Hey everyone, I said the HCD lite was an 80 grain bullet, it's a 90 grain bullet. Also, once again, you have NOT won a prize, that's a scam that management is helpless to correct.

Hi Paul. I found this video very interesting, because when I started in law enforcement my city had a 650 officer police department and a 300 officer Sheriff's department. My older brother who was my roommate at the time was a Captain with the police department, and became a Sergeant with the Sheriff's Department. I became super interested in police shootings from a medical standpoint so I got permission to read all the shooting reports, and time permitting, attend the autopsies in cases of fatalities. The results were eye opening. This was the very early eighties and every patrolman, and every Deputy who was issued a sidearm (jailers didn't get a sidearm) was issued a 4-inch S&W Model 64, and plainclothes guys like detectives got a 2-inch 64. The issue load for both guns was the Winchester Western 158 grain LSWC +P Hollow Points. Maybe the guys we shot at were not as determined back then, because it seemed like a lot of them gave up either when we first displayed weapons (this changed over the next few years) or would go down after one shot because they didn't wish to be shot again. But regrettably we were forced to kill 25 or so suspects in three years and I was able to attend the autopsies on most of those. It was instructive. The first thing I learned was that there wasn't much wrong with our duty load from a 4-inch. The bullet in that load was soft lead, so much that if you didn't have a pencil to write a quick note or phone number down, you could pull a cartridge from your loops and use it to write with. I had a very old school Sheriff who approved me to carry speed loaders after I demonstrated them, but still made me wear the 18 additional cartridges in the loops. Anyway, when I would attend an autopsy with this load from a four inch, the bullet was never classically expanded, but rather it was deformed and came out looking like a piece of parking lot gravel. It would typically be recovered on a chest shot just under the skin on the back of the suspect. The very few shooting autopsies I saw from the 2-inch guns didn't have as much deformation and on the four I went to, the bullet was recovered in the rear, stopped by a coat if the suspect was wearing one, or had been found at the scene directly behind the person shot, laying on the street. I didn't have a chronograph back then. We had no real complaints with this load other than as the streets got meaner, the officers wanted higher capacity so we went with Sig P226's loaded with some truly awful first generation 147 grain hollow points that were so bad that a lot of older officers got permission to keep carrying their .38's. These initial loads didn't meet expansion threshold because the FBI told us that a slow "subsonic" round was somehow magical and we believed it. They typically made an exit wound, and the number of rounds fired in a shooting went up. The rep of the 9mm loads that were too slow was so bad that we got all new guns in the 90's, chosen by a group of officers, male and female who chose the .357 SIG overwhelmingly after shooting it, which was, and is an amazing round for law enforcement. By the way, back when we still had revolvers we had a Federal rep try to sell us Nyclads. The rep's sales pitch was not increased performance, but rather reduced airborne lead on our indoor range, which is how Federal marketed the round I was surprised to see that you can still buy Nyclads. I had occasion to find some of the 158 grain +P LSWC HP Winchester load about three years ago after quite a search. I also bought some Federal in the same style. It was odd, both of them gave me around 925-950 fps or so from a 4-inch, but both were loaded with a noticeably harder lead bullet, and results in ordnance gel were disappointing to me. Lots of penetration, actually too much, with limited expansion. I bought a box of Remington HTP in that style and it appeared that Remington loaded it about 50 fps less than my old stash of Remington. So I sort of gave up on the 158 grain stuff, and after testing settled on the Remington Golden Saber 125 grain BJHP. This was noisier from my snub, but had less recoil and I bought a case of it in the 25 round boxes. I'm glad I did because it seems like Remington redesigned the bullet in their Black Belt line to address complaints of jacket-core separation. I think too much was made of this because that separation was taking place at or near the end of the bullet's travel, so who cares? All the backyard gel testers on KZfaq apparently. Now the current Golden Saber load doesn't expand as readily from a 2-inch. As for the full wadcutters, that originally was sold as an accuracy load for target competition, and for that purpose it is great if one doesn't hand load. Those of us that did used full wadcutters that were even slower than the factory load. I remember that little piece of folk lore about turning a wadcutter backwards. I went to a firearms instructor school at FLETC taught by the late Jim Cirillo where he admitted to having done that in the 70's while a member of the NYPD stakeout squad, but he hastened to add that he would never do it in modern times. I loaded some up just to try the idea, and got results that were okay but not great, and I would not be carrying handloads for defense in any case. I think the advice to use full wadcutters that I've heard makes some sense when given in context. What I've heard expressed to new shooters who insist on carrying an Airweight J frame is that since there is hardly anything that actually expands from these guns, you may as well get the lower recoil and perhaps a sharp cutting shoulder as the bullet passes through. I'm not sure how true that is in practice, but for a new shooter, I say reduced recoil is a good thing., so maybe that might be a good choice. Well this comment is already too long, but I want to thank your for testing the Hornady Critical Defense from your snub on your ingenious meat target. I generally have had less than stellar results with Critical Defense in other calibers, but admit I've never tried them in .38 Special. When I carry a J-frame now, its an old Model 49, the all-steel version of your 638. I think I'll put a few boxes on my next ammo order and try them out. After all the gelatin testing I did before I got old and retired, I think we probably get better real world information when you shoot your meat targets. I know they must be a hell of lot of work to build. I thank you for all that work. I think I'm going to find your Patreon site and throw you a few bucks each month. You deserve it, and you provide a valuable service to the shooting community. I worked in the gun game for more than 40 years, and I still learn from your videos. Take care.

