Two men here seem unclear on the issue: Keith was not shooting modern Plus P .38 ammo!

That formally clocks at just 890 FPS from a four-inch vented pressure barrel. In some cases, it willl actually deliver that, from longer barrels. The RCMP used to have ammo loaded to maybe 950 FPS from the five-inch bbls. of their M-10's. That was loaded by CIL, before they went to US ammo, I think.

Elmer used his own handloads, with his Lyman 358156 bullet (lead) and a hefty charge of 2400 powder, which I won't cite, due to possible changes in burning rates over the years. Check your manuals. You're looking for a charge that will launch the bullet at some 1200 FPS!

His .44 Magnum load went out at about 1400 FPS! And did not give excessive pressures, he thought, because cases ejected normally, unlike with many lots of factory ammo.

His .38-44 load was intended ONLY for .38-44 S&W guns and for Colt SAA, New Service, and Shooting Master models. It was NOT for M&P's, Official Polices, etc.

He especially recommended it for the S&W Combat Magnum, too, which he callled " a very fine little combat gun" with that load. With .357 factory ammo of that day (1960 or so), he got sticky extraction with many lots of ammo.

But he also said that the M-19 had very little barrel left to bell or crack in the forcing cone, which is untrue. He may not have actually seen or shot that model much,and was going by photos and what others told hm, or what he knew of pressures for that load.

Skeeter Skelton did use it a lot in his M-19's, though, and confirmed what Keith said. This is not a misprint; I know that Skeeter also liked the five-inch barelled M-27 a lot. But he often carried an M-19, too, especially at work in his LE jobs. (He also favored a fancy Colt Govt. 45 auto.)