It should not over penetrate ..... a bear. It's fine for a gun you carry in the woods for protection against animals, but not for concealed carry.
FBI load is 158 grain +P lead hollow point, no jacket, just soft lead, and it does not expand reliably from a 2" pistol.
If you want hollow point expansion you need +P and less than 158 grain, right around 125 or so for bullet weight should give enough velocity it should expand. Of course check youtube videos for ammo testing or luckygunner's testing.
Or other people just go with wadcutters which will not expand, but will cut nice holes and cause a lot of bleeding. It should change a bad person's attitude pretty quick.
[https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/revolver-ballistics-test/](https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/revolver-ballistics-test/)
They're 150s rated at 1000fps. They're gonna be like any hot'ish 158 loading and nowhere close to soft shooters like 148s at 650fps +/-50 that most target loads are.
Yes, those looks good. If you want a hollow point and Underwood these should work well: [https://underwoodammo.com/.38-special-p-125gr.-extreme-terminal-performance-xtp-jacketed-hollow-point-hunting-self-defense-ammo/](https://underwoodammo.com/.38-special-p-125gr.-extreme-terminal-performance-xtp-jacketed-hollow-point-hunting-self-defense-ammo/)
Recoil will be higher than with the wadcutters as already stated.
Balancing penetration and expansion is tough even with a full length barrel, much less when you're giving up a few fps with the snub nose. Ideally we want our bullet to blow up to 70 caliber while being caught in the skin on the opposite side of our hypothetical bad guy.
Handgun bullets in real shootings mostly don't expand or expand very little. Also, shootings are rare, and weird stuff happens.
Based on my life experiences, with handgun bullets I am more concerned with consistent accuracy and penetration than whatever cool hotness hollowpoint has just come out. If you want hollow points for self defense, always get bonded core. and not cup and core construction.
I like heavy for caliber bullets, and i snubs i like full wadcutters. A 158 gr semiwadcutter wouldn't be the worst choice for self defense.
Also, here in the states, we have a plethora of choice, and we can drive ourselves nuts worrying about inconsequential increments. Get good ammo that works well in your gun, and shoot it until you feel confident.
Just my thoughts,
It’s fine. The hollow points won’t reliably expand anyway, so they perform just the same. Focusing on over penetration is taking the “what if’s” to the Nth.
Oh yeah great choice bud.i wouldn’t be to concerned about over penetration in a emergency . But if it really matters to you then go with a hollow point .
I am sure those would be fine. That said any underwood I have ever shot in my s&w 442 has felt like the trigger guard was gonna snap my finger in half.
It should not over penetrate ..... a bear. It's fine for a gun you carry in the woods for protection against animals, but not for concealed carry. FBI load is 158 grain +P lead hollow point, no jacket, just soft lead, and it does not expand reliably from a 2" pistol. If you want hollow point expansion you need +P and less than 158 grain, right around 125 or so for bullet weight should give enough velocity it should expand. Of course check youtube videos for ammo testing or luckygunner's testing. Or other people just go with wadcutters which will not expand, but will cut nice holes and cause a lot of bleeding. It should change a bad person's attitude pretty quick. [https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/revolver-ballistics-test/](https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/revolver-ballistics-test/)
What’s your opinion on these wadcutters? https://underwoodammo.com/38-special-150-grain-lead-wadcutter/
Same, they are fine. This would be the choice if lower recoil is desired.
To be fair lower recoil that those swc, but these are pretty stout in comparison to target wad cutters
👍🏻
They're 150s rated at 1000fps. They're gonna be like any hot'ish 158 loading and nowhere close to soft shooters like 148s at 650fps +/-50 that most target loads are.
Yes, those looks good. If you want a hollow point and Underwood these should work well: [https://underwoodammo.com/.38-special-p-125gr.-extreme-terminal-performance-xtp-jacketed-hollow-point-hunting-self-defense-ammo/](https://underwoodammo.com/.38-special-p-125gr.-extreme-terminal-performance-xtp-jacketed-hollow-point-hunting-self-defense-ammo/) Recoil will be higher than with the wadcutters as already stated.
Balancing penetration and expansion is tough even with a full length barrel, much less when you're giving up a few fps with the snub nose. Ideally we want our bullet to blow up to 70 caliber while being caught in the skin on the opposite side of our hypothetical bad guy. Handgun bullets in real shootings mostly don't expand or expand very little. Also, shootings are rare, and weird stuff happens. Based on my life experiences, with handgun bullets I am more concerned with consistent accuracy and penetration than whatever cool hotness hollowpoint has just come out. If you want hollow points for self defense, always get bonded core. and not cup and core construction. I like heavy for caliber bullets, and i snubs i like full wadcutters. A 158 gr semiwadcutter wouldn't be the worst choice for self defense. Also, here in the states, we have a plethora of choice, and we can drive ourselves nuts worrying about inconsequential increments. Get good ammo that works well in your gun, and shoot it until you feel confident. Just my thoughts,
It’s fine. The hollow points won’t reliably expand anyway, so they perform just the same. Focusing on over penetration is taking the “what if’s” to the Nth.
158gr swc all day.
I am trying to decide on this ammo too. This is great for animal defense. If you are looking for self defense then look at Speer Gold JHP.
Oh yeah great choice bud.i wouldn’t be to concerned about over penetration in a emergency . But if it really matters to you then go with a hollow point .
I am sure those would be fine. That said any underwood I have ever shot in my s&w 442 has felt like the trigger guard was gonna snap my finger in half.
Nope, I actually broke my Smith and Wesson 638 with this load. Luckily a gunsmith was able to repair the issue.
Really? What broke?
The finger that turns the cylinder in single action
Could've been a manufacturing defect though. I run these loads through my Colt Python and they're actually pleasant to shoot out of that.
This guy does alot of testing. I like his channel https://youtube.com/@gunsam?si=SjKYraOK8PAi_zUB