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.38 spl +p: Corbon DPX or Speer Gold Dot?

18K views 57 replies 25 participants last post by  barth 
#1 ·
Does anyone have any comparison info between the Corbon 110 grain DPX round vs. the Speer 135 Grain Short Barrel Gold Dot in a S&W J frame or Ruger LCR?
 
#27 ·
From the research I have done these two rounds were my top picks for my carry gun. so I bought a box of each and went to the range today. since they both seem to have similar penetration and expansion, for me, it came down to accuracy and recoil I slowed fired five rounds of each at 10 yards and then concealed drew and rapid fired five rounds at 5 yards. the corbon DPX was considerably more accurate and had less recoil. in the end however I chose to go with the Speer Gold Dot because out of 20 rounds with the corbon DPX I had two misfires. Out of the hundreds and hundreds of rounds i've fired through my gun with all different types of ammo I've never had a misfire until now so I would rather have five rounds on target than four.
 
#31 ·
There are some pretty decent good choices on the present market for the folks who like to use junketed +P loads in short .38 revolvers.

Having learned/observed of the results of some of them in hosted gel shoot/events (obviously not as carefully controlled & conducted as the in-house factory lab testing). I'm not uncomfortable with any of them.

At the moment I primarily use Speer 135gr GDHP +P, W-W 130gr RA38B (same as commercially-packaged PDX1, I was told) and the Rem 125gr +P HPJ/BJHP (Golden Sabre), as I've had access to a sufficient amount of all of them at one time or another. I'd have to go check in the safe, but I wouldn't be surprised if I have all 3 loads in various of my different snubs. I know I have speedstrips freshly loaded (and some speedloaders) with all those +P loads, and others with a couple of standard pressure loads (for my M37-2) and some .357 MAG for my SP101DAO.

I usually rotate through all those loads at various times for range sessions, in my assorted +P capable snubs, and often mix the loads at the same time for range use.

I don't keep a constant running tally of round counts in my snubs (only an approximation) and I've probably only fired less than 3 cases of the Speer 135gr +P GDHP, since I have a lot of the original 125gr +P GDHP I can use for range ammo, but I've not experienced any ignition or practical accuracy problems with it in some of my J's. (The W-W & Rem loads haven't exhibited any issues, either.)

I used to use a lot of the Rem & W-W 158gr LHP +P, but I've become lazy in not wishing to remove leading from charge holes and barrels. ;)
 
#40 ·
...I used to use a lot of the Rem & W-W 158gr LHP +P, but I've become lazy in not wishing to remove leading from charge holes and barrels. ;)
I agree. The Speer GD 135 gr +P short bbl load has a proven track record of excellent performance in actual shootings (just ask NYPD), does it's job without any the leading issues attributed to the venerable 158 gr LSWCHP +P loads, and is considerably more affordable than the boutique-priced Corbon dpx.

The choice is an easy one for this snubbie carrier...

 
#35 ·
I have some Speer Gold Dot 135's that do not get their advertised velocity. A batch in 20 round boxes that are gold, and some 50 round boxes that are black. I bought the 50 round box new in 2013. Velocity was less than 800 in all rounds tested. I do have some newer 135's that have a headstamp with a "15" that get to 860. All tested through the same 2" j frame.
 
#36 ·
That's not true at all. I was very involved in developing that load for the snubby revolver. You will get anywhere between 25-50 FPS more than the velocity listed on the box. And, the velocity is from a 17/8" S&W 642.
You probably did good, but there's plenty of chrono data out there showing it 100-150fps shy of it's 1050fps advertised velocity from a snubby. I'd be all over the stuff if it met or exceeded 1050fps from my J frame.
BBTI and folks on the S&W and THR seem to get low to mid 900s.
Lately, I haven't gotten very good numbers from the Gold Dot load either.
Sorry.
 
#37 ·
Did you miss my post #29? Underwood Ammo offers 125gr 38 Special rounds loaded with JHP, XTP and Gold Dot bullets. Each with a velocity of 1200 fps out of a 4 inch barrel, I would estimate that the velocity out of a 2 inch barrel would be close to the 1050 fps velocity you want. Unless you load your own you're not going to get Gold Dot bullets at this velocity anywhere else.
 
#46 ·
Did you miss my post #29? Underwood Ammo offers 125gr 38 Special rounds loaded with JHP, XTP and Gold Dot bullets. Each with a velocity of 1200 fps out of a 4 inch barrel, I would estimate that the velocity out of a 2 inch barrel would be close to the 1050 fps velocity you want. Unless you load your own you're not going to get Gold Dot bullets at this velocity anywhere else.
I was responding to a statement regarding something else completely.
 
#47 ·
Old thread.

I ordered a couple hundred rounds of the Speer 135+P stuff when a good price was offered. In recent times I have seen several chrono results that have me a bit skeptical of Speer's offering. Even Dr Gary Roberts had some lots that were barely cracking 800 FPS out of a J-frame. Expansion was less than stellar in these anemic lots and even penetration didn't increase by much. In my 4" guns, I'm confident with the Gold Dot performance.

