Two inch barrel .38 load of choice?

[314159]

Typically, in .38 I just shoot 148 target wadcutters. It's been awhile since I've looked, so: What does the "Hive Mind®" recommend for a steel frame 2 inch barrel .38 revolver load?

Reported failures to perform of 135 Gold Dot left me resigned to enjoying the low recoil of full WC loads instead. Were those reports bogus?

Using a 158 Keith style load doesn't seem like a step up in performance but I don't know what I don't know here.

I like my K and D frames and such. What should I be putting in them?

[Dog Face Gremlin]

Buffalo Bore 150gr. hard cast Wad Cutters in mine..........

[RevolverRob]

Gold Dot Short Barrel and Hornady Critical Defense provide adequate penetration and expansion from a 2" snub but are +P loads so they don't necessarily provide shootability from light weight guns. They also don't always hit to the sights on fixed sight guns. My experience has been about 50-50 on if they hit to the sights.

The real problem is the GD Short Barrel has been unobtanium for ~3.5 years now and the Critical Defense seems to be even less likely to hit to the sights.

As a result, wadcutters are probably still considered the standard choice.

[03RN]

I keep my 147gr hst reloads in mine. If I run out I typically keep 158gr swc at 950fps.

[SCCY Marshal]

Buffalo Bore or Underwood standard pressure 158 grain SWC-HP. Over years of occasionally dumping one into a row of water jugs covered in old work pant legs, up to six layers of Carhartt, they tend to at least flare a bit. I've not noticed any churning through enough jugs to worry about overpenetration. The loads hitting to sights in the majority of fixed sight Smith and Colt revolvers I've tried them in while being more available than the the Remchester F.B.I. loads is the base of my reasoning, though.

I'm also a fan of the Lost River wadcutters but have neither performed nor seen any backyard testing or better.

[Mitch]

I use 148 gr +p wadcutters from @Lost River. I’m sure the standard pressure are fine too, but the +p is all I’ve tried, it hits to my sights, is very accurate and manageable in my 442 so I stick with it.

[Wayne Dobbs]

Daily carry load: Georgia Arms Snub Wadcutter - load I had some involvement in that tailors velocity and manageable recoil from a J-frame for 16 - 17" of gel penetration and standard pressure
Also good: Buffalo Bore or Underwood standard pressure WC load
Practice reload: 148 SNS Casting coated DEWC and 3.5 grains of Bullseye

[gtmtnbiker98]

I'm currently using Critical Defense 110gr +P .38 but am considering the move to either Underwood 150gr lead WC or Georgia Arms 148gr lead WC (once they start accepting orders again).

The expansion of a hollow point is number three on my list of priorities. My main priorities are: the ammo has to hit to the sights and the round has to penetrate to the FBI recommended depths (12-18 inches).

[RevolverRob]

I realize I didn't answer the question.

The Speer Short Barrel is my preferred load when I can find it, which I usually can't. Otherwise I opt for Remington 158-grain LHP +P which I have a larger stash of. It's an older round and when it goes through heavier clothing it clogs up, but still gets the penetration.

For practice, I run 148-grain "PPC" soft wadcutters over ~3.2gr of VV N330, which is a nice sedate shooting round out of my various snubs.

One of these days, I'll have to try some various Barnes bullets at lower velocity in gel and see if I can get something good. I kind of imagine the Barnes 140-grain XPB bullet at 800fps might go straight and deep without being atrociously bad to shoot from a snub, the question is if it will expand.

[BillSWPA]

One thing I wish I had known when I carried a 2" .38 is the extent to which bullet weight affects the relationship between point of aim and point of impact. If I planned on carrying a 2" .38 today, I would start by testing various loads across a wide spectrum of bullet weights to see which ones hit closest to the sights.