In my younger days, I had a tendency to speak poorly of the .38 Special. The magnums were my choice, followed by the .45 Colt , .44 Special, and .45 acp. I still favor the .44s and .45s; but I'm gaining a new respect for the .38 the last few years.
I have shot up so many .38s over my lifetime I have cases enough to last forever. I've used them mostly for practice, but I'm developing a new appreciation for the terminal performance of the round, specifically with good cast bullets.
The other evening, a coyote appeared unexpectedly in my back yard. The nearest gun at hand was a Colt Official Police loaded with handloads consisting of the Lee 158 grain tumble.lube SWC and 4.2 grains of Trail Boss. The first bullet took him slightly behind the left shoulder angling towardthe hip. He went down in a thrashing heap and I managed to get another one into him at about 30 yards range. That finished him. The bullets had crisscrossed his torso, the exit wounds not much larger than the entrances. But he was killed very effectively by these non expanding flat nosed bullets.
This Lee bullet has a wider meplat than many SWC .38 bullets and I believe they deliver a harder blow than many shooters expect. They fall from my mold weighing 162 grains cast from wheelweights. A variety of powders get the bullet up to 900 fps range, Trail Boss being a favorite due to the way it fills the case. My informal tests in a variety of media as well as live targets of opportunity show me this bullet not only penetrates well, it just plain hits hard. It's my opinion this bullet delivers as good or better performance than any of the commercial hollow points in the real world and better than the 9mm. I still prefer the big bores, but a wide flat nosed .38 bullet at 900-1000 fps seems as effective as any of the exotic and expensive hollow point bullets on live game in the .38 Special.cartridge. I've used Hydra Shoks, Black Talons, Gold Dots, GoldenSabers, Starfires, and others on foxes, raccoons, dogs, coyotes, possums and other critters. None seemed to kill any better than these cast bullets at .38 Special velocities. I think the LRN tarnished the cartridge for most of its existence. The .38 can't equal a bigger bore, but with the right load, it can be something special.
I have shot up so many .38s over my lifetime I have cases enough to last forever. I've used them mostly for practice, but I'm developing a new appreciation for the terminal performance of the round, specifically with good cast bullets.
The other evening, a coyote appeared unexpectedly in my back yard. The nearest gun at hand was a Colt Official Police loaded with handloads consisting of the Lee 158 grain tumble.lube SWC and 4.2 grains of Trail Boss. The first bullet took him slightly behind the left shoulder angling towardthe hip. He went down in a thrashing heap and I managed to get another one into him at about 30 yards range. That finished him. The bullets had crisscrossed his torso, the exit wounds not much larger than the entrances. But he was killed very effectively by these non expanding flat nosed bullets.
This Lee bullet has a wider meplat than many SWC .38 bullets and I believe they deliver a harder blow than many shooters expect. They fall from my mold weighing 162 grains cast from wheelweights. A variety of powders get the bullet up to 900 fps range, Trail Boss being a favorite due to the way it fills the case. My informal tests in a variety of media as well as live targets of opportunity show me this bullet not only penetrates well, it just plain hits hard. It's my opinion this bullet delivers as good or better performance than any of the commercial hollow points in the real world and better than the 9mm. I still prefer the big bores, but a wide flat nosed .38 bullet at 900-1000 fps seems as effective as any of the exotic and expensive hollow point bullets on live game in the .38 Special.cartridge. I've used Hydra Shoks, Black Talons, Gold Dots, GoldenSabers, Starfires, and others on foxes, raccoons, dogs, coyotes, possums and other critters. None seemed to kill any better than these cast bullets at .38 Special velocities. I think the LRN tarnished the cartridge for most of its existence. The .38 can't equal a bigger bore, but with the right load, it can be something special.