Has the world really changed all that much?

[sleestak]

First let me say hello to everyone on the forum. After browsing the internet I figure this would be the forum for me.

About 4 months ago I lost my S&W model 10 revolver that I bought 18 years ago to a fire. It was the only gun I lost due to it not being in the safe but in my end table next to my bed. I recently received my reimbursement check and off to the gun shop I went. I have a couple bolt action rifles, a couple shotguns, and a Colt 1911. I just wanted to replace my model 10. The shop was slim pickings but amongst the few Semi-Auto pistols and well worn revolvers there was a brand new model 10 just begging to come home with me. I told the young man to ring it up for me. He then asked me if I was sure I wanted to purchase a .38 revolver. I asked "why wouldn't I be?". He replied that revolvers are outdated nowadays and that the .38 is a terrible manstopper. He continued on talking about lack of rounds, slow reloads and no stopping power. I bought it anyhow and I'm pretty sure they made fun of me as soon as I left the shop.

When I got home I looked online and it appears many others share his same opinion on the .38 Special and revolvers.

I'm 39 and I don't think I'm THAT old. I have always had faith that my revolver would be more than enough to protect me and my family. I can shoot double action with ease and I feel the .38 is a great round. I do like my 1911 but I have had extractors break and stove pipes before(although rare).

Has the human species evolved so much in the last 18 years as to not be affected by .38's?

Perhaps because everyone else has autos my choice in revolver is poor judgment?

Is the general feelings about revolvers correct and I'm just an outdated idiot or is the internet really full of dumbasses?

 

[Black_Sheep]

Welcome to the S&W Forum

The young mas is grossly misinformed. If what he said was really true, Registered Magnums would be a dime a dozen and I would be able to find a reasonably priced 3" Model 625. As far as lethality of the .38 Special round goes, there probably are better self defense calibers available but the .38 has been used for 100+ years with reasonable success...

 

[Dennis The B]

Nope. The only change is in the individual who doesn't understand shot placement, and has been raised on the "Wonder 9".

A 158gr RN lead bullet is not the greatest man stopper, but I surely wouldn't want to be on the receiving end.

A better choice is a +P round. Anything in the 125-130gr class, or even the old FBI load of the 158gr LSWCHP.

The question that needs answering above all, is, "How comfortable and confident are you in your weapon?" If you can't answer yes, then no weapon, no matter how powerful, will do the trick. The fight will probably last two-to-three rounds. Your Model 10 will hold six.

Since it's your bedside gun, you have to answer the additional question, "At 3:00AM, from a sound sleep, can I engage a bad guy, protecting my loved ones and me?"

For me, I keep a Colt 1911 Combat Commander. I'm absolutely confident in my ability to use it.

That you replaced your old Model 10, with a new one, and you bought it with confidence, tells me you made the right choice. I think you also know that you made the right choice.

Nuff said.

 

[KKECK5]

Let me first welcome you. I have the usually assortment of firearms. 22's, .380's, .38's and 40's....but my first was my .38 model 36 chief special. and we all know you NEVER forget your first.

 

[sophie]

Welcome to the forum from Texas.

You'll find plenty of .38 fans here for sure.

 

[moosedog]

The world has changed in the sense that we have learned a lot more about stopping power.
Even more so, we have also learned that a single intruder or car jacker is not as common as it used to be. Multiple adversarys are very much on the rise and very few of them carry 5 shot revolvers.

 

[sleestak]

That you replaced your old Model 10, with a new one, and you bought it with confidence, tells me you made the right choice. I think you also know that you made the right choice.

Nuff said.

I do believe I made the right choice. I am 100% confident in my weapon of choice and have put many many many rounds through my old revolver and plan on doing the same with my new one. The round count is second only to my trap/hunting shotgun.

I was truly amazed at how the attitude towards revolvers has changed. I am mostly a hunter and trap shooter so I do not stay up to date on the latest tactical man stopping gun of the month. It just blew my mind to find out my gun of choice isn't effective against humans in the 21st century.