I am someone who has carried a revolver no further than my mailbox. And yet I still clicked this quickly because I have never not learned something from paul.

I'm going back and watching all these videos and am so thankful that Paul made these but also heartbroken that these are the last videos we will ever see. I pray for you every day good Sir.

My favorite thing about Paul isn't the concise and articulate speech, the never ending supply of knowledge based on first hand, scientific results, or even the dry, perfectly delivered humor. It's the fact that even after demonstrating whatever knowledge he is trying to convey at great detail, he ALWAYS encourages us to take his results with a grain of salt and come to our own conclusions. In a world full of paid advertisers posing as gun aficionados, Paul is the absolute real deal. Thank you for everything you do for this community.

Every time Paul says "tedious" I know I'm about to be riveted.

I do not own a firearm chambered in 38 special. I do have a fondness for videos from this American legend. ❤️

I carry a J-Frame daily, thank you for doing this research. I have a hard time finding .38 Special ammo, and no means of testing it for effectiveness at the local ranges. I truly appreciate your efforts to educate on these matters.

I shot so many boxes of Remington 125 grain +P purchased at a local big box store…$13 a box. I miss those days. Carried a Model 60 .357 with .38 +P for years, recently switched to the Shield Plus in 9mm, with the 13 round magazines. Never miss a Paul Harrell video!

0:16 - bullets used for presentation 10:09 - velocity number crunching 15:04 - accuracy crunching 19:06 - meat crunching 28:55 - conclusion crunch

My budget lives vicariously through Paul Harrell videos and his acquisition and usage of ammo.

Outstanding video as always. Several years ago an elderly shopkeeper in Coffeyville Kansas dropped a 250 pound thug with a single shot to the centerline of throat. Round was a standard velocity wadcutter in .38 special. Dirtbag died pretty much in his tracks. SHOT PLACEMENT

Tedious and dry = Comprehensive and factual

You know what? I'd rather have 38 Spec of any variety than nothing. Cheers for all you do Paul!

Paul: “Todays presentation will be tedious and dry” Me: big grin sitting at work alone guarding a courthouse on a weekday for 8 hours.

The 110gr. Critical Defense round seems to be the winner here . I've carried everything under the sun when it comes to .38special ammo , but I've never known what to expect as far as performance . Consequently , I'm going with the Critical Defense round . Thank you Mr. Harrell for educating us , you're truly making a difference .

I loved this video as the testing was of a common EDC handgun. Specifically the 638. I REALLY wanted the last meat test to be with the Speer GDHP as they make that 135grn +P with fast burning powders specifically for 1-7/8” barrels.

