1911luver

Now that federal is reintroducing the .38 special nyclad rounds does anyone know if these are available yet from federal's website yet,if not when will it become available? I think these would be a great round for my older airweight snubs that are not +p rated guns.

Also wasn't the nyclad round THE ROUND in standard pressure .38's for self defense with a snub nose back in the day? Also I understand it was an excellent performer in the expansion and penetration departments as well?.

pffftt

Well, they're listed on Federal's site as the P38M but I haven't found any for purchase yet. Heck, 38 ammo's getting harder to find, period.
I found some old test data here which suggests that it expanded well in gelatin, but not when it had to go through denim first. It whizzed right through 18" and kept on going.

AZ Husker

That was the first infamous "bulletproof vest killer" round. There were all kinds of horror stories about the "teflon bullet". In actuality, it wasn't that great a performer back then.

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Superhouse 15

I am a big fan of them. I have a stockpile in .38, .38+P, and .357. They worked fine, but if you carried them in speedloaders or speed strips, the Nylon eventually got pretty worn. They were the only decent .38 non +P load around when dinosaurs ruled the Earth. I still have part of a box of Smith and Wesson brand Nyclads marked .38 Chief's Special somewhere.

ExSoldier

I haven't seen nyclads since I was in college in the late 1970s. Back then they were a perfect defense load for the 38 snubbie as they were one of the very few rounds to reliably expand after being fired under standard pressure from a snubbie. When I got my first ccw permit in my senior year it was all I carried in my Charter Arms "Undercover." They're back? I'd loved to get some for my S&W M642. Too bad, the Charter is loooooong gone.

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rachilders

I still have a few of those blue boxes of 9mm and .38 I got back in the 80's. I seem to remember it was about $10 a box back then, big bucks when you consider most ammo was $5 or less for a box of 50. It worked pretty well, but with the many EXCELLENT SD loads available these days, I seriously doubt if I'd spend the extra money on them if the bullet design hasn't been updated from the original. In fact, the main reason I still have those boxes of bullets is they were replaced by better performing ammo that (if you figure in inflation) is cheaper and the original S&W's are probably worth more as a collector item than anything else these days.

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Superhouse 15

The Nyclad was (well, is, now) a dead soft lead bullet with a baked on blue Nylon coating. The only purpose of the Nylon was to keep the soft lead from fouling the barrel of whatever you shot it in and keeping powder gas from burning lead off of the base of the bullet. The Nylon wasn't thick enough to interfere with expansion like a copper jacket would be, so they expanded at low velocity.

The Teflon coated bullet was the KTW, the initials of the designers IIRC. It had a green Teflon paint coating and was a jacketed flat point. The Teflon was to protect the bore from the soild brass bullet. I believe the brass construction had more to do with the armor piercing than the Teflon. A pic:
http://www.recguns.com/Pictures/Images/ktw1.jpg
Not the same. The only thing the two have in common is that they are bullets coated in something synthetic.

I've seen some, as well as some THV and some Winchester Hiway Master ammo, and I've actually fired some PMC Ultra mag before it was restricted. That was in .38 also.

Miggy

Frome I heard out there, the Nyclads will be available after the SHOT show

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GunFreeZone.net

pffftt

I just picked up my first .38 snub (first wheelgun, for that matter), primarily for the Mrs. to see how she likes shooting something a bit more powerful than the .22. She is very small in stature and not very strong in her wrists, so I was thinking of starting her off with Nyclads. I'd be interested to hear what ammo you more experienced shooters would recommend as an alternative for practice as well as SD, since the Nyclad is not yet on the market.

Superhouse 15

The 130gr FMJs are pretty mild and pretty clean. The 148gr lead wadcutters are pretty mild, but can be dirty. Usually they are match target loads and some are more expensive than other practice ammo, too. I imagine the 130gr and the 125gr non +P loads will be pretty similar feeling.