I have shot +P but I do not have as quick follow up shots as regular .38. I usually load with Hornady 158gr hollow points. I think I will practice more with +P.

 

[marinevet]

I agree with Dennis.......some what.... shot placement s the key, the caliber of the round does make a difference somewhat, a .45 cal will make a bigger hole than a .22 cal, but what difference does it make if you shoot a man in the shoulder?......shot placement will determine if you disable, or kill your attacker.....practice, practice, practice.....rounds down range lets you hit what you point your weapon at.

Semper Fi

 

[sleestak]

Thanks for the welcomes.

The world has changed in the sense that we have learned a lot more about stopping power.
Even more so, we have also learned that a single intruder or car jacker is not as common as it used to be. Multiple adversarys are very much on the rise and very few of them carry 5 shot revolvers.

Very good point. Perhaps I should keep my 870 under the bed also.

I was in L.A. during the riots and remember the multitude of gunshots going off. Luckily we were not targeted.

Between my Colt 7 or 8 shots and my revolver with 6 I choose my revolver. Hopefully my choice never gets tested.

 

[cbrobertson]

.38 Special stopping power - NOT!!!

East S. Louis Il. about 1968 (+/- a year) Bank robber shot 3 times in chest by police, one grazed the heart, another through a lung and I don't remember where the third went, but it was in the chest.
AFTER being shot 3 times he killed one officer and very seriously wounded the 2nd, and got away, but not far, but did survive. (I think the thug was using a 1911) Of course this was in the days that the retard police departments insisted on using 38 revolvers and 158 grain round nose lead bullets ONLY.
Of course this definitely DOES NOT apply to today's .38 Special Ammo & bullets, but the attitude to the round / gun continues today. You might say by 'oral tradition' from generation to generation.
AND, I love the revolver, regardless of chambering.

 

[Cal44]

The world has changed in the sense that we have learned a lot more about stopping power.
Even more so, we have also learned that a single intruder or car jacker is not as common as it used to be. Multiple adversarys are very much on the rise and very few of them carry 5 shot revolvers.

Well yes, but I live in California so I know the bad guys will not have more than 10 rnds since it would be illegal to have more than that.

 

[squekydad]

The first gun in reach is a 10-5 loaded with +P, the next one if required is a Mod 59 with 3 15 round mags of +P. Works for me.

 

[finesse_r]

The World Was Changed and Not For the Better....

I'm 39 and I don't think I'm THAT old. I have always had faith that my revolver would be more than enough to protect me and my family. I can shoot double action with ease and I feel the .38 is a great round. I do like my 1911 but I have had extractors break and stove pipes before(although rare).
Has the human species evolved so much in the last 18 years as to not be affected by .38's? Perhaps because everyone else has autos my choice in revolver is poor judgment? Is the general feelings about revolvers correct and I'm just an outdated idiot or is the internet really full of dumbasses?

The world has certainly changed too much in my opinion, at least in my lifetime. I grew up in the 50's and 60's and would give anything to return to those wonderfully free days of yester year. Today, what was once up is now down, what was right is now wrong, and today, speaking the truth will get you in serious trouble on a wide variety of topics.

Everything today is about being politically correct or else, which is pretty strange for a nation that claims to be the land of the free and the home of the brave. But not everything has changed.

The .38 special is an excellent round especially with the right bullet. I still have some Nyclad 125 grain hollow points that I use in my .38 revolvers. I prefer the 44 specials, but I have plenty of 38 specials. Given my age, it will not be too many more years before the 44 special has more recoil that I will want to deal with and then the .38 special will move to the top of my list. I still carry a 649-2 BUG, and on some Texas summer days as my primary drop in the pocket carry gun.

So don't let those youngsters of the spray-and-pray-generation cause you a seconds grief about revolvers in general or the .38 special specifically. Both semi-autos and revolvers have their use and both are quiet adequate for self-defense. And the .38 is still one of the most useful rounds ever made.

