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Federal Classic Hi-Shock .38 +P

8K views 10 replies 6 participants last post by  corky 
#1 ·
I'd appreciate opinions on this now discontinued Federal Hi-Shock 125 grain JHP load (38E). Is it still considered a viable self-defense choice? I ask because I have the opportunity to purchase a large number of boxes at a very low price. Thanks-- c
 
#2 ·
Hello,

I haven't fired very much of this load (due to not shooting my J-Frames too often) but I have carried it in them for the last 15 years and would certainly jump on getting more of it at a good price (especially in the current times), even thow I don't view this load as being the best choice for the .38 Snub.
 
#4 ·
Thanks Jerry and Bob,

A state agency down here just shifted to .40 S & W and dumped lots of .38s, which a local dealer purchased. He's giving me a very special deal and I'm going to jump on it.

Has Federal actually dropped the line? There was no reference to the .38 Hi-Shocks on their website. --c
 
#5 ·
I don't know for sure, Corky, but from all the reading I've done on it I believe so. The take I get is that it was the previous generation load that was made prior to the HydraShok. The latest ad I can find for any of it was an '07 ad for some .40 caliber stuff from a canceled police contract. Sorry I can't do any better than that.

Jerry
 
#8 ·
Corky said:
Mike, If it's LE ammo now, but Cheaper Than Dirt offers it, it would seem that sales are not restricted to law enforcement personnel only. Does anybody know the rationale for advertising it only on their LE site? --c
I'm pretty sure I've seen comments, including from Mr.Camp, that there is no law against selling "LE" ammo of this type to the general public.
I could imagine that Federal and W-W prefer to limit their +P+ to LE to reduce the possibility that a civilian might put it in some old or substandard weapon and blow it up.
I have purchased Federal 9BPLE, W-W 9mm 127 +P+ and W-W Ranger .45 on line with no problems.

I think you'll find these at various on-line sites. I've heard that they are also readily available at gun shows.

Bill
 
#9 ·
Hello. There is no federal law prohibiting private citizens owning or using any expanding LE-restricted ammunition. I am not aware of what might or might be state laws in some of the "leftist states". Without getting a whole topic going on goofy and needless gun laws, politics and prohibitions that we avoid here like the black death, I suspect it goes back to the days of the Klintons and the Winchester Black Talon. With the negative publicity and rumblings from the anti-gun Congress about ammo bans, Winchester voluntarily fell on their sword and quit offering it for sale to the shooting public. They restricted it for sale to LE only, be it standard pressure or +P. The Black Talon line morphed into the Ranger LE seen today. I think that Federal is following suit although in the past the only stuff I saw from them that was restricted was +P+ loads sold to and used by agencies agreeing not to hold Federal liable for any possible firearm damage from using such hot loads.

Best.
 
#10 ·
I had a few fleeting thoughts on this subject as a result of some recent research. First, lots of makers prohibit the use of +P+ ammo in their guns. It will void your warranty. I don't mind that in Uncle Sams guns but will cooperate on my own. Sort of funny that way.

Next, as there appears to be no SAAMI standard for +P+ I have to question if the extra 100-200 fps gained for some unspecified pressure curve is worth the expense and trouble. +P+ is generally described to me for use in and around the glass and steel of automobiles. I can tell you that there is substantially more blast and noise than the +P loadings. I believe that the +P standard is described by SAAMI to be a 10% overload from the original turn of the last century specifications for old guns (Pre-1950?).

I thought, and I may have my info crossed here, that HiShoks were the line of JHPs before the Hydra Shoks. I see them in the Classic line. I also know that the 9BPLE, one of the most successful loadings ever produced in 9, used the Hydra Shok bullet. I think a lot of older 9BPLE has recently come onto the marked as a result of a new Hydra Shok bullet but I am not sure of my ground here.

I know that the "pink" talons in the WIN Ranger LE line have indeed evolved over time but I also know that REM, FED, WIN and SPR all compete on a regular basis for LE contracts. My LEO friends often remark that once the base line performance specs are established, the $$$$ becomes the driving issue in contracting.

As a result of all this, I generally look only at +P loadings and avoid the ultimate technological solution of "magic" bullets of +P+. The great NOLA coroner once remarked with words to the effect that in shootings like real estate, it is location, location, location that counts. The older I get the less I like all that extreme blast and noise.
 
#11 ·
Fellows,

The ammunition which I just purchased is labeled "Federal Classic 38 Special High Velocity (+P) 125 grain Hi-Shock Jacketed Hollow Point 38E." I am wondering if the load now on Federal's LE site is a +P+ version of this load. --c
 
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