As mentioned in another thread on this board, I have a S&W 642 in layaway at a local gun store. I'm not super familiar with revolvers except that they are said to be extremely reliable and much lighter, smaller(for my purposes) however, as I began pricing ammo for my upcoming purchase, I realized that revolver ammo is different than semi-auto ammo. What kind of ammo do you all just shoot with your revolvers. Lead? Pros/cons? FMJ? I saw plenty of lead nosed stuff but didn't see a whole lot of FMJ. Any help or info is appreciated.
Sorry...Another ammo question
- Thread starter OlBoyFrye
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TallPine
Member
FMJ is used a lot in semi-autos for feed reliability issues. It has to be able to slide up a ramp and into the chamber without hanging up.
No such issue exists with revolvers.
As a general rule:
A typical self defense round for a revolver would be a JHP (jacketed hollow point).
Or for hunting or defense against big critters, a JSP (jacketed soft point).
Lead can be used for target ammo, but soft lead pushed to higher velocities can cause leading in the barrel. Lead can be round nosed, flat-nosed (wad-cutter), or even hollow point (rare).
The above statements are general practices, not hard and fast rules.
BTW, you may also notice that revolver ammo is rimmed, rather than just having an extractor groove.
No such issue exists with revolvers.
As a general rule:
A typical self defense round for a revolver would be a JHP (jacketed hollow point).
Or for hunting or defense against big critters, a JSP (jacketed soft point).
Lead can be used for target ammo, but soft lead pushed to higher velocities can cause leading in the barrel. Lead can be round nosed, flat-nosed (wad-cutter), or even hollow point (rare).
The above statements are general practices, not hard and fast rules.
BTW, you may also notice that revolver ammo is rimmed, rather than just having an extractor groove.
bountyhunter
member
I gave up shooting lead for the simple reason that I have enough brain damage without breathing lead vapor at indoor ranges. I also have better things to do than scrape lead out of the barrels of my guns. I shoot mostly 158 gr FMJ (new ammo) from Sellier and Bellot and I can usually find it somewhere for about $120/case. At $6/box for the good stuff, shooting lead to save a few cents is not for me.
QuarterBoreGunner
Member
bountyhunter- Actually, I believe the greatest amount of lead in the air when shooting comes from the lead-styphnate in the priming compound inside the primer. No real way to avaid that other than good ventilation.
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