Buffalo Bore 158 Grain .38sp LSWCHP +P

[stash]

I bought a box of this ammo with the intent to use it as carry ammo in my LCR 357. Well after the fact (receiving it in the mail) I now wonder if it might be to hot for the LCR. Also I now read that in a light weight handgun there is the possibility of the bullet being pulled a little out of the casing because the crimp is not as tight on a lead bullet as FMJ. Has anyone shot this ammo which is suppose to be real good stuff out of a j-frame/LCR type gun with any problems? Thanks

[Dan20703]

You have no worries about a .38 +P being too hot for a .357 gun. The pressure in a .38 +P round is about 19,000 psi and the .357 is about 35,000 psi.

Bullet creep is associated with the .357 magnum loads in lower weight bullets shot from lightweight guns. I never heard of that issue with .38 special ammo. ....of course I have been wrong once.....

[stash]

Thanks for the good info Dan. I will give it a shot so to speak.

[CC Italian]

I have shot it through my S&W bodyguard and I really didn't think it was what I was looking for. I personally would stay with the good old Remington 158 load if you want a 158 grain.
I thought the recoil was excessive to the point where my grouping spread out pretty far for my taste. Plus, it is ridiculously over priced! Here are my favorite loads in .38 special and +P.

.38 special
1. Federal nyclad 125 grain
2. Hornady 110 ftx

.38 special +P
1. Speer gold dot
2. 158 remington
3. 110 barnes (double tap is cheaper and a little hotter then the corbons)
4. Hornday 110 ftx

Out of all of these the Barnes bullet loads probably offer the best combination of penetration, accuracy and least amount of recoil. Mr. Camp did a review a while back, look it up under his forum.

[CC Italian]

Here is the one on the .38 special Barnes but Mr. Camp continues to be an invaluable resource even in his passing! Check out Camp's Corner!

viewtopic.php?f=104&t=3191" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[CC Italian]

Try some of the 125 golden sabers or even better the 125 barnes in .357 mag. My guess is the recoil will be similar. I shot .357 125 golden sabers through my friends sp101 snub and they seemed to have less recoil then the buffalo bore +38 special 158 IMO. Also Barnes just came out with a 140grain load that should be out soon and I wouldn't be surprised if it expanded and penetrated better then the buffalo bore .38special 158 load! Here is a link but I am sure you can find it somewhere else also.http://www.midwayusa.com/Product/968681 ... -box-of-20" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Also found this coming soon from BB and it is for a snub nose. http://www.midwayusa.com/Product/113724 ... -box-of-20" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Just depends on what you want but I think some of the lighter .357 mag loads will work just as great as the bb .38 special and cost half the money while having similar recoil. I think TAM is the one who carries 125 golden .357s in his j frame. I know several do on the board and swear by them!

[stash]

Thank you for the info CC Italian. I had actually looked for the Remington before I got the Buffalo Bore but could not find any.
Maybe I will just stick with the nyclads I have for now but if I find some Remington I will pick up a box. You sure are right about the price. If I remember a box (50) Remington was about the same price of the Buffalo Bore (20).

[CC Italian]

Here you go, cheapest I could find them but of course their shipping is not cheap. http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/AMM311-5.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and here is the old .38 rem load. http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/66333-5.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Like I said, cheaper then dirt is pretty cheap for ammo over places like Midway and the like but I always try to order any specialty ammo with a 6 month supply because their shipping is not cheap and if you need several hundred or thousand rounds it works great. I have odd ball calibers like 10mm and .32 H&R so I buy in bulk with these but most of my other calibers are from wal mart unless I want something special from a mail order company that is hard to find locally.

Don't get me wrong though, the BB load was good but out of my 14 ounce smith it was unproductive and my hand started tingling after only one box(I bought two). If you want a really hot 158 grain load and don't mind the recoil these are probably the best but for personal protection the old Remington load is enough recoil for my taste. Snubs are hard enough to master (which I have not done yet) without using the hot rod buffalo bore stuff. It would be a little different if I had my friends SP-101 snub that weighs almost double the weight but for a lightweight snub this seems counter productive (at least for me). I can shoot the 110 barnes and 110 hornady almost twice as fast and my grouping is way better.