My carry load (opinions)

[rmeron]

A 200 gr lead RN,3 grs bullseye,in a 2" S&W mdl 36.

[inplanotx]

Let me guess, a Model 36 is a .38 Special? A 200 gr round nose lead bullet? About the worst you could use. What velocity do you get from 3.0 gr of Bullseye? Sounds quite enemic, but then I don't know the velocity from your snubbie.

One other thing, buy yourself some factory ammo. If in a gun fight you do not want to encounter a squib load. Also, a prosecutor will cut you to ribbons for using home made deadly ammunition.

[KyBlaster]

Go out and buy yourself some Gold Dots. Its a good self defense load and if You do have to shoot someone you will have one less leagle problem if you use comercial loads.
Use the lead roundnose for plinking.

[Country101]

Get factory ammo. I like Hydrashok, but whatever you chose it will be safer legally.

[Pistolenschutze]

Originally Posted by KyBlaster

Go out and buy yourself some Gold Dots. Its a good self defense load and if You do have to shoot someone you will have one less leagle problem if you use comercial loads.
Use the lead roundnose for plinking.

Absolutely, Ky. I strongly recommend the new Speer Gold Dot load, +P 135 grainers designed specifically for excellent performance from a 2" snubbie barrel. That's what I carry in mine. I also agree fully with your position on the use of handloads for self-defense. Not a good idea, especially the load rmeron suggests. A 200 grain bullet is simply too heavy for use in a snubbie, you might as well throw a rock!

[blackhawkkid308]

i like 185g winchester silver tips in a full size 1911.
bhk223

[scudrunner]

Hey!!

The other guys are correct, never use a hand load for self defense, the "victims" attorney will have a field day saying that you made the ammo more deadly and caused undo pain and suffering (what a load of...).
On another note .38 spls are great! As are 1911's or even a S&W 686 etc. the only thing is, can you carry it concelled well, even in the summer with light clothing such as shorts and Tees? Most assults are by thugs who take advantage of "weaker" individuals, not many are heros willing to risk life and limb (why do you think they are losers in the first place). The best fire arm you can have is the one you have with you, (the first rule of any gun fight is "have a gun") not the one out in the car parked a mile away. I carry a Kel-Tec P3, it's a small .380 auto 6+1 and a very safe DAO. It fits very well in my shorts and is so thin (about .75 of an inch) you cant even tell that you have it at all (see photos). Yes, its a mouse gun of sorts, but Black Hills ammo has a 90gr JHP with 1000fps and 200 ft/lbs of energy, plenty to get any ones attention!! Any good factory ammo will due, the key here is "factory". It is surprising accurate at close range, I can get a head shot at about 10' with no problem at all.

[JohnK3]

Dude! Resize your pics! Please! [grin]

[scudrunner]

Yep, sorry about that, hope I did this right!!

[JohnK3]

Looks good, Scudrunner!

I liked the first pics. They were just HUGE! [grin]

I am SERIOUSLY considering picking up a little Kel-Tec in .380 sometime in the near future as a "carry all the damn time" gun. Summers in Georgia make it real difficult to conceal anything larger. (And that includes GLOCKs, you GLOCKheads!)

[scudrunner]

Hey JohnK3,
Thanks for the post. The Kel-Tec is very light and seems to take pocket wear very well. I take mine everwhere, fits well in just about any type pocket, coat, pant, sweatshirt etc. I use the Blackhills 90gr JHP ammo in the summer and the 95gr FMJ in the winter for more penetration through winter clothing.

[BobMcG]

Originally Posted by rmeron

A 200 gr lead RN,3 grs bullseye,in a 2" S&W mdl 36.

I can find only two things wrong with this carry load.

1) Poor combination of lead and powder.
2) It's a handload.

[wolfgang2000]

I'm not sure of the track record of the gold dot or the golden sabers. I do know that the 158 grn semi wadcutter +P has a long proven record in the 38spl. in both the 2" and the 4". It does have limits. It is not good on "hard" targets such as car bodies or windshields. But on people it as good as anything you can shove in a 38spl.

[inplanotx]

I guess the originator of this thread didn't like our answers! No response.

[rmeron]

I don't sift through everything everyday,and my memory being what it is,sometimes I forget what and where I put questions.
I do apoligize,but I have read all the above and heeded your advice.I carry 158gr Hornady XTPHP's,I'll shoot the 200gr rounds at the range.
Thank you for all your opinions.

[inplanotx]

Originally Posted by rmeron

I don't sift through everything everyday,and my memory being what it is,sometimes I forget what and where I put questions.
I do apoligize,but I have read all the above and heeded your advice.I carry 158gr Hornady XTPHP's,I'll shoot the 200gr rounds at the range.
Thank you for all your opinions.

You would be better off using 110gr or 125 gr bullets in a 2" snubbie. The 158 gr bullets just don't get the velocity out of a 2" barrel.

Also, please note that I had smiley faces on the remark I made. We were not inferring anything more.

That is what these smilies are there for, to impart a gesture or feeling.

IPT

[rmeron]

I was not offended in any way.
Would Winchester 110 silver tip HP get penetration along with velocity.

[navyvet]

230 gr .45 hydrashok works for me.

[southernshooter]

Using some of those handmade killer bullets will be the lawsuit.
As far as ammo most of the guys had good ideas on what to use
or you can always hit em' with rat shot

[kings]

if you like gold dots, you should look at double tap ammo. good stuff.

[Ursus]

Originally Posted by inplanotx

You would be better off using 110gr or 125 gr bullets in a 2" snubbie. The 158 gr bullets just don't get the velocity out of a 2" barrel.IPT

Agree. In my Chief's Special I carry 110 grain Personal Defense Hydra Shoks.

[Pistolenschutze]

Originally Posted by Ursus

Agree. In my Chief's Special I carry 110 grain Personal Defense Hydra Shoks.

Not a bad round, Bear, but I've read some reports which say that the 110 Hyra Shok has a tendency to underpenetrate and fragment rather badly if the hit is not dead on the center of mass. It does seem reasonable though, that if a 115 grain slug generally works very well out of a 9mm with a 3.5 to 4 inch barrel, a slightly lighter bullet would work very well out of the shorter 2 inch barrel of a .38 snubbie.

[Ursus]

Originally Posted by Pistolenschutze

Not a bad round, Bear, but I've read some reports which say that the 110 Hyra Shok has a tendency to underpenetrate and fragment rather badly if the hit is not dead on the center of mass.

I think any load in any caliber would work better if dead on the center of mass. So PRACTICE, PRACTICE....

[Pistolenschutze]

Originally Posted by Ursus

I think any load in any caliber would work better if dead on the center of mass. So PRACTICE, PRACTICE....

True, Bear, but unfortunately that sort of hit may not always be possible in a real world confrontation. I read somewhere that the 110 grain Federal was designed, in part, to be a relatively low-recoiling round specifically for civilian personal defense, and that some effectiveness was sacrificed to achieve that goal, mostly in terms of penetration. I don't know if that is really true or not, but I do know some local police officers who won't use it in their back-up .38 snubbies. These guys prefer either the old "Chicago" load of a 148 grain lead semi-wadcutter hollow point at +P pressures, or one of the newer commercial jacketed hollow point +P loads like the Speer 135 grain Gold Dot. Personally, I like the Speer loading and that is what I carry in my snubbies.

[Ursus]

From a mod. 36 low recoil is what I was looking for. I think COMPROMISE is the key word. (I would rather carry 125 gr. Nyclads but I haven't find them here).