reproduce a Factory 38 Special 200gr load ?

[Larry Gibson]

Larry I tried to send you a PM but says your mailbox is full.

My bad.....hard to keep it empty.......please send again.

[charlie b]

In the old days my father-in-law and I did a lot of bullet testing. Most of the hollow points in those days rarely expanded after going through a couple of layers of denim. And kevlar did stop just about everything. My FIL did make a solid copper pointed bullet for the .357 that would penetrate. But it made a really small hole in the ballistic medium, and not very deep. The most reliable expanding bullets back then were the Winchester Silvertips. Even after two layers of denim they would still expand nicely. Even worked after motorcycle jacket leather. Not sure if today's Silvertips are the same level of performance (they might be better).

These days I don't do a lot of testing so I rely on Hornady's Critical Duty stuff. Meets FBI standards. Critical Defense if you don't feel the need to shoot at someone behind a windshield

[Bigslug]

In the old days my father-in-law and I did a lot of bullet testing. Most of the hollow points in those days rarely expanded after going through a couple of layers of denim. And kevlar did stop just about everything. My FIL did make a solid copper pointed bullet for the .357 that would penetrate. But it made a really small hole in the ballistic medium, and not very deep. The most reliable expanding bullets back then were the Winchester Silvertips. Even after two layers of denim they would still expand nicely. Even worked after motorcycle jacket leather. Not sure if today's Silvertips are the same level of performance (they might be better).

It does depend greatly on which Silvertip you're talking about. Expansion was never their problem - sufficient penetration was. . . usually owing to fragile construction and lack of mass. The old 9mm 115 grainer was the "poster child" for insufficient penetration after '86 Miami. The 110 grain .38 was in the same category, & I'd be real nervous using the .32 and .380 versions in place of good old flat nosed FMJ's. Never did try the .45 185, but I'd be concerned about pancaking and lack of depth on that one too.

I've gel tested recent production 145 grain .357 out of both 2.25" and 4" - a bit over 14" and a pretty mushroom for the snubby; a bit over 15" with a jacket shed on the 4". The 175 grain 10mm of 25 years ago was impressive - 3-4 gallon water jugs (about typical for current top-end duty loads) with a tabletop-flat .75" caliber expansion. Those two at least are winners.

[Groo]

Groo here
An interesting gentleman that one...
Saw him at a Cop shop and he explained how the vest works and why [ can't tell].
The blunt force spec was developed so other makers could compete , He was that far ahead......

[beagle]

I started out back in the 60s with a Lyman 35875 loaded in .38 Special cases in a Model 10 M&P. Results were disappointing. Necessarily low velocities, point of impact high. Dropped that project. Later on I acquired a Model 19 Smith snub in .357 and a box of the Western 200 grain police loads. They shot very nice at ranges around 50 yards. Later, I acquitted a 358430 and researched the data on the "Police Load" and duplicated the velocity. It turned out to be a very nice load in my .357s but you can only use so many carry rounds so I keep a few on hand and went back to the old standby 358429HP loads for general use.
Its a good carry/house load but the performance is weak for a general, all purpose load./beagle