 

[jdickson397]

I have to think that a 38 Special round is more effective than the newly popular 380 auto round. I agree with many of the other posters that shot placement is the key. I prefer a 45 but would be comfortable with a 38 Special. What is definitely true is that you will shoot better with a gun you like.

 

[dlbx2]

Honestly, I wouldn't want to be shot with a pellet rifle. The change that has taken place is simply this; it is hard to put someone down who is high on whatever and feeling no pain. Years ago, when taking a class to get my concealed carry permit, the police officer put it as plainly as I have heard. If you want to stop someone with a bullet, it has to inflict enough pain as to cause shock, do enough physical damage as to render the individual unable to do you any harm, or hit them in the right place as to cause them to rapidly bleed out. People aren't tougher, its just that in the olden days, there wasn't the drug problem that we currently have, and just showing someone a gun would be enough. Until the criminals are as afraid of us as we are of them, things will only get worse. After 31.5 years providing EMS, and in the later years teaching the same, I have responded to enough shootings to see what works, and what don't. I have seen people having been shot with a round nose .25 auto, not even know that they had been shot. Either drunk, or high, makes all the difference in the world. DLB

 

[canvsbk]

My first gun to reach is a model 10, full of that good but old FBI load. In my mass of milled steel and walnut are 3 model 10's and I shoot them all, all the time.
When I do carry, though not often, it's a model 36.
How can you not like a wheel gun?

 

[roadkill45]

i have a 2.5 .357 that i keep +P .38 Hornady Critical Defense in. it is my 'house' gun. that means that when i get home from work and take one of my Glock 9's or 40's off for the day, throw on some shorts, the 5 shot revolver goes in my pocket until i go to bed, then it resides in it's box by the front door, and i retort to my 'bed gun'.

i shoot the revolver well, but i shoot autos better, but walking around the house with a riggers belt and holster with a G27 in it looks kinda dorky and the little magnum just likes to cuddle up in my pocket while i'm grilling.
remember that you are using the handgun to get to your main gun...rifle...shotgun, at least while at home.

going out, i go with a G17, First Generation or a 3rd Gen G35 in .40
but all props go to a wheel gun if you are a good shot with it.

watched Tango and Cash last nite.....Sly aiming with that snubby at that semi coming straight at him was classic!

 

[Rick_A]

Though service size .38's have gone out of fashion, the snub nose guns practically fly off the shelves these days, with choices made owing to their lightweight and simplicity of operation...yet very few invest enough time or training to get proficient with them.

I see a lot of people buying tiny .38 specials and 18" pump shotguns...yet not a whole lot of ammo being sold in those calibers. It seems like the guns novices are buying as their primary defensive arms are those being shot the least.

Regardless of the hordes of zombie attackers I may encounter nowadays, I do not feel undergunned with either my 1911 or five-shot 38 spl.

The "wonder nine" is still the gun of choice for most these days (though nobody calls them that anymore). The only thing that has really changed is that steel and alloy framed guns have been largely cast aside for lighter polymer frames. A typical 9mm out of a compact pistol is more or less the equivalent of .38 special out of a service size revolver.

I see nothing wrong with your choice. Someone who knows their way around a double action trigger tends to be able to run just about anything well. Six shots and 38spl is plenty considering the current popularity of small autos and sub-caliber mouseguns. Being proficient with your choice and putting them where it counts is all that matters.

 

[Fredo Batali]

What they said. You are not under gunned with the .38 Special with appropriate ammunition. .38 Special still tops the list of calibers hand loaded. The internet isn't really full of dumb asses, they just sound off more than the rest of us My favorite saying concerning people like that is; " been every where but the electric chair and seen everything but the wind"

De Oppresso Liber

 

[Peak53]

I just love to hear the argument that .38 revolvers are outdated and don't do the job. I just shut up, nod my head, and figure there's one more guy who won't be trying to buy the guns I'm looking for.