Practice Ammo Dissimilar to Carry Ammo?

[Boyandhisdogs]

I recently bought a S&W 442 in 38 special for concealed carry. I have settled on the Hornady Critical Defense 110 grain loads for carry due to consistent, reliable expansion in all the tests I have seen. I'll try both regular and +P and see what the gun likes better.

The issue is that I have not found a similar "light and fast" practice load. Most of the cheap stuff is around 130gn or more and a couple hundred FPS slower.

Will this matter? Is there a more similar practice load out there?

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[RVTECH]

Will this matter?

Well, 'will this matter' will depend on you and what you are expecting.

Chances are the 'cheap stuff' will not shoot the same as the ammo you use for carry BUT why not try a box of it and compare it to a few rounds of your carry ammo?

Snubs are a 'close range' gun and because of this you might find it shoots well enough to provide acceptable practice.

 

[OrPackrat]

Only time I've noticed a difference in recoil on a platform, was when I was shooting my new RXM suppressed yesterday, the supersonic rounds with the can actually kicked a fair bit more...

I load most of my defense 9mm pistols with 147gr ammo. Was shooting mostly with 150gr subsonic ball ammo. Cycled a round of my JHP mixed in the stack to make sure it cycled properly...


I'd probably just do the math and see if the ammo your practicing with has the same projected energy on target as your carry ammo.

Shoot a few rds of your carry ammo to see how it kicks compared to what you practic with...

 

[bionic knees]

At 25 ft. It probably wont make much difference.

 

[dangerranger60]

I practice with lighter loads; it lets me shoot more from an air weight gun without hurting my wrists. at 30 feet and under the poi and poa are so close it has not mattered to me. the recoil is still close. My carry load is Fed Gold Medal 148 gr WC. My practice load is 124 gr TC at 650 fps.
When I had to learn to shoot left handed, I used a 105-gr lead bullet designed for a .380 at 650 fps. its poi was still so close as to not matter out to 30 ft. it recoiled like a 22 mag. Good Luck DR

 

[esbshaw]

Will it "matter"? IMO, no. However...
I have carried either a 2" J frame .38 or 2" K frame .38 for about 45 years. Carry load - any factory 158 grain jacketed hollow point. Practice load - 158 grain cast SWC handload. Works for me. I would never carry a 110 load unless there was absolutely nothing else available. In a .357, maybe - but even then it would not be my first choice.

 

[Boyandhisdogs]

For me recoil is a secondary concern, I was more worried about POI being similar between the two.

Most of my shooting will be around 10 yards I imagine, maybe out to 20 just for fun, but it's a pocket gun that will really only be used at pocket gun distances.

 

[RVTECH]

At 25 ft. It probably wont make much difference.

Ditto this.

I reload all my ammo and have have loaded .38 Spcl from 125 to 158 grain and other than maybe a bit of raising or lowering my sight picture depending on the bullet weight I can bounce pine cones pretty consistently at 25-30 +/- feet with my 2" Mod 60 S & W with ANY rounds.

 

[Boyandhisdogs]

I found an interesting table that shows 38 and 357 (and the site has others) defensive loads with penetration and expansion data for both 2" and 4" barrels. I thought a heavier slug wouldn't be fast enough to open and it a lot of cases that's true, but there are some where it's not so.

Looks like the Winchester PDX1 and some of their other hollow point loads get good expansion with 130 grains.

.38 Special and .357 Magnum Self-Defense Ammo Ballistics Test - LuckyGunner.com Labs

We conducted ballistics gelatin tests for 38 self-defense revolver loads in 38 Special and 357 Magnum. Here are the full results along with photos and video

www.luckygunner.com

 

[Certaindeaf]

For me recoil is a secondary concern, I was more worried about POI being similar between the two.

Most of my shooting will be around 10 yards I imagine, maybe out to 20 just for fun, but it's a pocket gun that will really only be used at pocket gun distances.

The POI will likely differ between 110's and 130's. I chose to file my front sight down a bit to regulate it for 110's as that's what I carry.. +P+ Treasury loads. Anything heavier especially out of a snubby is unlikely to expand.

 

[Koda]

Find the cheapest practice ammo that you shoot best, then find premium self defense ammo that best matches it.

 

[Boyandhisdogs]

Well I saw some tests where denim was clogging the PDX1 slugs and completely preventing them from expanding so maybe not those...

 

[Cerberus Group]

All the ammo we make has a training round and a defensive round that is built with the same grain weight of bullet and has the same velocity.

So you have cheaper option shooting round and defensive round that both shoot point of aim.

 

[oremike]

All the ammo we make has a training round and a defensive round that is built with the same grain weight of bullet and has the same velocity.

So you have cheaper option shooting round and defensive round that both shoot point of aim.

I do the same thing.

 

[Cerberus Group]

I do the same thing.

I'm surprised how many ammo makers don't do that.

 

[oremike]

I'm surprised how many ammo makers don't do that.

I do make a lot of other ammo but for the common self defense calibers I like to use the same bullet weight and powder charge so the target/practice and HP ammo shoots the same.

 

[Koda]

I'm surprised how many ammo makers don't do that.

Aside from both of you, Ive only heard of one name brand commercial ammo mfg that sold training/carry ammo packages and the name escapes me most likely because I never find it anymore. I think the real issue is most consumers don't recognize the need and many also [falsely] believe they "need" +P carry ammo anyways so the demand is low.

 

[L84Cabo]

Will this matter? Is there a more similar practice load out there?

Maybe.

Figure out what your practice ammo is going to be. Then shoot it and shoot your defense ammo and see how big of a difference you notice. And also see how far off your POA/POI is between the two rounds.

 

[Boyandhisdogs]

Speer makes a special "short barrel" 38 load that seems to perform well, even though denim. They are a little harder to find and more expensive ($2 a round) but what's your life worth?

135 grains is also a lot closer to common practice ammo loads.

View: https://youtu.be/k890Rio2oBY?si=YsR9eE5qc4U1edEl

 

[dangerranger60]

Aside from both of you, Ive only heard of one name brand commercial ammo mfg that sold training/carry ammo packages and the name escapes me most likely because I never find it anymore. I think the real issue is most consumers don't recognize the need and many also [falsely] believe they "need" +P carry ammo anyways so the demand is low.

Train and Defend from Winchester? I have not seen any in a long time either. DR