Winchester .38 spl 130 grain FMJ

[old lady new shooter]

Midway has these on special, a can of 300 for $89.99, plus if you buy them by 5/12 Winchester is giving a 10% rebate. For practice I normally get .38 spl 130 grain FMJ reloads at the range for $17.99 for a bag of 50, so this price is really attractive. What is the opinion of folks here as to the quality of these rounds?

 

[Reeferman]

I have shot those Winchester loads before and never had any issues other than they shot high in my revolvers that are sighted for different weight and load. I would buy several of them for that price.

 

[alfsauve]

Is my math right? $299.67/k?

Carolina Munitions has them for $265.78/k

Didn't compare shipping.

 

[Dave T]

If all you want is a wimpy 38 Special to punch holes in paper or cans, they're probably as good as anything. 300 rounds at your range will cost you $107.94 if I hit the buttons on the calculator correctly. The deal you found is almost $20 better than that.

Dave

 

[1KPerDay]

They have not given me any trouble as range practice ammo. Price is a bit steep on all factory .38 these days so I prefer to load mine.

 

[MedWheeler]

Always shot well for me. I've even carried them in my non-+P-rated snubbies from time to time.

 

[old lady new shooter]

They have not given me any trouble as range practice ammo. Price is a bit steep on all factory .38 these days so I prefer to load mine.

I'm totally not mechanical, honestly I'd be scared to reload. I'm saving my brass though, figure someone will want to buy some.

 

[Monac]

When I had brass that nobody around here wanted (Berdan primed 32 ACP? 9mm Browning Long, also Berdan? 32 Long?) I would take it to a scrap metal dealer, the same kind of place that buys aluminum cans. I forget what I got for it, but it was better than nothing.

38 Special brass is much more popular than any of those, but the supply of it is also enormous, so I found it difficult to sell to reloaders at gun shows.

 

[old lady new shooter]

Is my math right? $299.67/k?

Carolina Munitions has them for $265.78/k

Didn't compare shipping.

Thanks both for the tip and the idea of checking the shipping -- after adding the shipping Midway was cheaper so I bought from them.

Is that price from Carolina Munitions their all-the-time price? The Midway price is a special deal, so if that's Carolina's regular price I might buy from them next time. IAC now that I heard of them I will know to check them in the future, so thanks again.

 

[old lady new shooter]

When I had brass that nobody around here wanted (Berdan primed 32 ACP? 9mm Browning Long, also Berdan? 32 Long?) I would take it to a scrap metal dealer, the same kind of place that buys aluminum cans. I forget what I got for it, but it was better than nothing.

38 Special brass is much more popular than any of those, but the supply of it is also enormous, so I found it difficult to sell to reloaders at gun shows.

Scrap metal dealer, good to have in mind if necessary. I would probably try to sell mine here first.

 

[1KPerDay]

I'm totally not mechanical, honestly I'd be scared to reload.

I bet you'd love it and be great at it. Just like when you first started shooting.

 

[old lady new shooter]

<running away blushing>

 

[1KPerDay]

<running away blushing>

LOL

 

[9mmepiphany]

When buying W-W 130gr .38Spl, be sure to check if the lot numbers fall into the recall range https://winchester.com/support/customers/USA38SPVP-Recall

 

[old lady new shooter]

When buying W-W 130gr .38Spl, be sure to check if the lot numbers fall into the recall range https://winchester.com/support/customers/USA38SPVP-Recall

Oh my goodness, thank you so much for the warning!!!

I did notice on the Carolina Munitions site that they have two flavors of .38 spl 130 grain FMJ -- one identified as Q4171 and the other as USA38SPVP. No differentiation is made between these (both are called "Best Value" and come in the white box) but the USA38SPVP are priced higher. The Midway site does not mention either of these numbers and neither does Winchester's own site. The Carolina price I compared to Midway was the Q4171 one, but whether this means that is actually the one Midway is selling I have no clue. IF ANYONE HERE HAS MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS, INCLUDING WHAT THE DIFFERENCE IS BETWEEN THE TWO, PLEASE POST.

Meanwhile I will call Midway in the morning and ask about this. I was going to call them anyway to ask them to require signature for delivery, last time I bought ammo from them (at my old house, before it was illegal to ship ammo to Cali) it was just left on my porch.

 

[stonebuster]

I've used them for the range before with no issues in my revolvers. I'm using Remington UMC 130 grain 38 spl FMJ $68/250 rounds($272/1000) from Walmart now and no shipping to pay. I have seen a few poorly crimped and one badly bent case out of @750 rounds.

 

[old lady new shooter]

I've used them for the range before with no issues in my revolvers. I'm using Remington UMC 130 grain 38 spl FMJ $68/250 rounds($272/1000) from Walmart now and no shipping to pay. I have seen a few poorly crimped and one badly bent case out of @750 rounds.

I noticed that ammo a couple places, always the best price compared to others I know are OK... felt nervous because of the bankruptcy last year... are they now definitely 100% stable?

 

[old lady new shooter]

Oh my goodness, thank you so much for the warning!!!

I did notice on the Carolina Munitions site that they have two flavors of .38 spl 130 grain FMJ -- one identified as Q4171 and the other as USA38SPVP. No differentiation is made between these (both are called "Best Value" and come in the white box) but the USA38SPVP are priced higher. The Midway site does not mention either of these numbers and neither does Winchester's own site. The Carolina price I compared to Midway was the Q4171 one, but whether this means that is actually the one Midway is selling I have no clue. IF ANYONE HERE HAS MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS, INCLUDING WHAT THE DIFFERENCE IS BETWEEN THE TWO, PLEASE POST.

