Henry Rifle Forums

38 Special Ammo, which brand and type do you like ?

Mainly for Target shooting, general purpose.

Whether it is in your Revolver or Rifle.

I shoot .38 Specials mainly with my SP101 revolver.

Three brands/types come to mind:
BHA 158gr CNL (favorite)
HSM 147gr JHP
Win 130gr FMJ (White Box, basic "target shooting" round)

I wish I spent enough time shooting my little 38 snubbie to be able to say what it shoots better. I shoot mostly 158 grain lead round nose. Most often whatever is cheap. I did have one box of Blazer aluminum case that I won't recommend. The rounds were jamming after shooting three or four the cylinder would lock up.
The bullet was protruding from the front of the cylinder and wouldn't allow the cylinder to rotate.
I called the CCI customer service when I got home to report this weird issue. And was told that they do that in small revolvers due to the recoil. He said they were perfectly safe in larger guns and okay to shoot but don't load more than 3 or 4 in a small frame revolver.
But they were cheap and I finished the box 3 at a time.

Magtech 158 grain LRN, Geco 158 grain FMJ, PPU 130 grain FMJ in my two snubbies.

I shoot my own loads everything from light wadcutters that I cast to hollowpoint jacketed from 125 to 158 grain.

I've been using Federal American Eagle 130 Gr FMJ's but have decided to try some different ones. I really like them and the price is great (about $17.50 a box), but I believe I'll give the Winchester 130gr FMJ (White Box) a try, as PT7 has listed, and probably some Federals in 158 Gr next.

I found a partial box of US NAVY .38 Signal shells in the barn. I don't have a .38 or .357 at the moment so I can't say how effective they are.

Probably a bit hard to find.

I found some WWII Carbine ammo at auction many years ago. It looked iffy and I wasn't going to take a chance. figured the Carbine would be OK but not sure about the ammo. So I rigged it to fire while I was out of danger. As it turned out the ammo fired just fine. But one never knows about old ammo. That is some cool looking ammo, never knew the Military made 38 cal signal ammo. Probably worth some $$$ to a collector

ArmyScout wrote:I found some WWII Carbine ammo at auction many years ago. It looked iffy and I wasn't going to take a chance. figured the Carbine would be OK but not sure about the ammo. So I rigged it to fire while I was out of danger. As it turned out the ammo fired just fine. But one never knows about old ammo. That is some cool looking ammo, never knew the Military made 38 cal signal ammo. Probably worth some $$$ to a collector

I wonder how well they can be seen.

I never reload ammo ... I make only CUSTOM ammo for each guns and I have 3 levels . level #1 is for like SASS/CAS around 750 FPS , level #2 is like normal 38 spec and level #3 is +P loads . I make CUSTOM ammo in both jacket and cast bullet . I never shoot jacket bullets and cast bullets in the same barrel .The factory ammo can't match the quality ammo I make because I can tune it for each gun and the job I want it to do .

tx gunrunner wrote:I never reload ammo ... I make only CUSTOM ammo for each guns and I have 3 levels . level #1 is for like SASS/CAS around 750 FPS , level #2 is like normal 38 spec and level #3 is +P loads . I make CUSTOM ammo in both jacket and cast bullet . I never shoot jacket bullets and cast bullets in the same barrel .The factory ammo can't match the quality ammo I make because I can tune it for each gun and the job I want it to do .

I reloaded just to crank out rounds cheaper than buying and most were loaded to military specs.

My Cowboy Boy Action stuff I Custom load not to exceed 750 FPS and accuracy is NOT important as sight recover and speed between shots . The SASS/CAS target a large and you need to just ring the steel and a hit anywhere on the steel is perfect shot ....
NOTE ....ammo that reaches 1000 fps in a rifle not allowed on range .. No copper wash or jacket bullets either allowed , only lead bullets permitted .