Federal Nyclad .38Spl.

[cathellsk]

DocGKR,

Are you guys going to be testing the rereleased Federal Nyclad 125gr. HP .38Spl.? The product code is P38M. I just picked up three 50rd. boxes. They are in the new white boxes with black lettering.

[DocGKR]

Sure...if our distributor gets some we can give it a quick test.

[TOrrock]

I still have some from 15 years ago. I used to carry it in my old Model 38 Bodyguard.

Seemed like a good load for a snubby back then.

[Glock17JHP]

I seem to recall it had a very soft lead bullet under that blue nylon material. It seemed to mushroom extremely well, so I would have fears it may not penetrate deeply enough by today's standards...

[cathellsk]

Thanks guys. Doc, I'll be keeping an eye out for your results.

[Littlebear]

Talk about a trip down memory lane... The last time I carried Nyclad was in an old S&W 640 in Houston in 1992... That round seemed do do real well out of a snubby, considering the short barrel.

[Glock17JHP]

If it does well in Bare genatin, I would be concerned about performance in 4 Layers of Denim or Heavy Clothing, etc...

10-4 on the memory lane comment, Littlebear... I checked my collection... I still have an expanded bullet, pulled unfired bullet and a live round... Yep, memories for me, too!!!

[Gomez]

Any updated data available, yet?

As I recall, it never did very well in IWBA tests when it was availalbe. Something like 7 or 8 inches in bare gel and shooting out the back of the blocks during the 4-layer denim test.

[BillBond]

When it was discontiunued I stashed away several cases of it since I liked it so much.
About a year ago I noticed it had obtained a cult status on S&W forums so I sold it all at a nice profit.

:cool:

[tpd223]

I recall not being impressed with this load, can't remember why now.

If one wants a non +P .38 the new Hornady ammo seems like a better choice.

[Tennvol12345]

Unless there have been changes to the Nyclad bullet you should take a look at Corbon DPX and the Speer Gold Dot load.

[Lumpy196]

I recall not being impressed with this load, can't remember why now.





When you recall some factual information please feel free to add it to this discussion.

[Lumpy196]

Unless there have been changes to the Nyclad bullet you should take a look at Corbon DPX and the Speer Gold Dot load.



OK, why?

[tpd223]

"When you recall some factual information please feel free to add it to this discussion."

Well, OK then, no need to be pompous.


Having looked up some old notes on testing we did here, the load in bare gelatin penetrates 8-9", consistently failed to expand through heavy clothing, this from a S&W 642

This would be why I wasn't impressed, memory was a bit rusty on numbers, but I recall things being as Gomez posted. I have no idea why this loading has achieved such cult status.

Demonstrated superior performance in testing would likely be why the other loads were suggested by tenvol, but I'm sure he can speak for himself.

This is also likely why Doc Roberts makes the broad brush statement in his post on BUG ammo;

With few exceptions, such as the Speer 135 gr +P JHP and Barnes XPB, the vast majority of .38 Sp JHP's fail to expand when fired from 2" barrels in the 4 layer denim test. Many of the lighter JHP's demonstrate overexpansion and insufficient penetration in bare gel testing. Also, the harsher recoil of the +P loads in lightweight J-frames tends to minimize practice efforts and decrease accuracy for many officers. The 158 gr +P LSWCHP offers adequate penetration, however in a 2" revolver the 158gr +P LSWCHP does not reliably expand. If it fails to expand, it will produce less wound trauma than a WC. Target wadcutters offer good penetration, cut tissue efficiently, and have relatively mild recoil. With wadcutters harder alloys and sharper leading edges are the way to go. Wadcutters perform exactly the same in both bare and 4 layer denim covered gel when fired from a 2" J-frame. For example, the Win 148 gr LWC: VEL = 657 f/s, PEN = 20"+, RD = 0.36", RL = 0.64", RW = 147.4 gr

On the Firearms Tactical site I found this testing from a 3" model 13, FBI testing;

Test Gun S&W M13 Barrel Length 3" Velocity 897 fps

Bare Gelatin Clothed Gelatin
Penetration Expansion Penetration Expansion


10.85" 0.60" 14.55" 0.45"


OK performance, but not great, and there are certainly better loads available.

[DocGKR]

Probably because the original 125 gr Nyclad overexpanded and suffered insufficient penetration in bare gel, tended to plug-up against heavy clothing and not expand, and broke apart against auto windshields...