Another benefit to Critical Defense is that the pointy bullets make it easier to charge the cylinder holes under stress. Good video as always.

I used to carry a S&W 642 myself because it was easy to carry. At first, I made the mistake of thinking I was strong enough to handle 158 gr+P because "you won't care about recoil." After shooting 10 rounds of Buffalo Bore +P 158 grains, I gave up because my hand got a blood blister. Almost never wanted to carry the gun or ammo again until I using the 110gr +P FTXs. I found them accurate, easy (enough) to find at my local stores, powerful enough, and actually bearable. Story aside, a lesson I learned was that shootability of your ammo becomes important so you'll actually train with it at the range more than once. I found this especially applies to lightweight guns like the S&W 637/638/642. This is why I gave up on 158gr +Ps like Federal and BB.

You posted this video mere days after I bought a .38 snub for a backup concealed carry. Thanks a bunch, Paul. Your content is extremely helpful

Elmer Keith bullet he developed in 44 magnum is a well thought out design for the large mammal he was going to shoot. Every bullet has a target weight it is being used on and every gun has a favorite bullet in your shooting hands. All excellent points brought out in a good presentation as always.Elmer was wanting something his No. 5 could shoot hunting game he tracked on horseback and needed to be comfortable hours in the saddle carrying. A subnose in an urban environment is meeting a different need and your data answered a lot of questions clearly and concisely.

Low capacity aside, .357/.38 is my daily go to round. .357 140 grain Federal Barnes Expanders and 125 grain Hornady CD. In .38÷p, I use 110 grain Hornady CD, and 120 grain Federal Premium Punch. Your "dry" presentation was of great interest to me. Paul.

Thanks for this video on 38 special ammunition. My daughter carries a Taurus 856 model 2” snub 38 special and we found for her firearm the HCD +P 110 is the most accurate with her non adjustable sights and performs well with expansion compared to other hollow points we’ve shot and doesn’t tend to have a lot of over penetration.

I have to say the Critical Defense line always seems to be a solid performer. It might not always be the "best" choice for every caliber but I don't think it's ever a bad choice either. In my experience it's reliable in ammo picky guns and has mild recoil too. If I wasn't sure what carry ammo to pick it would be my default choice.

I often carry my Ruger LCR chambered in .38 + P and carried in a pocket holster. It's very light and I think perfect for shooting at close range. I have a 9mm that holds 15 + 1, but only carry it when I have a way to conceal it. Hopefully, I'll never have to use either one, but if I am robbed or assaulted by a person at close range I can shoot a fairly tight pattern without having to look down the barrel. Love your channel

Meat target never lies. Way more telling then gel or water jugs. Thanks Paul 👍.

Very timely video! Having only carried auto loaders, my wife and I recently each bought Taurus 856 .38sp revolvers…because we didn’t have one! Turns out, we both shoot them better than our Shield 9mm. As I carry my safety-less Shield+ with one in the pipe AIWB, the revolver has a built-in safety of a more difficult trigger pull. The Taurus may take the place of my beloved Shield.

This is one of the best .38 Special concealed carry ammo videos I have seen.

This was a delightful video to watch! Not just because it's Paul, but because I have a collection of 38/357 revolvers and recently went from 357 Mag to 38 Spc +P 110grn _Hornady_ CD ammo in my carry guns. Thanks for another great video!

Paul thank you I've gone almost exclusively to 38 snubs and been wondering about the best load. I have been carrying a high velocity hard cast wadcutter from Buffalo Bore and Gold Dot 135s as a reload. I've invested heavily in both these and they both hit with the sights pretty good so I'm gonna stick here. But I respect the Hornady FTX a lot so I might work some of that in too. Thank you sir, you worked a long time on this one and it shows.

I too carry a 638 more often than any other gun I own for concealed carry. Of all the ammunition I have tried 110 +p PPU ( loaded with hornady ftx bullets from the factory) hit exactly where the non adjustable sights are. Great video Mr. Harrell. Keep em coming.

