Originally Posted by Rastoff

Why would anyone disagree with you? The venerable .38SPL is a great round and a very good self-defense load.

I would caution anyone about heavy loads in guns designed for .38SPL though.

There is no standard for loads hotter than +P. All we know about +P+ is that they are making more pressure. They don't perform better and don't do more damage. They DO put more wear on the gun and can potentially damage the gun. Also, because there's no standard, the cartridge to cartridge consistency is suspect. I would not use +P+ in any of my .38SPL guns.

If she puts the rounds where they need to go, standard .38SPL is fine and it won't hurt to shoot.