.38 special HST?

[LOBO]

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.

Thank you for the information, I really appreciate it.

[LtDave]

Finally made it to the range to test the HST. I brought 3 guns with me, a '60's vintage S&W Model 37 converted to DAO, a S&W 342Ti 2" and a S&W 640 Pro. As a control load, I fired Winchester 130 grain +P Bonded JHP. Both the HST and Ranger was unpleasant to shoot in the 342Ti which was not a surprise. Anything hotter than a 148 wadcutter hurts. Not bad out of the Model 37 and both were very pleasant in the all steel 640 Pro. Groups were fired double action off the bench at 15 yards. In all 3 guns, the HST shot to the right. 3.5" in the 640 Pro, 3" in the M37 and 4.25" right in the 342Ti. My 640 Pro shoots low with everything and the HST was no exception, hitting about 4.25" low. The M37 and 342Ti were pretty well on for elevation. My M37's front sight has been shortened and is 1/10" wide. The Winchester Ranger Bonded JHPs shot well in the 342Ti, with a 2" group about 1.5" low and 1" right. In the 640 Pro they went into 3.25", but shot 5" low. In my M37 the Winchester went into 3.25" but 4.25" low and 1" right. Just realized I forgot to take the chronograph, so I'll have to do that another time.

[xcop]

LTDave.......assuming you use a 6 oclock hold what hits closest to POA in your 640?

[LtDave]

LTDave.......assuming you use a 6 oclock hold what hits closest to POA in your 640?

I hold center. If I held 6 o'clock with this thing nothing would be on the paper. Most everything hits between 2.5" and 4.5" low. There is a lot of left/right variance as well with many of the loads. Factory load that hits closest to POA is an RWS 158 FMJFP, which shoots about 1.5" low and 1" right. Best load in the gun (closest to the sights) so far is a low end .357 handload with a 180 Sierra FMJFP and 4.4 grains of 700x. Hits 1" below POA with a 2.25" group. Speer .357 short barrel GD load hits 3.25" low and 3" right. Surprisingly, the Speer is not bad in recoil/blast. The 700x load is very nice as well. There is a little bit of metal on the front sight above the white ring around the tritium, so I will probably get a file out and see if I can get it closer to POA/POI without ruining the front sight. I really wish someone would make a higher replacement rear sight for this gun.

[xcop]

I shoot all my handguns straight on. Sorry to see what these newer Smiths have ended up doing. That is a very large POA/POI difference. Good luck!
D&L makes rear sights you can add on............http://www.dlsports.com/dl_jframe_sw_sights.html