The HP/M28 was brought out for users, including LE, who desired a .357 magnum but could not afford the pre-27/27 of the time. Not a lot of LE agencies were supportive of the .357, so most who carried it were carrying their own, and the price made a difference. (I read a lot of the strings about the HD/M20, and there were a lot of agencies that issued it, or so it seems.) (And remember that training at the time was PRIMITIVE, so shooting a full house magnum in social encounters was much more difficult.) The M58 was a purpose built model trying to address the lame performance of the .38 without the blast of a full house hunting load, and the goal was to sell it to the LE agencies for use with the SWC. If the better training that started in the 80s had been around in the post WW2 era, and cops had carried the SWC in a decent .38 load, it is possible that revolvers would be more common in cop holsters today.

Being a smarty pants, I qualified with the hunting load in my M58, under a covered firing point. I was referred to by many profane terms during that process. Fixed sights made a lot of sense, but I find those on a revolver hard to see well enough in a hurry. My M58 has a fiber optic rod now and has had the rear trough opened up - it's almost like an XS sight in that if I get the front in my view and put on the center mass area, the target is toast.

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NHI, 10-8.