(Wrong forum?) :-)

Well, first off, if you look at the original stuff from Tueller, and then the follow up material from others who have worked on the topic, 21 feet from a determined attacker with a contact weapon (knife, club, beer bottle, whatever) is WAY TOO CLOSE.

Second, if one work with their J frame and develops appropriate proficiency and mindset, using decent ammo (as I often said, I have gone full reactionary and prefer WC/SWC for such, although I would seriously consider the Black Hills standard pressure loading with the Barnes all copper HP), it cane be a functional weapon well past that distance. FOR ME, a J frame .38 is a BUG only except in very limited circumstances, so that analysis is a bit off, but there can be some for whom it is a primary for a lot of good reasons.

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NHI, 10-8.