Taurus snub nose .38

[44man]

Friend dropped one off, Darn nice little gun that needed a new trigger spring instead of the Ford truck axle spring.
I can't hit paper at 25 yards. I moved closer and hit high. Factory loads, American Eagle at 770 fps. I figure it is not fast enough so I loaded +P loads with my boolit. Lee that I removed the BB from. Trouble is it weighs 163 gr. Still hit high but it did come down. I shot a good group but at 10 yards. Hit a BG and need to hold on the belly button!
No way to change a sight, machined on the barrel.
Since the guy does not load, we will need a lighter boolit +P factory load.
Even though the barrel is ported, need something to leave faster.
Any suggestions for store bought?

[shorty500M]

its an unfortunate situation and my thoughts have not been verified by any factory reps but based on my observations of many recently manufactured .38s, they are regulating the sights to 125-130g slugs found in typical defense loads and the bargain-priced FMJ( can we say leftover 9mm slugs???) if they regulate at all

[44man]

I do not own a carry gun, just deer guns so it is new to me. Fixed sights suck and need loads to match. I can see this needs lighter boolit, faster loads. Seems as if some makers just stick anything out front. This thing is regulated at 200 meters.

[Petrol & Powder]

I'm not a fan of the lighter 38 Special bullets but the Speer "short barrel load" 135 grain +P Gold Dot Hollow Point was used by the NYPD back when the revolvers were common. I has a pretty good reputation for accuracy and I've shoot some out of 2" barrels with decent results.

Why on earth would anyone port the barrel on any gun used for self defense?

[Petrol & Powder]

Here's a link to MidwayUSA, not an endorsement, just information: http://www.midwayusa.com/product/2719493508/speer-gold-dot-short-barrel-ammunition-38-special-p-135-grain-jacketed-hollow-point

[44man]

Here's a link to MidwayUSA, not an endorsement, just information: http://www.midwayusa.com/product/2719493508/speer-gold-dot-short-barrel-ammunition-38-special-p-135-grain-jacketed-hollow-point
Should work and I will pass it on. Thanks.
Why port a snub .38, it is because they did not want to start with a larger piece of metal to machine a sight on. Ports have nothing to do with a hit, just reduces barrel rise for the next shot. Boolit is gone before the ports hold the barrel down.

[Petrol & Powder]

I sort of, just barely......get ports on a competition handgun. I don't get it at all for any handgun used outside of competition. The perceived reduction in muzzle rise isn't worth the actual increase in noise and flash. At best, porting is a marketing gimmick.

[bangerjim]

I have one of those by the bed. I cast, PC and shoot the lightest 358's I have with good accuracy at closer distances. You are not trying to take out a fly at 50 yards with one of these! Up close and personal. I keep it stuffed with factory FMJ's for home defense. Those are just as accurate and my home-brew slugs.


Nice little gun that should get the job done if ever needed.

[44man]

Nice gun, strong and well made. But I wish I could change the front sight for him.

[Petrol & Powder]

I've seen a lot of the small Taurus 38 Special revolvers and they are good guns. The old ones have held up very well. Taurus quality is bit hit or miss with some people claiming they're great values and others with less favorable opinions. I've had my share of Taurus products with very similar results; some good and some not so much. I no longer play in the Taurus sandbox but I will not universally condemn their products. Out of all the models that Taurus has made, the Model 85 seems to be consistently one of the best.

[rintinglen]

Lighter, faster may well get you where you want to go. I wish all manufacturers of fix sighted guns would leave a little extra on the front sight to allow a bit to be removed to allow the sights to be regulated by the end user. A file is a bit easier to use than a tig welder.

[Petrol & Powder]

............ A file is a bit easier to use than a tig welder.
:o True Dat!

[dubber123]

Here's a link to MidwayUSA, not an endorsement, just information: http://www.midwayusa.com/product/2719493508/speer-gold-dot-short-barrel-ammunition-38-special-p-135-grain-jacketed-hollow-point

I carried these for a while, and was reasonably impressed with their performance. I much prefer the performance of my 160 gr, HP soft cast, but that is not an option in this case.

[bhn22]

Most 38 Spl revolvers these days seem to be regulated for light bullets for the recoil sensitive. Hornady has a 115 gr 38 Spl loading that might be what you need. I tore the town apart a few months back trying to find 38 Spl +P lead hollowpoints. Nobody even had a 158 gr defensive type load of any type. I did finally manage to get a late production box of Remingtons. I suppose I should be grateful for at least that.

[EMC45]

I had an older Taurus Model 85 Ultra Lite that I gave to my Dad. It shoots everything from 148gr. WCs to 158gr. SWCs very well. I guess the sights are higher then the newer ones?

[Mtnfolk75]

I haven't handled or shot any of the Model 85's since the mid to late 80's. During those years all that I shot seemed to shoot to POA with 158's out to at least 15 yards. Must be a trend with the newer models.

