Best .38 Spec. Ammo

[lgm270]

What are the best .38 Special defense loads, especially for 2" barrel?

Your thoughts.

[Mikey]

Igm270:  my preferance is for a 200 grain semi-wadcutter or round nose flat-point over 3.8 grains of WW231 powder.  This load outperforms the old 38/200 Webley load which was cited for being inhumane at the Hague Convention.  Col. Charles Askins once reported having shot a German soldier through and through with that caliber at at distance of 25 yds.  Later in life he preferred only two calibers - the 45 auto with ball ammo and a 4" 38 with the 200 grain loads.  HTH.  Mikey.

[Ed Harris]

Some of the most well proven carry loads for .38 Special revolvers are the 158-gr. lead SWC-HP +P loads offered by the major ammunition companies.

The Winchester symbol is X38SPD
The Remington symbol is R38S12
The Federal load equivalent is 38G

All of these have proven track records in law enforcement use.

[HAMMERHEAD]

New guy here, not new to shooting or .38 S&W special. For snubbies the 200 gr round nose or any other 200gr. load is probably best. Hollow points don't expand at snubbie velocities, but the long 200 will almost always tumble in the target, which is better than a shorter lighter bullet thay doesn't expand and travels straight. Perhaps the new CORBON POW'R BALL will expand reliably in snubs, but it takes a 4" barrel to get hollow points to pop.

[Old Griz]

Federal used to make a .38 Nyclad hollowpoint that was designed to expand under the velocities of a short barreled .38 Special. It was all lead, no jacket, and was supposed to be pretty good. However, I've never carried .38s in my 2.5" M19 or 3" M66, so I'm NOT speaking from personal experience—just memory (or what I have left of it).

[papajohn428]

I'll second the use of the Nyclads, they were designed to be used in shorter barrels, as the core is dead soft lead.  The jacket is nothing more than a thin layer of nylon, enough to keep the bullet from leading.  Unless you are trying to shoot through something dense, they should do fine.
I tried the heavy bullets in 38 years ago, all I remember about that experiment was the recoil out of a snubbie was pretty awful.  I could empty a cylinder of the Nyclads or similar lighter-weight slugs about twice as fast, and with better accuracy.  Different strokes, I guess.  Recoil is such a subjective thing.  My FLL dealer shoots a 3.5 inch Colt Defender with 230-grain Hrdra-Shoks, but says he doesn't like the 40 because it kicks too much.  All I can say is, "huh?"  My 40 doesn't kick as much as my 38, at least to me.  See what I mean?  Subjective!
PJ