.38 special looked down upon?

[Agent 86]

I carried .38 spl loads in my .357 for over 29 years. They always did the job for me. I became more impressed with the round about 10 years ago when my department started issuing +P+ treasury loads. If ya missed, the blast would knock them over, or make them duck! Seriously, some .38 rounds these days are as effective as .357's.

Max

 

[Landric]

I think the .38 Special is seriously underrated. A lot of the factory loads don't take advantage of the .38 Specials ability, but some do. Luckily for the handloader the sky is the limit.

A .38 Special can push a 148 grain Wadcutter at 550 fps or a light fast bullet over 1100 fps all within the relm of pressure limits. On the other hand, with Uncle Elmer as my guide I've pushed a 173 grain SWC to 1200 fps out of a 4" revolver in .38 Special brass safely. There isn't much the .38 Special can't do, except impress the armchair commandos and internet rambos out there.

 

[white cloud]

To me , my stainless model 64 or a 65 four inch heavy barrel , loaded with any decent 38+p HP ammo remains a STD, for a general pourpose handgun. I carried and still carry a 38 revolver off duty. Participated in PPC amtches for years. I see many people at the range looking down at revolvers and making statements like ," Its an old timer, He STILL shoots a revolver. " They can't even keep all their shots on paper at 25 yards. If I REALLY feel that a good 38 revolver is not goo enough, I get my mini-14 or an 870 12 gauge.......

this has really been the case for me also. i show up with my .38. everyone laughs. then we start shooting. half of them could hit the target as well with rocks as their auto. the old .38 is very easy to hit with, never jams, never dumps it's magazine. i noticed both of my combat pistol instructors tote 642s off the range.

 

[nobodyliesto45]

Fun to shoot good stopping power with the loads stated above. I have no complaints and have one with me daily in my vehicle.

 

[brucev]

is it my imagination or do alot of people look down upon and have disrespect for the .38 special?when I was looking for mine thats the vibe I got.kinda like"What do you want with womans gun?"
Many tried talking me into the .357,which I am sure I would enjoy as well,but whats the deal with the .38 special?Is it considered a low power ,wimpy gun by many?

It's not your imagination. There are folks who simply do not care for a .38 Special in the same way that there are folks who do not care for a 9mm or perhaps a .357... etc. Sometimes such a view is based on concerns about lack of power, etc. Sometimes persons express disdain for the .38 Special because they consider that it is to old fashioned or else it does not make enough noise or make a big enough hole in the target.

A well made revolver chambered in .38 Special is among one of the most accurate and enjoyable handguns anyone could ever hope to own. In utility, accuracy, and usable power it is sufficient to meet most of the needs of the vast majority of those who would want to own and use a handgun. It is not stylish. It is plebeian. The .38 Special will endure until the last curtain call of history is done and everything is packed away.

 

[flagman1776]

I never felt unarmed with a .38 Special. The power factor isn't the determining factor, only hits count in the real world.
Russ

 

[michael thornton]

the ole 38 special has sent alot of good and bad guys home too the old country, i have no dought many more to follow, i love the 38 special mine is super accurate!

 

[scout63]

I have two .357s and 99% of the ammo used is .38spl. because it is a pleasure to shoot (also more cost effective). it is easier on my youngest daughter to control her shots. plus my grandfather was in law enforcement for years on end and his primary & back up were always .38 spl. so yes i believe in them too.

 

[Rugskipper]

As I've said before, my 642 .38 Special is the second favorite thing I keep in my pants. I can put all five in the kill zone in under three seconds with Speer 135 short barrel rounds, and that's a darn sight better than most shooters can do with a .357 flamethrower. Maybe not as fast as a 9mm, but its lighter, hides much better, is completely reliable, and the round is just as effective, if not more so.

I believe that those who denigrate the old .38 don't have a firm grip of all of its advantages.

 

[Rule 303]

Shot Placement is the King, Caliber is the Queen, Capacity is the Prince, the Number of rounds you put into the Target is the Princess and the quality of the Gun is the Joker.

The .38spl will kill a person DRT if the shooter does his part.

Rule 303

 

[h2coman]

I feel safer with my .38 than the .380 stuff they are pushing now.

 

[TMann]

The other great thing about the .38 special, is that the guns chambered in this round can be found for pretty good prices nowadays. I just picked up a nice condition 640 for $375, (which is pretty cheap for the Seattle area.) If that same gun has been chambered for .357, I don't doubt that it would have cost about $100 to 150 more.

TMann

 

[GLL]

.38/44 Outdoorsman .38Special loaded to 1050ft/sec !

It's this woman's gun but nobody at the range laughs at her !

Jerry

P.S. : She is 5'11", can handle "problems" herself, and outshoots most of the men at my range !

 

[GF]

^^^^^^^

We have a winner!

GF

 

[Carla]

Never having served in the military, in combat, or on a police force, and having never killed a human being, I can't offer any meaningful first-hand opinion relative to defence against human assailants.

That said, I have had to face the sad necessity of destroying some potentially dangerous animals, and was able to 'get by' with a .22.......but that was after having practiced and practiced with the .22, so that I was able to place the small projectile in a suitably vital area for a 'humane kill'.

I've fired on enough variety of objects with the .38, and observed the effective striking power of a hot +P round, that, should I ever have no choice but to fire on a human assailant, I really do believe that the result would be grimly fatal for the assailant.......a necessary tragedy, if I'd no choice but to preserve my own life by destroying a human being, but tragedy all the same.

Hopefully, I shall never need to face such a situation, but I do keep a .38, loaded with +P rounds, near to hand, lest such a situation should happen.

There is one possible situation for which I suspect the .38 could well be quite inadequate. We commonly visit friends in areas where wild pigs are common, some herds of which are led by large boars, which have been known to attack humans.

Whenever we are in areas which the pigs may consider 'their territory', I carry my old 'pet' Smith M58, the .41 mag, with rounds I've made up to be.....in theory at least.....the greatest possible short-range shocking power, short of losing the cylinder from over-pressure.

In some improvised tests on various objects, my .41 rounds seem to have roughly the same close-range shocking power as .44 mag factory rounds. The truth is, I really don't know whether the .41 would reliably stop one of those big pigs.....I do hope I don't have to find out by experience.......it would be exceedingly disappointing to have the boar fall dead, but only after he'd chewed me into shreds.

One of our friends suggested that I really should 'play safe' by investing in a .454 Casull......and maybe he's right.....but I just like the 'feel' of the M58, and have a lot of practice time in with it.

cheers

Carla

 

[Alx]

The 649 in .357 ( but loaded with .38Spl.+P hollowpoints ) with CTC lasergrips is my usual carry piece, besides the 940 / CTC gun I sometimes carry.

I just wish .38Spl. was as cheap as 9mm ammo.

 

[roaddog28]

At my house these are the "go to guns" loaded with the LSWCHP +P 38 special. Both of these type revolvers and the ammo did the job for over half a century. The first one was a LE service revolver. The second on is just a later version of the famous model 10.

1. Combat Masterpiece 4 inch 38 special
2. Model 10 4 inch 38 special.

roaddog28

 

[schmumble]

I've never seen anyone who knocked the .38 Special volunteer to be shot with one, even wearing a vest.

after reading all of the replied post i think this one says it the best.

 

[WildCard ZX6R]

But the mall ninjas can't be wrong... can they ?

 

[sigp220.45]

I like .38 Specials. I have a bunch of them, and I often carry my trusty old Model 36.

But if I was advising a new shooter who was choosing between a Model 15 and a Model 19 of comparable condition and with the same features, I'd steer him toward the Model 19.