Considering how old this cartridge is, it seems still to be very popular with gun owners. Seeing how many more powerful rounds that are out there why hasn't the .38spl have not been phased out yet?

(.38spl owner)

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ACF

Because it works very well - it's very accurate, not too difficult to shoot, and quite capable when placed right. (The "placed right" part is essential with any defensive handgun, of course.) A number of really well-designed guns are chambered in it.

Power is not everything - I have yet to work on a shooting with a magnum in which a .38 Special would not have sufficed, nor yet seen a failure with a .38 Special that would have been cured by using a magnum. I know that such exist, but they're not at all ordinary. Reading about hunting I've come to realize that what magnums seem to buy a person is range, which is almost never a concern with defensive handgun usage.

The marketing boys will forever try to sell us on higher-speed/lower-drag "improvements," but what's quietly worked for a century continues to do so.

old != ineffective. In my opinion, it is the best combination of power, shootability, and size. The guns that shoot it are reliable and simple to operate. Why mess with a good thing?

Hi:
Low recoil, accurate, fast handling and the "J" and "K" frames are ideal size.
More bullet options.
Jimmy

It's very accurate, powerful enough for self defense, and easy to reload. It is chambered for small pocket carry guns but can also be fired in the larger .357 mag models. As long as revolvers are popular, I believe the .38 Special will be around.

Everything that the gents said already.
Arguably it (and the 9X19) are the most widely used handgun calibers on the planet. Something usually doesn't get and stay that popular for that long, W/O good reasons.

I consider the 38 Special to be akin to the 30-06. Both represent the top end of what the average person can handle well recoil wise. You don't see either discussed much in shooting mags because after over 100 years there is not much new and exciting left to say about them. Just about anyone can be taught to handle a M10 38 Special well without an unreasonable amount of instruction. The M10 points naturally, are reliable, and just about as simple a mechanical device as could be designed for their purpose. The cartridge has enough power to do what it was designed for without excessive recoil.

That statement nails it: "powerful enough" is the key. More than enough is, well, more than enough. Like Frank Zappa said, "anything over a mouthful is wasted." Most thirty-eights have more than enough kinetic energy at fifty yards to crush human bone. And since most defensive requirements are well short of that, well, as was said, "powerful enough".

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Not legal advice/solicitation

Erich's reply should be some kind of "sticky"!
It is the most succinct distillation of that never-ending issue.
I wish that I had thought of it.

Regards,

Tam 3

If power were the primary criteria on which we based what handgun we chose to shoot, we'd all be using 500S&WMags for all of our handgun needs, and 50BMGs for long arms. The .22LR is not very powerful, and yet still seems to be quite popular.

might have something to do with the tens of thousands of guns out there that can fire it.

38 Special is a very versatile round. It has been chambered in a few pistols (Colt Gold Cup National Match 38MR, S&W 52, 52-1/52-2 and a Sig) as the flush seated 148 full wadcutter and at the other end loaded to +P+. There seems to be a load for just about any reasonable use.

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Lynnie, Professional Pest

Thanks, Tam 3! Be careful about encouraging me, though, lest I blather on even more!

10-4 on the sticky. I have already copied it, enlarged it, and taped a copy on the wall.

I remember 35 years ago thinking how useless the dinky little .38 special was. I was 25 then, and I also wondered what that 50 year old Deputy saw in that 40 year old waitress he was meeting every night after they both got off work.

Times, and perceptions of utility, change, don't they, whether it be women or handgun cartridges we are talking about. How did I get to that thought? Oh yeah, that Deputy carried a Model-10, too.

Thanks, Erich.

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Georgia On My Mind

I love the .38-Special cartridge, especially with heavy bullets pushed pretty hard. Because even then it is so manageable.

It could be the most "do all" cartridge that I shoot.

I've had a long lasting love affair with the .38 Spl. Just yesterday, on a trip to the range to try out some rimfires, I ran about twenty-five rounds of .38 Spl. through my carry J frame.

I found about three boxes of fifty reloads. These were dated 1989...twenty years ago. I loaded these plated cases with 148 gr wadcutters over a light charge of WW231! These were such sweet loads. Twenty years old, dead on accurate....and as a bonus, the smell of that WW231 was like perfume from heaven.

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G.P. Charlie

Eric
That post sounds like "Accurate enough- Powerful enough-Fast enough"
Now if you can Accurater-Powerfuller-Faster is more "er" better?

Another cheer for the posters above.

More powerful is not always more better.

The .38 special is just about the ideal cartridge for most realistic requirements regarding training, recreational shooting, close range small game, target shooting, and self defense within a package of reasonable recoil and report.

Until human evolution give us natural body armor or civilization devolution requires daily wearing of body armor, the .38 special is just fine.

Why are new cartridges & guns so popular? In my opinion, it is because it's hard to make money off selling revolvers with a 100 year service life.

I agree, my friend: marketing.


Groo, I don't think so - I am of the opinion that overpenetration is a very scary possibility. I've seen it happen in three cases - that is to say I've seen three cases in which overpenetration led to unintended injury to a bystander. Heck with that! Mas is right when he warns about this.

I really Love the .38 Special round. It is a dream to shoot and is very reliable as well as accurate. I shoot it primarily in my old 686.

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In the absence of light darkness prevails.

I agree with all the above. I would add two points:

1) It is an extremely pleasant cartridge to reload. It is super easy to cast bullets for it, there is a huge variety of bullets to choose from, and the right dose of just about any fast to medium burning will result in an excellent load.

2) Wadcutters! Of all the joys of shooting, perhaps the best is shooting light .38 wadcutters out of a good revolver, and watching them form a tiny group, each hole cut perfectly into the paper.

delete due to

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Fair winds and following sea

+1 I couldn't agree more!

I never set out to love the .38 Special but it's been a lucky cartridge for me and has wormed its way into my affections. In field use against varmints and critters it's been amazingly effective.

Mr. McGilvray, in my humble opinion, deserves homage as a torchbearer prophet of the .38 Special through times when it was not given proper respect. I gratefully trace my renewed appreciation of the wonderful round to his low-key evangelism.

Yep, sometimes it's all about enjoying light loads, tight groups and no stress...

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Daniel.

Jeff Cooper must be spinning up there in the big shooting sky.

Such heresy!

With one ten gazillion Smith & Wesson K and J frame .38 Special revolvers floating around out there, it will never be phased out.

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Centennial Every Day

Over the years it has turned into my favorite handgun cartridge. Fun, economical, effective. What else needs to be said.

Both guns shoot 38spl

" Wadcutters! Of all the joys of shooting, perhaps the best is shooting light .38 wadcutters out of a good revolver, and watching them form a tiny group, each hole cut perfectly into the paper."




Whoops, wrong brand but still a joy.