Well, this has been discussed previously, or at least I seem to recall a discussion concerning practical carry of revolvers chambered for the .38 S&W.

Anyway, I carried one as a back up for many years. Many detectives I worked with carried them as well. Chopped and bobbed Colt Police Positive models and S&W Terrier's were very popular pocket pieces. The customized Colt's were a favorite, probably because it was smaller than the Detective Special and had a six round cylinder compared with the five shot S&W Terrier or Chief Special. These types of guns and a host of smaller caliber handguns carried as backups were commonly referred to as a "New York Reload."

As for the cartridge, by today's standard it is admittedly anemic when compared with the wide variety of .38 Spl. +P and the small and lightweight .357 revolvers produced on the J frame by S&W. However, I don't believe I would feel particularly underarmed carrying one for personal defense and yes, it is a very controllable cartridge to rapid fire. Availability and cost of factory produced ammunition may be an issue in and of itself. I think quite a few guys on the forum reload it though and could offer comments concerning that. The 38/200 military ball cartridge had a reputation as a notoriously poor performer. Despite this, it certainly must have killed and disabled many enemy troops. For what it's worth, S&W continued to produce the Model 32 Terrier up until the 60's. I believe that with the right handload and perhaps a jacketed hollowpoint bullet it could certainly be as effective as any .380 ACP, .32 ACP. or for that matter, .32 Long. Though unlikely any commercial manufacturer would undertake the development of a correctly sized bullet today. So I suppose I'm suggesting that one's perspective might rationalize an answer to your question. Personally, I don't think anybody is lining up to volunteer to be shot with one!