Shoot a guy with a .38 +P and he'll be just as dead as if you shoot him with a .357, and you'll have quicker follow up shots (that adrenaline you speak of doesn't improve your hit ratio.), without the flash bang effect and the BOOM of a .357. And not everybody who has been in a firefight has experienced the auditory exclusion that people tout as law on the internet. And even if they do experience it, the damage to you hearing is still done. You're well armed with a good .38 +P round.