Another entertaining and educational video. Although J-frames are not for everyone, over the years I have probably carried one more miles than any other firearm. They certainly have their advantages and, I believe, are underrated. Thank you Paul.

Great presentation, thanks Paul. I’m always amazed at how far back you stand from your sky screen to test ammo MV. I have no personal experience doing that, but have observed a couple fellow gun club members over the years testing their reloads, with the sky screen set up about 12” in front of the bench. I admire your steady marksmanship with all the different rifles and pistols you test. Especially the snub nosed revolver ammo tested on this video. Expert level shooting, bravo!

Well done Paul.. Who could possibly not like this man's videos? Such an honest, neutral, well delivered and thought out dose of information. I'm going home tonite and dig out my I believe 642 Smith, and 158SP +P and give the springfield some time off.

Seeing the differences in target placement of the various calibers/configuration, in my mind is invaluable in selecting ammunition for each handgun. Riveting presentation!

I find it great that Paul designs his efforts and logic so that it can be followed by people in a different situations to him and still achieve a concise, useful outcome.

Thank you Paul, not the results I expected so a great learning experience once again

"Today's presentation will be tedious and dry." That means to me it should be enjoyable. Paul, I love your video presentations. As a Vietnam vet, I know what your CIB represents.

I have used a .38 special in dire straits. I have found that the 148gr. wadcutter is an excellent close encounter round. The wadcutter is a hard hitter at gunfight ranges and punches a neat hole.

Really do appreciate the "tedious" details Paul. I have a .38 spl snub nose Charter Arms 'Undercover'. I say valuable information provided considering I probably wouldn't shoot +P from mine although it has been stated in reliable literature that I could. My C.A. 38 spl was made in 1967. Anyhow, I'm what you call a dedicated listener and thanks for making this .38 special conceal carry ammunition video !

Well done, Paul. I have carried several loads in my SW638: FBI Load, BuffBore/Underwood FBInuclear loads, and others. I finally landed on the Fed 148gr tgt wadcutter. For me in my SW638, POI~POA at typical SD ranges, it has minimal recoil, and it is more accurate than any of the other cartridges I tried.

I am now rewatching all of Paul's videos learn something new every time!

Great job Paul! Thanks for all you do!

You killed me with the “Joe Friday” days comment! Man I still love Adam-12! I am glad that Adam 12, .38 Special, and revolvers are still topics in 2022. My favorite carry is a S&W Chiefs Special in .38. Just like Joe’s!

Great video, as always. You are always so thorough, and cover all the bases, in the amount of time you have for your videos.

I appreciate the info. I can tell you put alot of experience and hard work into these videos. Thank you.

Excellent and very thorough video as usual. Thank you!!

Great video. I was disappointed that we didn’t get to see the Gold Dot against the meat target. It was designed specifically for snub-nosed revolvers.

Thank you for this vid! Happened to obtain a beautiful Model 36 "Chief's Special" (on recommendation of Chief of Police Cousin) back when everybody just HAD to have a .44 Magnum. Thanks to your vid, I can narrow down the better ammo to use for CC.

Thank you for this and many other videos. I do learn from them quite often.

Excellent presentation. Thank you Paul!

Really appreciate your videos. You and your team are the best at what you do… Thank you Sir

I carry a Colt Agent, and not knowing if it is rated for higher pressure rounds, I use the green & yellow round lead nose, which is very soft lead. Am fortunate that I haven't needed to "test their effectiveness" on a "meat target" of my own, but am confident that they would perform sufficiently. Thank you Paul, for the investment of time, money, and effort, to help the rest of us make better informed decisions, and for lightening-up a serious subject.

Fantastic video - completely thorough and informative. Thank you, Paul

Very thorough test examples. Thank you for all you've done for us. Nice to see some real snub .38 chrono results.

Thanks Paul, the effort you put into your standardized testing does not go unnoticed! I really appreciate your methods and honest rhetoric.

