http://www.shootingillustrated.com/Expert_Advice/Tactics/snubtraining.html
An interesting Article. If you Google J Frames, or Snub Nosed Revolvers there is plenty of good reading.
the 130gr +P Winchester PDX1 in her CA. We have a few boxes of it and it groups nice from her gun. How do most people view this particular round?
I am not familar with that particular round. I starte shooting J Frames about five years ago, went through a number of brands and ratings available at the time. I found the SGDFSB worked well despite trying other and I just stuck with it. Low flash powder, clean, high quality.
You may find this interesting and there are many who ascribe to the hardnose approach.
"2-inch .38 snubs
There seems to be no JHP bullet cartridge that is capable of providing a reasonable balance of adequate penetration and reliable expansion. A bullet that expands will not penetrate deeply enough, whereas a bullet that does not expand will probably overpenetrate.
As a result, we feel the best cartridge for .38 snubbies is the 148 grain wadcutter target load. (MacPherson, Duncan: Bullet Penetration, Ballistic Publications, El Segundo, California, 1994. p. 247, Figure 10-2 Cylinder Bullet Penetration Depth.) The sharp-edged shoulder of the full wadcutter design provides the best penetration and wounding efficiency for this gun/cartridge combination.
Speer offers a total metal jacket (FMJ) 148 grain wadcutter in its Lawman line of ammunition. As opposed to a lead wadcutter, the shoulder of the Speer copper-jacketed bullet is more likely to retain its sharp shoulder on impact. The downside of the Speer bullet is the less sensitive "Cleanfire primer" which may not provide reliable cartridge ignition in guns that have had trigger work, a lighter mainspring installed, or bobbed hammer."
