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valad Offline OP
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I have a Ruger SP101 .357Mag with a short barrel and also a S&W 38 Special with a short barrel.

I am wanting to buy some short barrel ammunition and the only one I see is the Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel 357Mag 135 hollow point. Not sure what other manufactures make the short barrels for the .357Mag and 38 special for short barrel revolvers and would like to know what other companies make ammo for short barrel revolvers? What have you tried that works in your gun?

How/why would someone buy ammo for short barrel revolvers? I read in a magazine some time ago but cannot find the magazine. Figure I'd try them out and see if they tame the recoil a little in my Ruger Sp101 357Mag.

I am heading to the local gun show and hope to find some to test out.

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Speer makes short-barreled ammunition for most common combat cartridges. Short barrel ammunition is much more important for revolver cartridges, since they use much slower burning powder. Auto cartridges use fast burning powders which makes them very efficient even in short-barreled guns, making the need for specialized loads much less me necessary. Speer And Buffalo Bore are the only makers of short barrel .38 special and .357 Magnum that I'm aware of.

Personally I think .357 magnum is a very poor choice for self defense in a short-barreled revolver. The recoil noise and especially muzzle flash gets horrendous out of a short-barreled revolver. To compound the issue velocities are drastically reduced when you cut the barreling down to 2 inches. I'm of the opinion that anything less than 4 inches of barrel in any magnum revolver cartridge is basically a waste of time.

Modern .38 special +P is a much better choice out of a snubbie. You get very good terminal performance with MUCH less recoil, noise, and blinding muzzle flash. The Speer .38 special Short Barrel load meets all of the FBI criteria except for the car door test. That's pretty impressive performance for a sub-compact, pocket revolver. I stoke my Colt Cobra with the Speer load.

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Check out 38 SPL +P BUFFALO-BARNES LEAD FREE, Short-Barrel, Low-Flash

https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=293

or

BUFFALO-BARNES LEAD-FREE Tactical 357 Mag Low Flash-Short Barrel

https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=276

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valad Offline OP
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Kevin,

I agree with you on the short barrel SP101 .357Mag but it is what I have and wanted to try these short barrel ammo. I figured I might as well see how it shoots. I have a 686 with a 4" and like it better but do not carry this 4" one.

Funny thing is we say the 2" barrel 357Mags are worthless yet they are made by S&W in their various configurations. So they must be selling.

I do not find the recoil excessive with full .357Mag loads in the SP101 because I have Hogue grips but I also do not shoot 100's at a time. But I bet this short barrel .357 Mag will put a person in its place in a defense stance.

I have a short barrel S&W revolver that I got from my dad and it is probably 40 years old. Will also see about the .38 P loads for this too.

I am heading to the gun show this weekend and want to pick up some .357Mag short barrel ammo while there and also check out the Kahr line of 9mm and maybe the S&W too as I thought of buying one by the end of the year.

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I wouldn�t get too caught up in the marketing stuff � a bullet traveling at a given velocity is going to produce a certain amount of recoil and the markings on the box aren�t going to change that.

All of the major label manufacturers have optimized the performance of their powders to the point that you can expect reasonable performance from any load from any given barrel length.


The uninitiated are always easily impressed.
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I agree with that. Also, a .357 SP101 and a 40 year old S&W .38 Special snubby (J or K?) are two completely different animals. I was happy carrying Buffalo Bore .38 Special +P LSWHP (chronographed at 1064 fps MV) in my 3 inch .357 SP101, but I sure wouldn�t want to shoot it out of an old S&W .38 Special snubby.

DocRocket has posted stuff on the effectiveness of the Gold Dot 135 +P .38Special. For the OP, I would search for his posts and consider that for an �all around� round.


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Originally Posted by KevinGibson
Speer makes short-barreled ammunition for most common combat cartridges. Short barrel ammunition is much more important for revolver cartridges, since they use much slower burning powder. Auto cartridges use fast burning powders which makes them very efficient even in short-barreled guns, making the need for specialized loads much less me necessary. Speer And Buffalo Bore are the only makers of short barrel .38 special and .357 Magnum that I'm aware of.

Personally I think .357 magnum is a very poor choice for self defense in a short-barreled revolver. The recoil noise and especially muzzle flash gets horrendous out of a short-barreled revolver. To compound the issue velocities are drastically reduced when you cut the barreling down to 2 inches. I'm of the opinion that anything less than 4 inches of barrel in any magnum revolver cartridge is basically a waste of time.

Modern .38 special +P is a much better choice out of a snubbie. You get very good terminal performance with MUCH less recoil, noise, and blinding muzzle flash. The Speer .38 special Short Barrel load meets all of the FBI criteria except for the car door test. That's pretty impressive performance for a sub-compact, pocket revolver. I stoke my Colt Cobra with the Speer load.
Agreed on all counts.

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Originally Posted by 41magfan
I wouldn�t get too caught up in the marketing stuff � a bullet traveling at a given velocity is going to produce a certain amount of recoil and the markings on the box aren�t going to change that.

All of the major label manufacturers have optimized the performance of their powders to the point that you can expect reasonable performance from any load from any given barrel length.
Where .38special is concerned, that is not true; I have direct experience here doing ballistic gelatin testing. When in doubt, shoot a bullet into water...if a bullet is going to expand, it will be in water, yet .38 special often doesn't. That's because most .38 special is geared for a 4 inch barrel. The sad part is most modern use of . 38 special is in snubs. The short barrel ammo is specifically designed for snubs. Normally I don't sweat this load over that load, but with a snubbie, it's a good idea to match the load to the gun.

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Originally Posted by KevinGibson
I stoke my Colt Cobra with the Speer load.


I just wish that I had a Cobra (or Diamondback) to stoke.

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The Rem 38+p 125gr SJHP has proven to be good performer for me in 2.5", 3", and 4" revolvers in jugs and pumpkins. When you could find them in the bulk packs at WalMart they were cheap too.


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