Surprised!!

[mvriley315]

I went to the range yesterday, to test some loads that I loaded into water filled milk jugs. First a .22 Stinger (ok, so I didn't load that one) stopped in the 2nd jug, a 125gr .357 JSP stopped in the 4th jug, 230gr .45 XTP stopped in the 4th jug. For giggles, I fired a light target load 148gr .38 wadcutter and it sailed stright through 6 jugs and kept right on going. Needless to say, I was suprised! Can anyone tell me, is this normal? Would a .38 wadcutter make a decent self defense round? My thinking here is light recoil, noise, flash combined with good penetration for my wife. Any thoughts? Thanks, Mike

 

[jbrooks19]

Haha He said Penetration and Wife in the same sentence

 

[SSGSAD]

Off the top of my head, I would have to say no ..... Now with YOUR test, that would be the opposite of what YOU experienced... BUT, LOOK at the bullets... WHICH ones, EXPANDED ?? You said yourself, SAILED RIGHT THROUGH... NOT what I WANT in a SD round ..... JMHO ...

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

Penetration is only part of the picture. Wadcutters are made to cut nice holes in paper for target practice. "Sailed right through" indicates you're not transferring energy into the target, and energy transfer is what you want for hurting the bad guy. Basically, you want something that will go deep enough to get to the vital organs, while expanding to do damage and slowing down to transfer the energy. No exit wound. Owie.

 

[GBuck]

I doubt that I'd want to carry something that would go through six milk jugs. You definitely don't want to over penetrate through a person and hit the kid or whatever is behind your intended target.

 

[throttletony]

ditto to all the above. It's the type of bullet. overpenetration is a major concern --> i currently have neighbors on the other side of one of my walls and would hate to put a round through their nightstand... or worse. The .38 spl is a decent round (although I'd much prefer a 9mm or .40), and it is still a great seller -- think revolvers used as purse guns. Very manageable recoil and simple mechanics. I know individuals who prefer a revolver for this reason, and among them the .38 spl is the most common and less-intimidating-to-the-shooter rounds. (I'm carefully trying to avoid the cliche "women and smaller men" type comments, but I'm sure someone will post something along those lines). At the end of the day, it's more effective than a stick... for at least 5 shots, that is.

 

[Broom_jm]

Many of the wadcutter designs use a fairly hard alloy that will give excellent penetration. That is great for big game hunting, especially dangerous game, but not necessarily for self defense. With that being said, I don't know of any poll that shows would-be criminals are fond of having a 35 caliber hole punched through them. To me, the concern is when that 4th and 5th jug are actually the walls of my children's rooms.

I'll stick with JHP or other expanding tips for SD rounds.