.38 Defense load advice

[DirectDrive]

148 gr Wad Cutters work best for me out of a 642 airweight. From this short a barrel to get an expanding bullet to work takes a +P+ velocity or a much lighter bullet to get enough velocity to open every time.
But if I were shooting a 3" or longer barrel I might change my mind. when you get to 4" of barrel the advantage is clearly on expanding bullets.
DR

This reminds me of the old school Skeeter Skelton self-defense load.
HBWC with the hollow base "towards enemy" over a charge of Unique.

 

[hongkong2]

What police use isn't based on terminal effectiveness alone. They have to consider prior contracts, funding and many other factors. Blindly choosing what cops use is retarded. What's the barrel length? soft lead HP will probably expand but even with the heavier weight, you might not get good penetration if it expands too quickly upon entering. Depending on your bullet design and lead composition, you might get piss-poor expansion and too much penetration. Shoot some water jugs to give the projectile the best chance of expanding.

Theres a few good reasons the FBI dont use 38 special anymore. That being said, its killed a lot of people, so it does in-fact work. But technology has changed A LOT since 158gr lead 38 special was used by the FBI. Youre probably MUCH better off with a JHP from one of the big names. Gold dots and Hydra shocks are a good place to start. If your dead set on using home-rolled, you got a lot of testing to do.

To my knowledge, there has never been a documented. case where using home made self defense loads have been used against the defendant. Having a "You're fuked" back plate on your Glock may draw the Jury's ire though.

 

[hongkong2]

You may want to check these out.

 

[ageingstudent]

You may want to check these out.
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Those are great and likely work well. Being Buffalo Bore I would feel better about shooting them out of a .357. My experience with Buffalo Bore is that they run on the lunatic fringe of hot. Nothing wrong with that but I wouldn't like to run them through my elderly model 36. My 66-0, 27-2, or my sp 101? Sure. Not sure I would run those in my old Colt .38 detective special either. Hmm. Maybe. The 64 that the OP has is a .38 but it is a K frame so...maybe? Probably okay in a K frame .38. I tend to be more cautious with my old Smiths because they kind of a work of functional art. Plus they are just purrty

 

[Hot Pie]

I load for and carry .38spl. For carry, I use Remington Golden Saber 125gr +P. It's designed to expand properly from a snubnose and the test videos I've seen of it, it does do that. I carry S&W and Taurus snubbies.

I do load rounds that I carry in the woods and would in daily life if I had to. I prefer coated hard cast bullets in all the usual forms, wadcutter, semi wad, and semi-wad hp. I've got some similar to Underwood's hard cast Keith design that I use also. In the woods I carry an old Taurus 82 with 4" barrel, so I tend to work up heavier loads than I would for a Jframe.

In general I'd say keep at 125gr for small revolvers and 158gr for larger ones.

 

[ageingstudent]

I have a S&W #64 K frame and I want to develope a good lead defense load, I can't decide between 120gn or 158gn lead hollowpoints, I always believed the lighter lead bullet would expand more with higher velocity but the FBI load used a 158gn HP. So which is better for a defensive load? Also which powder would you recommend?

I like these Remington half jacket hp .38+p in my sp101 or M66. Not toooo hot but they have a soft nose and expand well. If you are reloading you could probably find the projectiles. I was thinking about doing that actually. But they are not terribly pricey for sd ammo and are sold per 50 or 100 even. They come in a plain green and white box.



Edit to add:

These are 125 grain. I've been fiddling around with 38 special for a long time, and if it was me, I would stick with 125 grain in any kind of self-defense round that is jhp in 38 special. My experience in barrels 4" and shorter with standard pressure 158gn is that expansion is lackluster. If I was going with a 158 grain. I would use a soft semi wadcutter powder coated, or a flat nose with a wide meplat, or a super soft 148gn wadcutter. And then you are looking for deformation and penetration rather than expansion. There's no free lunch. I'm afraid there's no magic bullet. You have to experiment and purpose build your ammo.

 

[nammac]

Jacketed Soft Points are a decent self defense round. I prefer 135 gr Gold Dot's (38+P). I understand these may no longer be available, they're my carry load in my Smith 642.