favorite load for "serious" work. It is also the most accurate load I have worked up for my GP100 with a 2" barrel. It started with a 6" full underlug barrel, but I modified the whole shebang as a carry piece by shortening the barrel, "melting" the sights and hammer, adding some "gunfighter" wood grips, and stoning the action/internals to glass smoothness.
I use 10.2 gr of Blue Dot over a CCI 550 primer and end with a slight roll crimp.0 -
I'm thinking of using my snub nose, ( .38 , .357 mag ) , as a backup. I've noticed that gun shops and sites on the net always have plenty of 158 grain ammo. The leo's i've talked to favor the 125 and 130 grain bullets. I would of thought the 140 or 145 grain bullets would of been their first choice. I bought a box of 125 grain bullets .357 , and a box of 130 grain bullets .38. I'll be reloading the one that I like best out of the two. Thanks for the info. 0 -
There are so many variables that no one solution will work well for everyone.
LEO's may be involved in an encounter at 50', but most civilians will engage at 10' or less.
Location is important. Those of us who are in an urban area where ricochets & misses can kill innocent bystanders might do best with frangible loads like Mag-Safe.
At least 2 major manufacturers have recently marketed a load specifically intended for use in a 2" snubbie; I don't know if they are out of production, or just get snatched off the shelf quickly.
Neal0 -
nmyers
Your right about all the differnent types of bullets. I'm just trying to find a bullet weight i'm comfortable with.0
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