Thank you for today's demo Paul, very informative as well as well thought out. I appreciate your knowledge and the fact you are willing to to share your knowledge with us. ''Practice on the range with your weapon of choice''... I find when I go out to Practice in my neck of the woods, I first have to cleanup after selfish gun owners that are very good at practicing and NOT so good at the cleanup after practice. What happened to the old saying "leave it better then you found it"...... maybe you can provide another demo in the future in regards to cleanup such as preparation before going to range, maintaining while practicing for easier cleanup and leaving it better then you found it. Would be nice one day to go practice and only have to maintain my mess. Thanks for all you do 👍

I appreciate the detail and effort put into this .38 special snub nose saga 👍🏻 thanks for the content

Your analysis and breakdowns of different information and data points is relaxing to me for some reason.

Watching Mr. Harrell videos, I always learn valuable information and this was no exception. I personally carry a S&W J Frame model 60 with a 3" barrel and this ammunition comparison was eye opening. Your data will help with my future ammo purchases. Thank you Professor Harrell, you are most appreciated.

Great info. I carry a Ruger sp101 - 3 inch - 357. Only holds 5 rounds but I have never felt under-gunned. I love my 357 rounds but with arthritis I need to carry 38 special in it on occasion. Having the option is great and the accuracy is great with either round.

Hello Paul you provide such great and useful information on all your videos! Thank you so very much.

Great as always Paul. Thank you sir!🤠

This was an absolute amazing video Paul. I can't imagine the hours it took to do this and the money spent to show the results. Thank you for the hard work sir and giving us a modern look at the timeless 38.

Very well prepared video. I consider 38 Special a very viable option for self defence and your tests and evaluation along with conclusions are much needed here. Really appreciate your work.

Thank you for another great video! I always learn a ton of helpful information from your content! The Hornady +p is my summer carry load in my snub nose.

Paul is the BEST! I always learn something in his videos.

Always outstanding and informative keep up the good work Mr. Harrell. Sorry about Oregon's 114 coming up, much luck from WA.

Thanks so much for testing these 38 spl. Would have loved to see the GD 135 +P in the meat target, but the grocery needs some meat for food. As someone below commented, the Hornady CD seems to be a good round in several calibers, maybe not the very best but good. Also, thanks for using a snub .38. So many testers use longer-barreled guns that what are most frequently actually carried.

A man who has good taste in guns, cars, and music. My kinda guy. Pure badass.

Never considered a .38 video all that big a deal, but it was fascinating watching your material as always, Paul, and that really was a lot of great info and of course great presentation. Thanks again

Glad to see that the 80 grain regular pressure had some expansion. A lot of hollow points in regular pressure don't expand out of a 2" barrel. I have a couple of non plus p 38's that might benefit from some Hornady 80 grain ammo. I've carried wad cutters in 60 and 70 year old pre plus p revolvers figuring a perfect circular hole in the intended target is better than no expansion out of more conventional ammo.

I like those critical defense +P's in my Cobra. They seem to have very reliable performance from every test I've watched, they have a very manageable recoil, and hidden benefit. I like to carry speed strips in my pocket much of the time and with the FTX tip I don't worry as much about rubbing a bunch of lead out in my pants.

Great video. Thanks Paul!

Very informative video Paul. Thank you!!

I was really looking forward to seeing that gold dot ammo on the meat target. Maybe that was in an earlier presentation? It seems like the gold dot often, but not always, performs well.

I would have liked to see the Gold Dot 130, against the meat target. Oh well great video as usual.

I carry a model 637 Smith regularly. Your video has helped reinforce my choice of the Hornady 110 Critical Defense ammo for carry. As always, I enjoy the honest, unbiased, information from each of your videos. Thank you.

Really enjoyed this vlog Paul. Thanks

If I switch from my 327 Fed Mags and carry my 357 SP101 I load with Federal HST 38 but due to the wadcutter profile I carry Gold Dot 357 in my speedloaders. My friend and I tested this in our meat target variation we call the New England meat target because we use a Carhartt barn coat for the outer covering. But the 38 HST performed impressively in our testing.

