Federal HST 130 gr 38 Sp +P

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  • Bigtanker

    Cuddles
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    24   0   0
    Aug 21, 2012
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    Osceola
    Yesterday I bought a used S&W 642. It's my first snubby. I picked up some of the new(ish) Federal HST in .38 +P. These are the ones with the bullet loaded completely in the case, simular to a full wad-cutter target load.

    bfOYHLU.jpg


    I headed to the range today to try the gun out and all the good stuff that you do when you get a new carry gun. I grabbed 3 gallon jugs out of the recycle bin and filled them with water before heading out. I figured I see if I can stop one and see how it did.

    After my initial shot to check operation and point of aim with standard 158 gr jacketed rounds, I shot a cylinder of the HST's to see their point of aim. This was done at about 8-10 yards. The 158s were right on, the 130s shot a little higher.

    Anyway, I put the 3 jugs on top of a barrel, taped them together and took aim from about 10 feet. I wanted to make sure I gave it the best chance to catch the bullet.

    I got wet. Not bad but wet no the less. The first jug, which was a old washer fluid jug, was split from top to bottom. The next two were milk jugs. The middle one was leaking profusely and the third looked ok.

    I thought I had lost the bullet but after closer inspection, it was in the 3rd jug. I poured out the water and found it. Almost perfect.

    B7PAQ8L.png


    I know it's just water and this "test" was nothing more than to catch an expanded hollow point. Going through 2 1/2 jugs of water seems ok. Lots of LE agencies use the HST for their ammo. I think it will work if I ever need it to.

    Recoil was pretty mild. I guess the only down side is if you use a speed loader of speed strips, the flat front of the round can slow the loading process down a little.
     
    Last edited:

    snorko

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    Apr 3, 2008
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    Evansville, IN
    This has gotten similar reviews and results online. I think Federal has a good thing with this. saw a video explaining how there is a lot of wasted space in .38 spl cases and by seating the bullet deep it makes the powder burn more consistent. Of course, these suck for use with speedloaders.
     

    BehindBlueI's

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    They do well in bare and heavy clothing gel testing. Auto glass, they fail pretty badly. Jacket separates and lead fragments, penetration is very limited. It makes me question how they'll do on bone strikes.
     

    Bigtanker

    Cuddles
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    Aug 21, 2012
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    They do well in bare and heavy clothing gel testing. Auto glass, they fail pretty badly. Jacket separates and lead fragments, penetration is very limited. It makes me question how they'll do on bone strikes.

    What would you recommend for 38 snubbie ammo? Recoil not being an issue.
     

    Fordtough25

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    Apr 14, 2010
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    Jefferson County
    I've been keeping my eye's open for a box of these to try, have read other positive reviews elsewhere. I carry 357 mag's in my 340PD but they're far from mild to practice with.
     

    ru44mag

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    Feb 6, 2013
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    Nice test. Thanks for sharing. I plan to try Winchester Ranger 130 grain bonded jacketed hollow point +P. They were rated really high in tests I saw. Waiting for BBI to recommend a round.
     

    AngryRooster

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    Apr 27, 2008
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    Outside the coup
    I like either the 135 grain Gold Dot SB +P or the 125 Golden Saber +P. The Gold Dot is a little harder to find so the Golden Saber is in the gun most of the time. I really don't have a preference for either one. Both shoot well. Both have done well on varmints that have been sneaking around the cats and chickens at night.

    [video=youtube;k890Rio2oBY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k890Rio2oBY[/video]

    [video=youtube;nRe6BzIqu6U]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRe6BzIqu6U[/video]


    I was not impressed with the PDX round. I found the Ranger-T 130 grain +P on sale several years ago and bought a 500 round case. It shot well and had decent groups. Here's TNT's experience with it. After I saw his videos I did a simple water jug test and had problems with expansion out of a 642 as well. If it won't expand in water then there's no chance it will in real world use. I still have most of that case sitting in an ammo can. My only 38/357 guns are J frames and a single GP100WC with a 3" barrel. It may do better in the GP but I haven't tried. I may get a 4" K frame or lever action as some point and it should do fine out of those.

    [video=youtube;-VSb8_ClcVQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VSb8_ClcVQ[/video]

    [video=youtube;Od1LgsHdLmc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Od1LgsHdLmc[/video]
     

    BehindBlueI's

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    I looked at the Winchester PDX-1 38 load. It has a bonded bullet but I wasn't sure it would open at snubby fps.

    It might, it might not. It's tough to get a .38 load that's soft enough to expand at snubby velocities and also hard enough to do well in bone strikes. However if the choice is not enough penetration vs not enough expansion, go for penetration.

    To steal from DocGKR: 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.
     
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