For now, I've switched over to the Rem 125+P Golden Saber in my 2" guns. There seems to be a little more margin of error in the expansion threshold with those.

I really need to get a chronograph. Even with one, having an easy place to set it up is problematic. Every gun is different so I try to add a little cushion for real world velocities.
 
#48 ·
I don't have the exact figures at my fingertips (and Search function isn't quickly finding it in a previous post), but back when the Speer 135gr +P was newly released I saw some of it, and some grungy old carry 125gr +P GS loads, informally tested in a 4LD-covered gel block at a hosted event. The gel block had warmed up in the sun after having been used for the primary test shots, though.

Even so, the badly tarnished and long-carried Rem GS loads essentially duplicated the penetration and expansion of the newly released Speer load, and maybe a little bit faster (on that shot, anyway). Both loads were fired from one of the participant's S&W 360PD.

I've no particular unease including the Rem 125gr +P GS as one of my primary carry loads.

They do have the added advantage of having their primers and case mouths sealed, even if that black sealant oozes up out of the case mouth on some rounds, or smears down the side of the case below the mouth. ;)
 
#49 · (Edited)
Like I previously stated, I have chronographed some really low numbers with some four year old 135's. It seams like they were in the low 700's. My most recent purchases have had a 15 headstamp. I guess Speer knew they had some weak loads released previously. I haven't chrono'd the newest stuff because my buddy shot his chrono. I have taken notice of the few well performing test of the 125 Remington Golden Sabre and bought some when I found it cheap. I reserve them for my 357 j frames since I use the mild 357 Golden Sabres when wanting magnums. It just kind of made sense to use the same manufacturer and the same weight since they had been tested. I would like some of the DPX but I have never seen any. I have a 60-4 that I carry with Remington LSWCHP of the newer HTP line.
 
#50 ·
Like I previously stated, I have chronographed some really low numbers with some four year old 135's. It seams like they were in the low 700's. My most recent purchases have had a 15 headstamp. I guess Speer new they had some weak loads released previously. I haven't chrono'd the newest stuff because my buddy shot his chrono. I have taken notice of the few well performing test of the 125 Remington Golden Sabre and bought some when I found it cheap. I reserve them for my 357 j frames since I use the mild 357 Golden Sabres when wanting magnums. It just kind of made sense to use the same manufacturer and the same weight since they had been tested. I would like some of the DPX but I have never seen any. I have a 60-4 that I carry with Remington LSWCHP of the newer HTP line.
Yes I hate to say it but in the race to the bottom of the velocity charts Speer is second only to Hornady for anemic loading.
 
#53 ·
I like the 135gr Good Dot and 110gr DPX load from Corbon, but each gun can be a different animal over the chrono. That's why I like using a chronograph just to verify the stuff performs in MY gun.
My 442 is right on average with what other folks get in velocities across all the other variables like distance from chrono, temp., etc.
I don't consider velocity to be the end-all, but theres a threshold certain bullets need to guarantee consistent performance and I'd rather they error toward the high end vs the low end. I've seen personally the Gold Dot hugging the low end and from my 1.41" Taurus 'no view' it doesn't make 800fps avg where the Rem 125gr golden saber does fine and still makes mid to high 800fps. To see advertised numbers, I need my 2.5" 242 to get close to 860fps and its a 'fast' gun. I'm also used to big ES from the stuff with strings dipping into the 700fps range.
I load buffalo bore +p 158gr lswchp in my 442 and other .38sp guns, it gets velocities known to work very well in 4-6" guns for decades. I pay the price in recoil but manage it okay. It averages over 950fps in my edc snubby- which is consistent with Remfedchester FBI loads in 4" guns.
 
#56 ·
I passed on a box of 135 magnums at GT Distributors about two years ago and haven't seen any since. Honestly, the shortage of the 135 Gold Dot Magnums are the reason I started researching and found the readily available, and cheap, 125 gr Golden Sabres. They are loaded to about the same velocity and still expand well. SGammo.com has had them for about $.50 a round for the last year. I can actually enjoy shooting a cylinder full of them through my S&w 360.
 
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#57 ·
Thanks for the info on the Remington Golden Sabers at SGammo. I just finished placing an order for 500 rds. :thumbsup:

I'd have preferred the Speer Gold Dot 135 gr magnums, but they're impossible to find at this time. Should keep the S&W 66 snubbie well-fed for awhile. :cowboy:
 
#58 ·
I agree. The Speer GD 135 gr +P short bbl load has a proven track record of excellent performance in actual shootings (just ask NYPD), does it's job without any the leading issues attributed to the venerable 158 gr LSWCHP +P loads, and is considerably more affordable than the boutique-priced Corbon dpx.

The choice is an easy one for this snubbie carrier...
+1
No longer carry a J-Frame.
But when I did? It was loaded with 135 gr Speer GDHP Short Barrel 38 +P.
Believe that's what Mas runs in his snubbie too.
 
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