Snub .38 ammo choices/thread move

[Tom Givens]

I was at the range a few minutes today. I lined up 3 one gallon jugs of water from Wal-Mart and placed in front of them a folded lightweight cotton windbreaker. The jacket was light cotton with a smooth, lightweight liner like a good suit coat. I folded it so there were four layers of shell and liner to go through. That is more like the outer clothing we see in this part of the country.

I fired a .38 Special Winchester "Defend" 130gr jhp from my Cobra at about 8 feet. I was sure the bullet would be captured inside the 3rd gallon jug. Wrong! The bullet split open the second jug and went all the way through the third jug and disappeared downrange. I was unable to find it. However, judging by the exit hole in the third jug the bullet did expand or it tumbled and exited sideways. Either one is okay with me. I am pretty impressed with this load, especially since it is standard pressure. More work to follow.

[Tom Duffy]

The only commercial WC that I currently know of that fits that recipe is the Double Tap, but I am leery of the QC on most small ammo makers

I'm surprised by this; without knowing any better, I had viewed Double Tap as a premium brand. I thought that better QC than the major brands was one of their claims to fame. I've shot about 100 rounds of their 45 +P with the Barnes copper bullet from both my HK45C and 1911 (with a heavy recoil spring) and found it to be very accurate and consistent. I wonder if you could expand your experience without derailing the thread.

[Clay]

The Doubletap wadcutters I bought two years ago were very dirty, and recoil was substantially more than wadcutters from Rem and Federal. Reviews of this ammo on Midway are not good. I personally would steer clear of this brand. They remind me of Cor-Bon in the late nineties.

[SAWBONES]

I agree that the Double Tap stuff is hot.
I've shot about five hundred rounds of it, mostly in 45ACP.
The 200gr+P JHP is actually somewhat uncomfortable to shoot in the lightweight Glock 36, but I've never had a problem with either accuracy or precision from this maker, nor any perception that their quality was lacking.

[Chuck Haggard]

I'm surprised by this; without knowing any better, I had viewed Double Tap as a premium brand. I thought that better QC than the major brands was one of their claims to fame. I've shot about 100 rounds of their 45 +P with the Barnes copper bullet from both my HK45C and 1911 (with a heavy recoil spring) and found it to be very accurate and consistent. I wonder if you could expand your experience without derailing the thread.

When people play with making ammo that doesn't exist, like ".380 +P" by overloading things, I start to wonder.

I've seen some of the DT stuff, and admittedly that was awhile back, that IMHO was overpressure, badly. Other ammo that had big spreads on velocity, etc.

[Moonshot]

When people play with making ammo that doesn't exist, like ".380 +P" by overloading things, I start to wonder.

I agree, and this is one of the reasons I have concerns over Buffalo Bore ammo. They too offer a .380 +P and a .40 S&W +P.

[DocGKR]

I have said this before and will repeat it again--if your life is on the line, you might wish to consider sticking with ammo manufacturers that have large government contracts and QC controls in place, as that ammo is likely to be built much better than the average boutique/small scale vendor or reloader. Typically that means sticking with duty/defensive ammo from ATK (Federal and Speer), Black Hills, Hornady, Remington, and Winchester; Lapua and Norma are also good for certain tasks. For less critical functions like hunting, matches, and training, the field might open up to other reputable vendors like Asym, Fiocchi, IMI, IVI, Magtech, S&B, etc...

[Beat Trash]

^^^^^ This^^^^

Ammo is cheap, life is not.

[stingray]

Just a thought: would it not be better to use the 135 grain Gold Dot and have a chance of expansion, in stead of the 148 grain wadcutters?

When i am "unarmed" I carry a S&W 642 loaded with the short barrel Gold Dots, along with a couple of speed strips with the same ammo in my pocket.

[Clay]

Just a thought: would it not be better to use the 135 grain Gold Dot and have a chance of expansion, in stead of the 148 grain wadcutters?

When i am "unarmed" I carry a S&W 642 loaded with the short barrel Gold Dots, along with a couple of speed strips with the same ammo in my pocket.

I would say yes, if you are a very good shooter with your 642 and the recoil doesn't bother you. For me, it's wadcutters. I'd recommend trying both out side-by-side, and then make an honest assessment. I'm personally not confident enough in making good hits with my 442 loaded with +P ammo.