[Petrol & Powder]

I carried these for a while, and was reasonably impressed with their performance. I much prefer the performance of my 160 gr, HP soft cast, but that is not an option in this case.

In my book; for serious social situations - The "FBI Load", "Chicago Load", "Treasury Load" or whatever you want to call the soft lead 158 grain +P SWCHP is still the best there is for the 38 Special. It has a well proven track record in both 2" and 4" barrels. It has enough weight to penetrate well, is generally fast enough to expand but will still get the job done if it doesn't expand and shoots point of aim in most fixed sighted older revolvers.

Your 160 gr soft HP is basically the same thing.

There was a trend for lighter and faster 38 Special bullets but speed isn't everything. Even if they start out faster, they shed too much energy, too quickly, when they reach their intended target. The old 158 grain lead hollow point has a lot more going for it than meets the eye.

Because the OP clearly needs a lighter bullet to fix the POA / POI issue, the classic 158gr LHP will not work. Most of the time the "FBI load" is in fact the right choice despite sometimes being eclipsed by the newer, lighter hollow point designs.

[bhn22]

I was annoyed enough to dig out my 38 hollowpoint moulds and cast a few hundred for research purposes. My ugly old 358156HP mould had a larger hollowpoint pin, and coincidentally was the first bullet I had to hit point of aim with iron sights out to 15 yards, offhand. It became my practice load, and conserved my factory ammo for more serious purposes. If I had needed to use it for defense, I have no doubt that it would have served the purpose perfectly. It later turned out that my 358439 worked every bit as well.

[dubber123]

In my book; for serious social situations - The "FBI Load", "Chicago Load", "Treasury Load" or whatever you want to call the soft lead 158 grain +P SWCHP is still the best there is for the 38 Special. It has a well proven track record in both 2" and 4" barrels. It has enough weight to penetrate well, is generally fast enough to expand but will still get the job done if it doesn't expand and shoots point of aim in most fixed sighted older revolvers.

Your 160 gr soft HP is basically the same thing.

There was a trend for lighter and faster 38 Special bullets but speed isn't everything. Even if they start out faster, they shed too much energy, too quickly, when they reach their intended target. The old 158 grain lead hollow point has a lot more going for it than meets the eye.

Because the OP clearly needs a lighter bullet to fix the POA / POI issue, the classic 158gr LHP will not work. Most of the time the "FBI load" is in fact the right choice despite sometimes being eclipsed by the newer, lighter hollow point designs.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh83/dubber123/IMG_3149.jpg (http://s254.photobucket.com/user/dubber123/media/IMG_3149.jpg.html)

I'm glad all my S&W's shoot these to POA

[44man]

I wish I still had my old 358156 HP mold. That was one super boolit in my .357's. I have dies because I load for my mailman but the molds I have are all heavy boolits. One is long and does not fit many cylinders, can't remember the number.
I won't be loading for this one anyway, the man lives in Ohio. He does not load and is stuck with what he can buy. Isn't that sad?

[Petrol & Powder]

Sad indeed.
I would seriously consider the 135gr Speer Gold Dot HP. It has a decent track record and is generally available.
I prefer the 158gr +P LSWCHP but if it will not shoot to POA then the Speer is probably the next best load.

[Thumbcocker]

Is there enough sight to mill it off, machine a grove in the base, and put in a different blade? I have had a couple of rugers done and it turned out very well.

[bcp477]

I've had two Taurus model 85's in my time. Both 38's. The last I had up until about 6 months ago. Taurus has always, to the best of my knowledge, published in their owner's manuals that the 85 is regulated for 158 grain bullets (or boolits). I mostly used 158 gr. SWC myself, never had any issues with them. They shot pretty much to POA, whether the loads were light target loads or +P for carry/SD. I did occasionally shoot other bullet weights, mostly 125 gr. RNFP. The 125's shot a bit lower than the 158's, which is to be expected.

[FergusonTO35]

For store bought, the Remington UMC 125 grain +P JHP is a darn fine load. The bullet has alot of exposed lead and expands easily. I used to shoot them all the time before I started reloading and .38 Special was cheap. I remember they hit hard and expanded nicely in wet newspaper, also printed low out of my S&W 10-5 and Ruger SP-101, both of which were dead on with 158's. Best of all they are (were?) 50 to a box and only a few bucks more than standard LRN. I would take them over any of the various $1.25 a shot loads being pushed today.

[Petrol & Powder]

Well?? any update?

[Whiterabbit]

light boolit? 38 +p? also check out midway for a 100% copper frangible 38 +P load. They shoot well from a 357 max handi rifle, I bet they would do fine in a snub. Maybe just what's needed here.

[44man]

Friend picked up the gun to take back to Ohio. No idea. Like most that carry, fear factor.