.38 special target rounds?

Nutty4Guns · Feb 26, 2011

Does anyone have an opinion on a good brand of .38 for targets that doesn't kick too bad. My wife bought a S&W 642 Airweight and we took it to the range the other day with some Magtechs, not +P. She shot 2 rounds and started whimpering about the recoil. This is my first experience with a .38 so I figured someone else probably has a good idea of what to buy.

mjn · Feb 27, 2011

My daughter has that same gun. She's been shooting basic cheapo blazer ammo for targets..

Nutty4Guns · Feb 27, 2011

Thanks, I will try to pick some up.

Videlli · Feb 27, 2011

.38 "wadcutter"

My C.C.I "Blazer" practice ammo is mild to shoot and leaves a very crisp "punch" in paper targets. It is a strange little round in that the bullet is flush cut right at the end of the (alloy, non re-loadable)cartridge. I thought that they were a little strange until I started burning through them. As I am not a re-loader, they were just the right answer. V

Videlli · Feb 27, 2011

C.C.I Wadcutter

For the record, I was shooting the "Wadcutter" flat nose .38 ammo from a .357 revolver. I could not recommend a blunt nose round for any type of auto loading firearm as feeding/jamming issues could present. V

Nutty4Guns · Feb 28, 2011

Videlli said:
My C.C.I "Blazer" practice ammo is mild to shoot and leaves a very crisp "punch" in paper targets. It is a strange little round in that the bullet is flush cut right at the end of the (alloy, non re-loadable)cartridge. I thought that they were a little strange until I started burning through them. As I am not a re-loader, they were just the right answer. V

Sounds like a good one to try out. Thanks for the tip!

GixxerPete · Mar 1, 2011

Nutty4Guns said:
Does anyone have an opinion on a good brand of .38 for targets that doesn't kick too bad. My wife bought a S&W 642 Airweight and we took it to the range the other day with some Magtechs, not +P. She shot 2 rounds and started whimpering about the recoil. This is my first experience with a .38 so I figured someone else probably has a good idea of what to buy.

Welcome to super small/lightweight revolver recoil! I used to have the same gun, and to be honest it was never very fun to shoot because of the recoil, especially with +P defensive loads. I ended up selling it and getting a Ruger LCP instead for deep concealment.

FWIW, I did trade out the stock grip for a Hogue one, which had a little more rubber, a tad better grip and a little less felt recoil.

John805 · Mar 7, 2011

I just bought the same gun for my wife. Her only complaint was the grips which I will be changing out in time. We range fired with TMJ the cheapest we could find and she had no complaints (image) other than the grips

Nutty4Guns · Mar 7, 2011

Yeah, we bought hers with the Crimson Trace grips already on the gun. She likes the laser so were pretty much stuck with these grips. They aren't bad truthfully. I shot the gun and it did seem to buck pretty good. I think the Magtechs we bought are probably just loaded a bit hotter than some of the others. We will try some other stuff and if she still complains then I guess I will have a nice backup revolver for myself.

.38 special target rounds?

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