Hard to say. Depends on a lot of factors. I feel comfortable with any GD.

 

Currently, the Speer Gold Dot 135 gr +P JHP, Winchester 130 gr bonded +P JHP (RA38B), and Barnes 110 gr XPB all copper JHP (for ex. in the Corbon DPX loading) offer the most reliable expansion we have seen from a .38 sp 2” BUG; Hornady 110 gr standard pressure and +P Critical Defense loads also offer good performance out of 2" barrel revolvers.

BUG's: .380 ACP vs. .38 Sp

10/23/12 If you are an LE officer, carry a BUG!!! Many small, easily concealed semi-automatic pistols which are recommended for law enforcement backup or concealed carry use fire .380 ACP or smaller bullets. While these small caliber handgun bullets can produce fatal wounds,they are less...

pistol-forum.com

 

When you fire the last one in the box they will be expended!

 

Good catch....I was slow.

 

They likely won’t get smaller.

 

Every four layer denim test I have seen with a 2” barrel 38 the 125 Gold Dot fails to expand.

 

Yep

 

Just try not to get in a gunfight with a bad guy wearing 4 denim jackets.

 

Just so you understand. Denim is not used to simulate layers of clothing, but repeatable plugging of the hollow point to see if it will expand.

The industry conclusion is that bullets that perform well in calibrated gelatin, ( not the fake stuff like that lucky gunner video above) and are able to expand after passing through 4 layers of denim tend to perform better in real shootings.


That's all the denim test is for. Period.

 

The 125gr GD +p doesn't work well in sub 4" barrels.

 

best hollowpoint for a 2 in snub nose - YouTube

 

In anything under 3” not a whole lot. In a 4” it’s like Goldie Locks and Just Right.

If you’re running a 2” or less snub just run 148 full wadcutters. They don’t beat you up but it cuts a 38 cal full diameter hole through the sternum and gets to the goods. Plenty of BG’s have taken sirt naps from detectives over the years with that exact combo.

 

I have a 64/3", the 148gr WC is the most consistent penetrating 38 ammo offered IMO, used effectively by Jim Cirillo speaks volumes. I'd like to see feedback on involuntary incapacitation times between WCs and JHPs, if it is even feasible. <???>

 

Forget about expansion in a snubbie. My 442 & 642 only run full power wadcutters from Underwood: 38 Special 150gr. Wadcutter Black Cherry Coated Hard Cast Hunting & Self Defense Ammo

 

If that 38 Special Federal HST 130 grain Micro "jacketed wadcutter hollow point" won't expand, nothing will.

 

Maybe.

 

Read through this to see if anything new is around.

All I load, and shoot, in .38 Spl is birdshot these days. It expands well for snakes and small birds.

 

Well, there was a reason NYPD asked Speer engineers to come up with a different .38SPL +P load for their people who still carried snub revolvers ...

Link to original Tech Data Package that Speer made available online back when the 135gr +P was first released.

FWIW, while I still have a bunch of the 125gr +P GDHP .38SPL left over, I only use it for range sessions.

 

This looks interesting too:

Federal Personal Defense Punch Ammunition 38 Special +P 120 Grain Jacketed Hollow Point Box of 20

 

The gel test results I've seen (hosted gel events) have continued to influence me to carry either Speer 135gr +P GDHP/SB, Remington 125gr +P BJHP/HPJ and Winchester 130gr +P RA38B/PDX1 in the J's I use which are rated for +P ammo.

In the hosted gel test I attended when the Speer 135gr +P load was first released, we had a chance to see it, and a Rem 125gr +P Golden Sabre, both fired from one of the participant's Sc/Ti snubs. He was carrying the Rem load at the time, and another participant had brought a box of the then-new Speer, to the gel event. Both were fired into a previously used 4LD-covered Gel test block. Granted, the block had previously been used for some duty ammo shots, and the block had obviously warmed since being removed from the Winchester Gel Lab trailer, but it was nonetheless interesting to see how the new Speer load did compared to the popular Rem GS load. Their 'performance' was essentially similar.

Several years later my agency hosted a Winchester mobile gel event, and the rangemaster used his 642 for the 130gr +P test shots. Seeing the results of that day, I added the RA38B to the list of loads I bought and put back for my own use. I was lucky to be able to get some quals/practice time using it when it was the load we kept in our inventory for qual use for a while (saving me from using most of the case I'd bought for carry ). At different times we bought both the Rem 125gr +P Golden Sabre and the Speer 135gr +P GDHP/SB.

In my older version 37-2 Airweight (factory DAO configured) I stick with standard pressure Hornady CD/FTX (with fallback loads of standard pressure 110gr STHP & Hydra-Shock). It's such a tack-driver in my J's, in my hands, that I don't mind it making my Airweight virtually a .380ACP (meaning when using the 102gr Rem GS in my LCP).

 

I would go with the "short barrel" in Gold Dot for a snub. I have the 135 +P in my snub and it was hard to find before the pandemic. Judging by the expansion and penetration in the Lucky Gunner testing, Federal 130 HST micro, Winchester 130 Ranger or Defender and 125 grain Golden Saber might be better choices. Of course, Ammoseek does not show any of those in stock.

.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

 

This is a ballistic test of 1000 rounds with 2" kimber k6s:

38 Special +P - 135 gr JHP - Speer Gold Dot - 1000 Rounds
Bullet Depth (in.)
11.6. 12 13.1 15.5 16
Expanded Diameter (in.)
0.35 0.38 0.43 0.5 0.56
Bullet Weight after shot (gr.)
135 135 135 135 136
Bullet Velocity (fps)
797 822 824 828 835

.41 average diameter

 

Source is Lucky Gunner Labs. 38 special. 357 mag ballistic testing from 2 and 4 inch barrel revolvers.

 

I only use 125 gr +P JHPs in my 2" snubby .38 specifically because they will expand better than any standard JHP at such a slow velocity.
I also load +P equivalent rounds for when I take it to the range. Train with loads that match the weight and velocity of what you will be using for defense.

 

Check this link out for ballistic info on 38 specoal rounds.

.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

 

Reliable expansion with Speer Gold Dots of any type is iffy out of J frames. The Gold Dot 38 Special rounds that Underwood offered did expand reliably. However Underwood no longer loads with Gold Dots in any caliber. The J frame without a quality powerful Underwood load is very marginal I would suggest instead a small auto such as a G27 or G33.

 

The issue with any Underwood or any plus P in a J frame is the Blast and recoil is for nothing. Like mentioned an old school trick that’s works is a simple target 148 gr full wadcutter. Cuts full 38 caliber hole through a sternum and gets to the vitals. Without the blast for nothing. And no blast and snubby sights are usually pretty well POA/POI with 148

 

Does your revolver fire 357 mag and 38 special?

 

It seems like most 38 special loads either don't expand well and when they do they seem to under penetrate. Personally I would go with a revolver that fires 357mag as to one that solely fires 38 special ammo. Ballistics and ccw testing are poor from 38 special, as opposed to 357mag ammo.

A barnes 140 grain vortex in 357mag is far superior to both 9mm and 38 special ammo in penetration and expansion. They are at 1200 fps and 500 fpe in a 2 inch revolver. When using a limited capacity revolver the trade should be more stopping power and one shot stops.

In my opinion, if one can't control the 357 mag in a revolver, then get a 10 to 15 round striker fire pistol chambered in 9mm. The advantage then is more ammo to compensate for less effective individual rounds.

 

They have a "short barrel" version for a reason.

 

Here is testing on short barrel version;