Ammo Review: Federal’s spicy HST Micro .38 SPL snub nose load
By Chris Eger
The new HST Micro .38 load is billed as being optimized for the most efficiency and accuracy in subcompact handguns. (Photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Expanding on the line of +P personal defense loads taking aim at those packing subcompact handguns, Federal’s new 130-grain .38 Special round packs a punch.
Resembling traditional wadcutter ammo, the jacked hollow-point HST Micro is no plinker and uses deep-seated bullets to eliminate air inside the case, producing more consistent powder burn rates. They use a nickel-plated brass case with waterproofing on the case mouth and primer, with a tapered jacket profile. Federal uses a cannelure groove that locks the copper jacket to the lead core, a six-petal design that mushrooms out as it travels down a wound channel.
The HST uses a nickel-plated brass case with waterproofing on the case mouth and primer, with a tapered jacket profile
While the HST bullet line dates to 2002 and has long been popular in law enforcement use, the HST Micro series is much newer, with a 99-grain .380 ACP and 150-grain 9mm load recently introduced, and now augmented by the .38.
The loading is optimized for performance from “micro guns” i.e. snub-nosed revolvers, which have never really gone out of style. As it
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