Meanwhile I will call Midway in the morning and ask about this. I was going to call them anyway to ask them to require signature for delivery, last time I bought ammo from them (at my old house, before it was illegal to ship ammo to Cali) it was just left on my porch.

UPDATE:
On Winchester's own site, there is only one flavor of this ammo, the Q4171 one.

I emailed Carolina Munitions' customer service asking what the difference between the two is, will report back if and when I get an answer.

Midway does not have the ability to request signature on delivery, they said this is a UPS rule. (!)

Regarding the recall, the person on the phone said I could call Winchester and check with them to find out the batch numbers. I responded that Winchester has posted the batch numbers on their website, my question was whether Midway checked the boxes to ascertain whether they are from the recalled batches. He did not know. So the whole phone call, for which I first had to wait 10 minutes on hold, was a big waste of time.

Left foot, right foot...

 

[amd6547]

I like 38spl a lot, but I have no interest in a 38spl 130gn fmj.
I’d sure rather see a 158gn SWC load on the shelf.

 

[old lady new shooter]

I like 38spl a lot, but I have no interest in a 38spl 130gn fmj.
I’d sure rather see a 158gn SWC load on the shelf.

What ammo do you use when carrying?

 

[amd6547]

I carry Remington 158gn LSWHP, Gold Dot short barrel, or Winchester PDX 1.

 

[The Evangelist Cowboy]

They go bang in my revolvers and I've never had an issue with them other then shooting low on my fixed sighted guns.

 

[old lady new shooter]

I carry Remington 158gn LSWHP, Gold Dot short barrel, or Winchester PDX 1.

Ah, your carry ammo is also heavier, so I see why you prefer to practice with 158 grain.

In my 686, Hornady Critical Defense 110 grain is very accurate and shoots soft, and that is my SD ammo. Obviously, for an old lady, all else being equal, softer is better. Being still a relative newbie I did not realize that different guns may like some ammo better than others, I noticed in RevolverGuy's video review of the King Cobra that his Hornady target had all the shots high, if it won't shoot accurately for me out of the King Cobra I will have to pick a different carry ammo. I'll see when I try it, possibly next range trip, I've only shot it once so far, used the 130 grain reloads.

At the (other) range I went to last week (different ones have different "Ladies' Days", might as well shoot for free when possible), when I asked for .38 special they gave me 158 grain MagTech. My 686 actually had recoil with that, I didn't feel like trying it in the Model 36 I had brought for getting acquainted purposes, so for that one I switched to some leftover 130 grain I had with me. (It was still very unpleasant, I don't think I'm gonna be able to use it, that's why I now bought the King Cobra, I want a carry gun. In Cali nobody gets a permit so I didn't have to care that my 686 is huge, it was only for my house.)

If you (or anyone here) can explain if / how I would be better served using a heavier ammo for carry, I'd be very interested to hear it.

 

[amd6547]

What kind of grips on the Model 36? There are options that make them more tolerable.
As far as ammo, the 38spl is one cartridge where answering the question “what’s best to carry?” requires knowing what the objective is.
If it is low recoil, the traditional approach is the 148gn target wadcutter. They don’t kick too much, and they penetrate well. Another choice is the Hornady Critical Defense lite, a 90gn hollowpoint.
The other three loads I mentioned before are pretty much considered the top choices in conventional factory 38spl defensive loads and were widely used by law enforcement. A lot of cops carried the 148gn wadcutter back in the day.

 

[old lady new shooter]

What kind of grips on the Model 36? There are options that make them more tolerable.
As far as ammo, the 38spl is one cartridge where answering the question “what’s best to carry?” requires knowing what the objective is.
If it is low recoil, the traditional approach is the 148gn target wadcutter. They don’t kick too much, and they penetrate well. Another choice is the Hornady Critical Defense lite, a 90gn hollowpoint.
The other three loads I mentioned before are pretty much considered the top choices in conventional factory 38spl defensive loads and were widely used by law enforcement. A lot of cops carried the 148gn wadcutter back in the day.

I bought the Model 36 from an out-of-state friend awhile back, but had never shot it, due to serial health issues it was over a year since my last previous range visit. It is a 1971 model square butt with the original walnut grips (and beautiful perfect bluing, it has not had much use). I had tried dry-firing the new version (which has a round butt) in a gun store, where I thought the trigger was fine but the grip was way too small, and the sights hard to see. When I saw the photo of my friend's with the square butt I thought that would solve the grip issue. Part of the problem last week was undoubtedly that I not only hadn't been shooting, I didn't do any shooting-related strength exercises the whole time I was dealing with my medical stuff... for example I could not shoot my 686 one-handed last week, which previously I had been able to do quite accurately with either hand. Right now my tentative plan is to get back the strength in the relevant muscles (fingers, forearms, chest), then put rubber grips on it (someone here recommended Pachmyer (sp?), they look good to me) and get the trigger polished and try again. If it's still horrible then I'll probably put the walnut ones back on and try to sell it.

My objective for carry ammo is #1 accuracy, and to do the best job of stopping the BG. The Hornady specs made it sound perfect for the latter, and as noted previously it was accurate in my 686 and soft to shoot, so I was happy with it.

Re the 90-grain version vs the 110, when I first got my 686 (which was my first gun) I asked the RO at the LGS/range where I bought it which version he would recommend for his mom, he said the 110, so that's what I bought.