The .38 +P Gold Dot
I’m going to try out some Speer .38 +P GDHP (Gold Dot Hollow Point) ammunition for the little wheel gun. Here are some specifications in a report from The Gun Zone:
Projectile: 135-grain Gold Dot electrochemically bonded hollow point bullet, optimized for performance in short barreled revolvers.
Primer: Small pistol type utilizing lead styphnate priming mixture, sealed with nitrocellulose lacquer.
Case: Nickeled brass.
Nominal Velocity: 1125 ± 50 ft/sec from a standard SAAMI barrel. Expect 860 fps from a 1-7/8-inch J-frame revolver, 935 fps from a 4-inch revolver.
Pressure: Not to exceed SAAMI +P pressure specification, Maximum Average Pressure below 20,000 psi.
Accuracy: Average of five, five shot consecutive groups not to exceed three inches at 50 yards.
Operational Strength: the propellant powder is selected to minimize muzzle flash and residue, and to perform under temperature extremes. The bullet is specially designed for this velocity operating range through different barriers. This ammunition also works equally well in longer barreled firearms.
Expansion:
A surprisingly large portion of today’s models of the modern martial artist are very much concerned, for an amusingly diverse array of reasons, with the terminal performance of handgun rounds.
While it’s always been TGZ’s position that the primary objective should be to get anti-personnel rounds on-target and into a vital area, enough folks are still obsessing about “expansion,” that it was decided to satisfy their requirements… to a degree.
Herewith is a comparative expansion image of a pair of popular 38 Special rounds fired from the same S&W snub-nose J-frame into the author’s favorite test media: four gallon hard-plastic Snyder’s of Hanover Pretzel jars filled with 4% saline solution… creek water!
