.38 +P, more accurate than regular .38 special?

fat tony

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I am priveliged to have shot a really nice revolver, a .38 S&W HD, usually we shoot Federal American Eagle 158 Grain Lead Round Nose, however he had some +P ammo he gave some of it to me to try in it, man it seemed easier to get hits with it, whereas the American Eagle stuff is kind of hit or miss(maybe it's just me lol,) any impressions?.
 
Generally it is not as accurate(the heavy stuff)...the most accurate ammo has mostly been wadcutter ammo loaded light, though every gun tells a dif. story.The wadcutter ammo, either factory or reloaded is what was always used in Bullseye competition or PPC.
 
Accuracy comes from a number of factors, but basically you need a combination of bullet shape and mass with a certain rate of spin to produce maximum stability in the bullet's flight. With a +P load the bullet is travelling faster and therefore spins faster, relative to the twist rate of the barrel. It is certainly possible that the twist rate of that gun works best with the faster-moving bullet. Another gun with a different twist could work best with a slower bullet. Either could respond differently with bullets of a different weight.
 
Generally it is not as accurate(the heavy stuff)...the most accurate ammo has mostly been wadcutter ammo loaded light, though every gun tells a dif. story.The wadcutter ammo, either factory or reloaded is what was always used in Bullseye competition or PPC.

Wadcutters are not necessarily more accurate, they cut a cleaner hole and make scoring easier.
 
The revolver is going to vibrate during the firing process... From the time you squeeze until the time the bullet leaves the barrel is the "Internal ballistics" phase of the bullet's flight... the way the gun vibrates is the key... and every load combination will make it vibrate in a unique way. It's entirely possible that the vibration pattern of the +P load is more agreeable to the revolver than the LRN stuff you had been using. Each and every copy of that same gun will vibrate slightly differently too. There is also a theory that a higher pressure load will clear the end of the muzzle faster, therefore leaving the shooter less time to affect the shot due to issues with technique....

Just try a whole bunch of loads, find something that it likes and then shoot it lots!
 
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