Federal HST 130 in the gun. Do not carry a reload.
I carry a reload for the primary, a G17 or G19.
Federal HST 130 in the gun. Do not carry a reload.
I carry a reload for the primary, a G17 or G19.
Thank you to all who responded, and if anyone else has more suggestions, please let me know.
Based on what i am seeing here though, I think I will stick with my 158gr LSWC, for the following reasons...
A 2nd J-frame is not always an option, and even with a 2nd J-frame, it still only leaves me with 10 rounds. I want a reload, perhaps two.
I do not want any +P round in my airweight, for reasons already stated - groups open up and split times increase if shooting off-hand only, my wife and daughters do not shoot it as well as standard pressure, and the only reason I can see to use a +P is to help the HP expand. I do not have any confidence that a HP, even a modern one driven to +P velocity, will expand after passing through 4LD from a sub-2" barrel, so I see no reason to accept the higher recoil of a +P round.
Doc has recommended sticking with large commercial manufacturers with large government contracts - as they may be more likely to have better QC in place. This makes sense to me. Therefore, no boutique loads.
The Hornady 158gr XTP referenced might be a valid option if it meets all my other criteria and if I can find it at an affordable price. I have some Winchester Defend loads (part of their Train & Defend series). These are 130gr standard pressure HPs. I don't expend them to open up either, but they feed well as a reload. They actually meet most of my needs for a reload, but they cost over $25 for a box of 20. Too rich for my blood to allow for consistant and frequent practice.
My Federal 158gr LSWCs I can get at <$20 for a box of 50.
Last edited by Moonshot; 04-26-2018 at 10:25 AM.
Just my two cents: I carry and use RA38B in my 442. Reasons: I got a good supply of it for ~$16/50 shipped to my door a while back. It shoots close enough to the sights of my 442 to be useful. It works well from speed strips and Comp-I's. I've shot a few into water jugs, and they do expand, but I suspect that might not be the case in real flesh and bone. Shooting it side by side with the Winchester "Defend" stuff... I can't perceive a difference in recoil. Certainly more with either of those, than the HBWC handloads I practice with, but it's not unmanageable for me. I'd not feel too terrible carrying my wadcutter handloads or a SWC. Where you place the bullet is far more important than what bullet it is. A wide meplat SWC, like a "Keith" style, is probably better, terminally, than most of the common SWC bullets you find in factory ammo. The downside to that wide flat nose, is of course, slower reloads.
The Critical Defense stuff ( and probably XTP too), and rounds loaded with the 110gr Barnes DPX look like they would be GREAT for fast reloads, but I have not tried them because I can't justify the expense. I keep planning on buying some of the Barnes bullets to load for myself, but even those are expensive, and come in silly 40 count boxes. I have heard of the light Barnes bullets keyholing from some 2" guns.
I think Malamute has mentioned before that even wadcutter ammo loads pretty well from the Safariland Comp-I's... And I agree. They seem to hold the rounds tight enough that its easier to get them in the charge holes, vs other options (HKS, speed strips).
The bottom line is that there really isn't any such thing as a free lunch when it comes to snub ammo and reloading them.
How do you get the Safariland Comp 1 to work with wadcutters? I've tried, and the short rounds do not make it into the cylinder charge holes, preventing the speed loader release from engaging the extractor.Originally Posted by WDR
On the other hand, the HKS works well, if not particularly fast.
If it matters to speed loader use, I run the Pachmayr Compac Professional on my 642.
Wadcutters work, but you have to get the rounds aligned with the charge holes, as only about ~1/16" of the case makes it into them before the center post hits the ejector/extractor, after that it's as simple as a push in as usual. I had my wife take a short 6 second video... but I can't manage to figure out an easy way to upload it. I'm a bit of a Luddite. I'll keep looking for a simple way to upload the video.
I don't think it'd matter, but my 442 is a "Pro" model that is cut for moon clips. If anything, the standard model should engage slightly more of the round before the center part of the loader hits the extractor star. I'm also using LG-405's for grips, which clear the Comp-I's just fine. The loader can get lined up nice and square to the rear cylinder face. I'm not sure how the Pachamayr grips compare, but if they force much of an outward cant the the loader, I could see where that may effect how wadcutters would feed from them.
Last edited by WDR; 04-26-2018 at 10:02 PM. Reason: attempt to add video
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