I'm sure Dr. Roberts can correct me if I am wrong, but in general the most important characteristic in determining penetration depth in an expanding projectile is the bullet's sectional density. The 130gr .38spl has a greater sectional density than the 124gr 9mm load. As long as the .38spl load can travel at least 900fps, I would bet that it would at least equal the performance of the standard pressure 124gr 9mm HST.
"A man with an experience is not a slave to a man with an opinion."
Yes--"shooting the bull" appears to be the best of the internet folks.
Sectional density is important, but so is projectile construction.
Last edited by DocGKR; 05-15-2017 at 01:40 PM.
Facts matter...Feelings Can Lie
When it comes to the mechanics of ballistics science, I have couple of decades worth of "facts". If you think that velocity is the primary attribute concerning bullet penetration after expansion then you are going to be hard pressed to find any "facts" to help your case.
"A man with an experience is not a slave to a man with an opinion."
It certainly does not count as scientific "testing" but I shot a 20 rd. box of these Federal # P38HST1S through my S&W 642 at an indoor range today at 25 ft. They cut nice wad-cutter type holes in the paper target. I did not have a chronograph available but subjectively the recoil seemed to be a little less than the .38 Sp. 135gr Gold Dot short barrel +P load that I also shot right after shooting the .38 Special HST.
We'll need to wait for the empirical testing before making any useful judgements.
“Safety is nice, but it’s not first. Life is first and it’s not safe.”— Jeff Cooper
I my S&W 642 offhand at 25', the Federal P38HST1S (130gr HST) shot about 3 1/2" above point of aim. The Speer 23921 (135gr GD SB) is about dead on. The Winchester white box Q4171 (130 gr FMJ) shot about 2" high.
I'm an older guy and I broke my wrist a few months ago so I'm still a bit recoil sensitive. The Federal HST .38 special seems like it could be a winner for folks who don't enjoy the snappy recoil of the Speer 135gr GD SB load. When I shot them the .38 SP HST load seemed a bit lighter recoil than the Speer GD load, but the HST was definitely hotter than the Winchester White Box 130gr stuff.
Hopefully Federal didn't just put their HST label on a glorified inverted wadcutter load, and hopefully it performs well in actual testing. For now and until I know better I'll probably continue to carry the Gold Dots in my 642.
“Safety is nice, but it’s not first. Life is first and it’s not safe.”— Jeff Cooper