The best standard pressure load for target and defense in a J-frame Airweight is a 148 gr SWC. These are light and easy to shoot. Bullseye or Titegroup cover 90% or more of my .38 Special loadings. IIRC, I used 4.5 gr of Bullseye under a 125 gr lead bullet for a light plinker, and 5.6 gr of Bullseye under a 148 gr wadcutter (~815 fps, 4" bbl, probably around 750 fps out of a snub). Alliant also lists 3.3 gr of Unique with the 148 gr wadcutter for a velocity equal to my preferred Bullseye load.
To get good JHP terminal performance out of the short tube of a snub you've really got only one choice, and that's Speer's 135 gr Gold Dot JHP +P loading. According to Speer's website, you can duplicate factory ballistics with 4.8 gr of Unique and a C.O.L. of 1.450".
I carry my snubs loaded with standard pressure 148 gr WC's and carry a Bianchi Speed Strip or two with factory Speer 135 gr +P GDHP's. Reloading those flat-face WC's in a hurry is not easy to do, hence the GDHP's.
Last edited by DocRocket; 04/28/07.
