442 food

rufrdr

rufrdr

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The only factory ammo I have for my 442 .38 is Fiocchi 125 Gr SP which patterns like a shot gun at 7 yards. it shoots great in my 686 so I know itbisn't bad ammunitionm. What non plus P ammo does your J frame like?
 
My 642 likes pretty much any 148-158 gr wad cutter. While I don’t carry it anymore (switched to semi-auto), I carried 150-158 hard cast wad cutters. Many people think that they are for target practice only, but you won’t find a better defensive .38 spl round that a wad cutter.
 
Average Joe said:
My 642 likes pretty much any 148-158 gr wad cutter. While I don’t carry it anymore (switched to semi-auto), I carried 150-158 hard cast wad cutters. Many people think that they are for target practice only, but you won’t find a better defensive .38 spl round that a wad cutter.
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That's interesting in that my 442 shot my 148 gr wadcutters as well as any stock small size fixed sight .38 special revolver that I've shot. My only hesitation is the oft-repeated advice not to carry reloads in case a DA will use that fact against someone involved in a defensive shooting.
 
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I’ve heard that before as well. I’ll try to dig up a box of what I carried and post it.
 
I found a box of factory lead SWC 158 gr in my stash that I forgot I had. They may carry through me until I can find some factory WC locally or try the buffalo bore rounds recommended by Average Joe.
 
I will say that I’ve never heard of a case where the ammo being reloads was an issue.

More on topic, have you checked the throats? Often times they are cut inconsistently which causes some bullets to be undersized in the barrel so you get leading and poor accuracy. This can be fixed.
 
JimB said:
I will say that I’ve never heard of a case where the ammo being reloads was an issue.

More on topic, have you checked the throats? Often times they are cut inconsistently which causes some bullets to be undersized in the barrel so you get leading and poor accuracy. This can be fixed.
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Lead bullets seem to shoot fine, jacketed is a problem
 
I was wondering if maybe that particular brand of ammo had a bullet undersized for your bore . . . as example I have some plated handloads that don't seem to touch the rifling in my .40s. Group looks like a spreader choke from a 12 gauge.
 
rufrdr said:
Lead bullets seem to shoot fine, jacketed is a problem
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I have noticed the same phenomenon where jacketed bullets (especially light weight) would not shoot well in the J frames. I wondered if it is a combination of barrel twist, velocity and bullet ballistic coefficient? These are certainly a critical factor in rifles but not sure if it coulld make such a dramatic effect as I, and some others on this thread have seen.
 
Shot some PMC 158gr Lead SWC today. Shot low/right but that was probably me. Got them into the black with a bit more shooting. My wadcutters are the best for shooting to point of aim but the PMC rounds are more than acceptable.
 
Have gun-will travel said:
What's a reasonable price
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Who knows at this point. Federal appears to be between runs, and they have GMM WCs priced at over $1 per, plus shipping. Last time it hit the market, a few places were in the $0.60-0.75/rd range.
 
rufrdr said:
The only factory ammo I have for my 442 .38 is Fiocchi 125 Gr SP which patterns like a shot gun at 7 yards. it shoots great in my 686 so I know itbisn't bad ammunitionm. What non plus P ammo does your J frame like?
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My 642 performance center shoots Norma 158gn standard pressure jacketed flat nose rounds like a champ if I didn’t carry the underwood 125gn JHP +P loads I’d feel confident with the Norma load
 
I have always believed the fixed sight J frame .38's shot better with 148 to 158g ammo, because that is what the sights are calibrated for.
 
stiab said:
I have always believed the fixed sight J frame .38's shot better with 148 to 158g ammo, because that is what the sights are calibrated for.
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Yes. And the same is true for the Ruger SP101 and LCR models.
 
stiab said:
I have always believed the fixed sight J frame .38's shot better with 148 to 158g ammo, because that is what the sights are calibrated for.
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Every revolver I’ve ever owned has worked flawlessly with 158gn ammo maybe I’m just lucky I’ve owned multiple rugers and Smiths those cz produced Alfa revolvers and even the ubertis all were dead on with 158gn
 
BatteryOaksBilly said:
ALL J frames here and with our shooters are 230 Grain Full Wad Cutter at 800 FPS...See @Etruett for specs..they AIN'T Recreational!
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For giggles here are some sectional density numbers.

0.452"@230gr=0.161
0.429"@240gr=0.177
0.355"@147gr=0.167
0.357"@158gr=0.177

0.357"@230gr=0.258

V5qC9lN.gif
 
Not a reloader or anything cool, but the Federal HydraShock 110 grain low recoil loads shoot remarkably well in my 442 and are dead on to the sights of mine.

For a J Frame I care a lot less about perfect terminal performancance than I do shoot-ability and shooting to my sights.

But it sounds like I need to try these underwood 150s!
 
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Underwood is having a 25% off sale for the next couple of days.
Georgia Arms has their 148 grn. .38 Special wadcutter ammo back in stock but I heard they had a big fire within the past few days. I don’t know if that’ll affect orders.
 
Federal 125 gr Nyclad, Hydra Shok or PMC 125 gr Starfire. Haven't bought any .38 ammo in long time. Never home enought last two decades, come home a few weeks a year, 442 is my EDC but my practice load is a Lee 124gr LRN that I load to same level and POI..
 
I carry my reloads. 158grain hornady lswc hollow points loaded with titegroup. My 442 loves the combination.
 
If reloads are a concern for you, I’ve found Buffalo Bore 150gr wadcutters to shoot poa/poi in my 442/642’s. They shoot as well as my wadcutter reloads, but with a tad more horsepower. Still, you haven’t lived til you’ve shot a cylinder of @Etruett 230gr wadcutters @BatteryOaksBilly mentiined through a lightweight j-frame.
 
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