Hornady Critical Defense 38 Special Lite – Ideal Low Recoil Load

Description

The Hornady Critical Defense 38 Special Lite exists because of a real and common problem: someone buys a small light revolver for carry, fires a cylinder of full power 38 Special +P through it, and never shoots it again. A 90 grain FTX at 1200 fps produces about 288 ft-lbs with far less recoil, and the bullet still opens properly through clothing.

• Hornady Critical Defense 38 Special Lite Overview
• Low Recoil 38 Special Ammo Ballistics
• Why The 90 Grain FTX Bullet Still Expands
• Specifications
• Revolvers That Suit This Lightweight Snub Nose Carry Load

Hornady Critical Defense 38 Special Lite Overview

Hornady item 90300 loads a 90 grain FTX bullet to a nominal 1200 fps, producing roughly 288 ft-lbs at the muzzle. Twenty five rounds per box.

Hornady publishes the curve from a four inch test barrel: 1200 fps and 288 ft-lbs at the muzzle, 1037 fps and 215 ft-lbs at fifty yards, and 938 fps and 176 ft-lbs at a hundred.

The Lite designation is not a marketing flourish. Hornady drops the bullet weight from the standard Critical Defense 110 grain down to 90 and tunes the powder charge to match, which cuts felt recoil substantially while keeping velocity high enough for the bullet to work.

There is an argument, and it is a good one, that the best defensive load is the one you will practise with. A snub nose revolver loaded with punishing ammunition tends to live in a drawer unfired, and a gun its owner cannot shoot well is not doing much for them.

Low Recoil 38 Special Ammo Ballistics

At 1200 fps a 90 grain bullet produces about 288 ft-lbs, from grains times velocity squared divided by 450437. The standard 110 grain Critical Defense 38 Special runs about 1090 fps for roughly 290 ft-lbs, so the energy figures are nearly identical.

What differs is the recoil impulse. Momentum is what the shooting hand feels, and 90 grains at 1200 fps gives 108,000 grain-feet per second against 119,900 for the 110 grain load. That is about a ten percent reduction, and in a fifteen ounce revolver it is very noticeable.

Out of a two inch snub these numbers drop. Expect roughly a hundred feet per second less than the four inch figure, which still leaves the FTX bullet moving fast enough to open reliably.

Muzzle flash also drops with the lighter charge. A bright fireball in a dark room can leave you unable to see your sights for several seconds, and low recoil 38 Special ammo loaded this way produces noticeably less of it.

Why The 90 Grain FTX Bullet Still Expands

The FTX bullet answers the oldest problem with hollow points. Fired through heavy clothing, a conventional cavity can pack full of fabric and the bullet then behaves like solid ball ammunition, sailing straight through without opening.

Hornady fills the cavity with a soft polymer Flex Tip. There is nothing for fabric to pack into, and on impact the tip is driven rearward into the bullet, pushing the jacket open from the inside. Expansion starts because of the tip rather than in spite of the clothing.

That mechanism matters more at reduced velocity than at high velocity. A fast heavy bullet has energy to spare for opening a conventional cavity; a 90 grain FTX bullet at 1200 fps does not, and the Flex Tip is what makes the lighter load viable at all.

The cannelure and the crimp are worth a mention too. In a light revolver, recoil can pull bullets forward out of the unfired cases and tie the cylinder up. Hornady crimps these firmly, and a reduced recoil defensive ammunition load has less force working against it in the first place.

Penetration is the honest trade. A 90 grain bullet does not drive as deep as a 158 grain semi-wadcutter, and Hornady tunes the FTX to expand moderately rather than dramatically so that it still reaches useful depth.

Specifications

Revolvers That Suit This Lightweight Snub Nose Carry Load

This is standard pressure 38 Special, not +P, so it is safe in any 38 Special revolver in sound working order including older and lightweight guns that are not rated for +P.

It is aimed squarely at the small frame carry revolver: the Smith & Wesson 442, 642 and 637, the Ruger LCR and SP101, the Colt Detective Special and Cobra, the Taurus 856 and the Charter Arms Undercover.

It also works in any 357 Magnum revolver, since a 357 chamber accepts 38 Special. If a full power magnum load is more than you want to shoot, this is a sensible thing to keep in the cylinder.

If you own a Charter Arms or another very light revolver, this is worth trying on its own merits. A lightweight snub nose carry load that you can shoot a full box of in one session is worth more than a heavier one you flinch through.

Reduced Recoil Defensive Ammunition Availability

This Hornady Critical Defense 38 Special Lite is in stock and ships from our Collegeville, Pennsylvania shop. MAG5 Firearms is a family owned FFL dealer, and orders of this reduced recoil defensive ammunition normally leave within one business day.

The semi-automatic equivalent is the Hornady Critical Defense 9mm Lite. For a smaller pocket pistol see the Hornady Critical Defense 32 ACP FTX, and if you want full magnum performance from the same revolver the Hornady Critical Duty 357 Mag FlexLock is the step up. Full ballistics are published by Hornady.