Buffalo Bore Ammunition Personal Defense - 38 S&W - 125 Gr Hard Cast Flat Nose - 20 Rnd/Bx

In order to make this cartridge more lethal for defense against humans, Buffalo Bore designed hard cast (not soft) bullets that will not deform on impact and will maintain their flat nose profile as they penetrate through muscle and bone and because of their flat nose, they crush (not slip and slide) through mammalian tissues, doing considerable damage along their path. Then added velocity by using modern powders that will give extra velocity and remain within the SAAMI pressure limits of 13,000 CUP. The result is a lethal cartridge that brings new usefulness to these old pistols. In fact, this load is as powerful as most ordinary 38 SPL ammo currently being made, by most ammunition companies! Depending on how much clothing must be penetrated and how much bone is encountered, expect 22 to 30 inches of straight-line penetration in mammalian tissue with this load. This 125gr. hard cast bullet is moving roughly 250 fps faster than other commercial ammo we tested of the same bullet weight and due to bullet design, this load was more accurate than other commercial loads we tested. The use of jacketed expanding ammunition in this weak cartridge would be a mistake as even if you could get a jacketed bullet to expand at these velocities, doing so would limit penetration significantly enough that the bullet would certainly under-penetrate and as a result would likely not be deadly to humans. Also, hard cast bullets are more “slick” than jacketed bullets and hence generate more velocity at less pressure than comparable jacketed bullets. This ammunition is safe to use in ANY solid frame revolver that is in ordinary shooting condition. “Solid frame” means any revolver that is not a top break frame. “Ordinary shooting condition”, means ANY revolver that is in condition to fire any factory made, 38 S&W ammo, without malfunction. Have a competent gunsmith check your revolver for “ordinary shooting condition” if you have doubts, as many of these revolvers are very old and some imports were made of questionable quality as manufacturing techniques and materials were not advanced one hundred+ years ago. Be certain to take a copy of this press release to your gunsmith, so he can understand the context of your questions.

The only two top break (not solid frame) revolver manufacturers that can use this ammunition are British Enfield and Webley. Both these models feature heavy frames and robust latches that resist deformation. All other “top break” models should never be fired with this ammunition.

Buffalo Bore have continued their practice of using real over-the-counter revolvers to develop our published velocities of this ammunition. The duplicitous practice of using extra-long laboratory barrels to develop published velocities is deceptive to the customer. Real world users of firearms and ammunition need to know how the ammunition is performing in the real world, where it matters.