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Thread: 38 Special HST 130gr +P in Organic Gel

  1. #1

    38 Special HST 130gr +P in Organic Gel

    Good afternoon, PF! Here's something you will be interested in. At least all y'all who carry a 38SPL for defense.

    There have been a few tests of this particular load in Clear Gel but, so far at least, mine is the first test in 10% organic gel. I've used Clear Gel previously but have only recently started messing with making true organic gel. I've tried a couple different blocks with grocery store gel but have decided to start using VYSE gel since it is the correct stuff. It is supposedly favored over other options for its consistency and I've found it easy to work with.

    The organic gel block used here was made last weekend and has been under refrigeration for a week. I took it out of the fridge this morning and immediately put it into a Coleman cooler for transport for the hills. Total time in the cooler was about 35 minutes from fridge door to range setup.

    Three .177 BBs were used to validate the block. Chrono data was only captured for one BB. This showed a muzzle velocity of 579 fps. All three BBs fell within millimeters of the 8.5cm calibration.



    Next up was one round of the 38 HST fired into bare gel. The firearm used was a Ruger LCR with a 1.87" barrel.

    The recorded muzzle velocity was 854 fps. This bullet penetrated to a depth of 11.25 inches.



    Next was a round through FBI spec heavy clothing. The heavy clothing sample was bought from Clear Ballistics and is two pieces of cotton fabric covered by a layer of insulation and topped with a sheet of denim.

    The first bullet through clothing had a recorded velocity of 825 fps and punched to 11.75 inches in the block.


    The 3rd and final round fired through clothing penetrated right to the 12" mark with a velocity of 860 fps.



    Just for comparison I also fired one round of Winchester 110gr +P+ through clothing into the block. This bullet showed 1,015 fps for velocity and penetrated to 10.25 inches.

    Here soon I'll cut into the block and get expanded diameters and retained weights. It does look like the HSTs lost a petal or two at around five or six inches in the block.

    All shooting was done from 10 feet. The chronograph was set up directly in front of the gel.

    Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks.
    Last edited by Tokarev; 02-10-2018 at 03:22 PM.

  2. #2
    Modding this sack of shit BehindBlueI's's Avatar
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    Can you compare the HST's recoil to more traditional HP loads of the same weight? I'm curious if the reduced case volume, which should mean less powder used, equates to less recoil over something like the PDX-1.
    Sorta around sometimes for some of your shitty mod needs.

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by BehindBlueI's View Post
    Can you compare the HST's recoil to more traditional HP loads of the same weight? I'm curious if the reduced case volume, which should mean less powder used, equates to less recoil over something like the PDX-1.
    The recoil seems pretty mild. It does have a bit less "thump" than the 110gr +P+ although I don't find it particularly unpleasant. Definitely less muzzle blast than the Winchester stuff.

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  4. #4
    Recoil is pretty subjective and the LCR probably isn't the best gun to use as far as that stuff is concerned.

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  5. #5
    Modding this sack of shit BehindBlueI's's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tokarev View Post
    Recoil is pretty subjective and the LCR probably isn't the best gun to use as far as that stuff is concerned.

    Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
    It is subjective, but the LCR is the exact gun I'm interested in.

    To add a bit, I tried a host of different rounds from standard pressure .38 to full house 158 gr magnums in mine before settling on the PDX-1 +P as the junction of tolerable recoil and reasonable performance. 125gr .357 magnum and the 130-ish gr .38+P seemed to be the sweet spot, but muzzle flash on the 125 gr was...significant.
    Last edited by BehindBlueI's; 02-10-2018 at 03:42 PM.
    Sorta around sometimes for some of your shitty mod needs.

  6. #6
    My LCR is an older model that has been discontinued. It has an XS big dot front sight and has what I believe was called the Boot Grip.



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  7. #7
    Member Leroy Suggs's Avatar
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    @Tokarev thanks for that test.

    @BehindBluel's the HST has significantly less recoil than the RA38B in my 442-1.

  8. #8
    Member JHC's Avatar
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    Great job.

    Penetration is a bit shallow isn't it?
    “Remember, being healthy is basically just dying as slowly as possible,” Ricky Gervais

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by JHC View Post
    Great job.

    Penetration is a bit shallow isn't it?
    Yeah just under the FBI spec of 12" but probably okay given the size of the gun and the muzzle velocity, etc.

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  10. #10
    FWIW... SG Ammo has this stuff for cheaper than I have seen it listed anywhere else... around $16/20 rounds. Not sure how long it'll last.

    Personally, I'll stick with the RA38B I have. I think it should penetrate a bit better. And I am biased towards more penetration. That said, recoil was somewhat more mild than the Ranger, but not as mild as my WC handloads (PD 148gr HBWC with 3.0gr W231).

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