Dave...you are right. In a revolver a .38 Special is much more practical. I had one of the .38 Super 627s and while a nice games gun that is all it was good for...so I sold it... I do however love the two 686s I have. As to cast bullets or shooting w/o moon clips in either gun I have no clue as almost all of my .38 Super shooting over the last 15 years has been with jacketed or plated bullets since the indoor range I shoot at went jacketed only.

As to saying the .38 Super is just a hotrodded .38 Auto, that isn't really correct. Although John Browning/Colt made the very bad error of simply using the .38 Auto case loaded to velocities that could be handled in the new 1911 pistols, .38 Super ammo was never intended to be fired in the old Colts that took the .38 Auto. Can Supers be fired in .38 Autos...yes, but they will beat the guns to death in short order.

And there is a "Modern .38 Special"...it is called the .357 Magnum. .38 Specials loaded to .357 Magnum velocities that can only be shot from a "modern" .38 Special that is nothing more than a short chambered .357 Magnum is not a .38 Special. .38 Special loads that will beat a gun rated for .38 Special +P to pieces are not .38 Specials.

One of my friends on Dallas PD killed a guy with his City Issue Model 15 using the 125 grain Sierra HP with enough powder to run 1250 fps...dropped the guy DRT. It also cracked the forcing cone of the barrel after just a few boxes because unlike the Model 19 .357 Magnum the 15 has much more unsupported barrel sticking out into the frame.

So you can call your Modern .38 Special anything you want like, .38 Special +P++, just like they did back in the 1930s with the .38/44, but you still can't shoot it in a real .38...

Bob