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Old February 25, 2007, 06:04 PM   #23
fastbolt
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Join Date: June 9, 2002
Location: northern CA for a little while longer
Posts: 1,930
This is a question for which I've been wondering about the answer, too. Unfortunately, I just haven't had the time to get back in touch with the Win LE rep and request some newer, updated info since the STHP line was revised in recent years.

The original 110gr STHP .38 SPL bullet had an aluminum jacket and a different notching design of the nose cavity. The jacket finish was a dull, unpolished aluminum finish.

The current version seems to have a nickled case, so I'm wondering if it's no longer an aluminum case. I seem to recall a couple or three years ago that the Win rep at a hosted Gel Demo event mentioned something about how the aluminum jackets had been dropped on some of the loads, replaced with regular copper jacketed bullets with nickeled finishes (like some of the original loads, ala the 9 115gr & 147gr STHP and the .357 145gr STHP, for instance).

FWIW, the only factory data I have on hand is from July 2002, and was taken from some factory testing performed with a S&W M60 2" ...

The averaged results posted read:
X38S9HP 110gr STHP
Bare Gel - 11"/0.54/110gr ret wgt
4 Layers Denim - 13.9"/0.51/110gr
Heavy Cloth - 10.5"/0.53/110gr
Wallboard - 11.35"/0.36?110gr
Plywood - 9.2"/0.44/110gr
Steel - 0"/0.55/92.4gr
Autoglass - 4.75"/0.45/Can't read the smudge

Here are the results for a couple of other loads:
X38SPD 158gr LHP +P
Bare Gel - 14.8"/0.48
4 Layers Denim - 15.5"/0.36
Heavy Cloth - 19.6"/0.36
Wallboard - 13.4"/0.37
Plywood - 12.7"/0.42
Steel - 0"/0.68
Autoglass - 7.1"/0.63

X38S7PH 125gr JHP +P
Bare - 15.3"/0.4
Denim - 15.3"/0.36
Heavy Cloth - 15.4"/0.35

S38SP 130gr JHP +P
Bare - 13.2"/0.54
Denim - 14.8"/0.53
Heavy Cloth - 12.6"/0.53

USA38JHP 125gr JHP
Bare - 8.9"/0.51
Denim - 11.9"/0.52
Heavy Cloth - 9.7"/0.59

I guess I'll have to remember to ask for some updated results, and ask how the current 110gr STHP .38 bullet actually differs from the earlier one, if indeed it does (other than appearance, at any rate).

In the meantime, since my M37 isn't rated for +P I plan to only shoot standard pressure loads through it. If I want to shoot +P loads I use either my older M649 Bodyguard or my 642-1 Centennial. I can afford to avoid stressing the 37. The 110gr STHP loads seem to shoot well in my 37, and I picked up some Federal Low Recoil 110gr Hydra-Shok loads to stash away and test through the 37 sometime.

BTW, when it made me wonder if I was essentially reducing my off-duty weapon to a glorified .380 JHP (or less) because of the lightweight standard pressure STHP loads, I checked out the factory test data from their RA380T 95gr load, listed in the same 2002 data. The pistol used for the test isn't listed, though.

Denim - 7.95"/0.64
Heavy Cloth - 7.85"/0.54

Then, the newer LE catalog lists some different results for the same RA380T 95gr load:

Bare Gel - 7.7"/0.68
Denim - 8"/0.64
Heavy Cloth - 7.8"/0.64

I don't feel quite so bad about carrying the standard pressure .38 110gr STHP in one of my off-duty J-frames anymore ... but Gel test data isn't a guarantee of any kind. It's just observed results in specific circumstances.

Have you read through this forum thread elsewhere? Interesting reading. http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=224327

It's still about accuracy and placement, though.

Practice, practice, practice. I've always thought that J-frame's, especially when fired in DA/DAO mode, require some refined and well-practiced revolver skills.
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