I appreciate Paul’s knowledge and efforts. Demonstrating .38 Special loads from a two inch barrel is always of interest to me. A .38 Special handgun was the first handgun I ever fired, and Ive always had at least one around since I’ve been old enough to buy handguns. While there’s a lot of emphasis places on the new high tech hollow points, others that test to FBI protocol don’t show significant performance improvements with the more modern designs from a two inch. I’d carry Gold Dot 135 short barrel if I could find it. Light fast bullets such as Critical Defense don’t shoot point of aim out of a two inch but 148-158 grain does. I am amused by the controversy on other sites over his signature meat targets not being based in scientific reality like ballistic gel. Why people get wrapped up around the axle over that I don’t know.

This was above and beyond. Thank you

very good informative video as usual quality stuff, Paul.

The 38 special J frame is one of the best EDC options out there. It is a balance of firepower, ease of carry and safety. My J frames and Bond Arms derringer are the only ones I will AIWB. Everything else is pointed somewhere else.

Excellent video as always Paul. My favorite gun is my 70s Detective Special and I carry it with standard pressure Hornady CDs because I want it to last. Of my selection of carry guns it has the fastest draw and ties with my PPK/s for best natural point aim, so I don't feel under gunned without +P ammo. If I have to go somewhere where I am at more risk than normal in my small town, the big city for example, I always bring my commander 1911 and it's Hornady Critical Duty 45s.

Thank you for the great video! I carry the critical defense 110 grain in my Sp101. Now I have even more confidence in that round.

Another great... Well produced.. and we'll thought out video for us... Thanks again

Glad you mentioned that every individual gun will have its own individual preferences. Also glad you shot the meat target with the Wad Cutters. Also one more criteria that would make Wad Cutters a good choice for personal defense is if your EDC shoots Wad Cutters better than the various Hollow Points. I have one that’s ridiculously difficult for me to get any good groups and impossible to get POIs that match POA. Honestly think a 4-6” Model 10 would be a better carry gun than my particular S&W M&P Bodyguard 38.

I liked this particular lesson since I keep a Taurus model 608 in .357 mag on my bed time /night table next to the bed. It's not all that expensive, a double/single action revolver that I'd not worry all that much when the police keep it through out their course of determination process. Like, "that too expensive to be out of commission for me" time table? Hence the use of a cost effective tool for the specific application.Also, this feels like a more realistic approach to the nightstand by the bed use test.

Thanks for the upload Paul, one of the few notifications I actually pay attention to..

Possibly put the box of the chosen ammo in the foreground on the table. Thanks again, you’re the best! I learn something every time.

I sure like you man and your sense of humor and you are on board with newer technologies and I think it's a little funny cause you try so hard to not go for some of these new hyper ammo but you sure are honest 😉 lol lol we love you and watching you from central KY thanks

An excellent video, as always. My choice of carry ammo in my j-frame is currently based on what I have the most of. Or, I should say, the second most of: some older 125 gr Silvertip +P rounds. I have those right now as what I have the most of is Federal +p 158 gr Nyclad LSWCHPs (my old PD's old issue .38 ammo), and the Silvertip is a little less unpleasant to crank off from an airweight snubby. I was looking at those Hornady Critical Defense rounds for when I run out of or retire those Silvertips. Looks like they might be just the ticket if my gun likes them.

I've missed you Paul. There is no one quite like you!! The analysis you do is unique to you. In my judgement. I don't find your tests to be tedious. There is subtle humor in almost everything you do, please keep doing it this way. Also, there are ballot measures coming up in Oregon about the 2A-- any thoughts?

One of the better and most informative videos I've seen from any guntube channel. Thanks man.

My Sunday just got better.

One other thing to remember is that most .38s are designed to most accurate and to point of aim with a 158gr bullet.

Very informative as usual! Thanks!

appreciate your commitment to quality info!

Lucky Gunner is the most logical proponent of considering wadcutter ammo. The biggest reasons being that low recoil allows more accurate follow up shots especially for occasional shooters and the difference between wounds from a wadcutter and hollow point is t enough difference to make a difference when it comes to stopping an attack.