Has the world really changed all that much?

I started out with a nickeled 5" model 10 in 1986. This was our issued service revolver. After switching departments I switched to a 4" model 15. Moving through 9mm S&W autoloaders to Glock 40s until I retire next year. I'm going back to a 2" model 10-7. So my world is going back to a time of polished blue steel and real wood grips. I can't wait.
 
Mark Twain's View . . .

Hi & Welcome Abroad: I'm a relative new-bee myself; it's great here.

Youth has always been youth and I'm reminded of a statement from Twain's "Advice to Youth:"

Never handle firearms carelessly. The sorrow and suffering that have been caused through the innocent but heedless handling of firearms by the young! Only four days ago, right in the next farm house to the one where I am spending the summer, a grandmother, old and gray and sweet, one of the loveliest spirits in the land, was sitting at her work, when her young grandson crept in and got down an old, battered, rusty gun which had not been touched for many years and was supposed not to be loaded, and pointed it at her, laughing and threatening to shoot. In her fright she ran screaming and pleading toward the door on the other side of the room; but as she passed him he placed the gun almost against her very breast and pulled the trigger! He had supposed it was not loaded. And he was right -- it wasn't. So there wasn't any harm done. It is the only case of that kind I ever heard of. Therefore, just the same, don't you meddle with old unloaded firearms; they are the most deadly and unerring things that have ever been created by man. You don't have to take any pains at all with them; you don't have to have a rest, you don't have to have any sights on the gun, you don't have to take aim, even. No, you just pick out a relative and bang away, and you are sure to get him. A youth who can't hit a cathedral at thirty yards with a Gatling gun in three quarters of an hour, can take up an old empty musket and bag his grandmother every time, at a hundred. Think what Waterloo would have been if one of the armies had been boys armed with old muskets supposed not to be loaded, and the other army had been composed of their female relations. The very thought of it makes one shudder.

Now, this relates to your youthful fellow at the LGS friend in several ways and 3 follow: 1) Just clip the paragraph and hand it to him while saying no charge and good luck with your grand parents and leave; 2) Suggest that IT has very little to do with bullet diameter and hand him the article and point how deadly muskets are; or 3) Realize that it's probably another 5-10 years before his IQ drops out of the stratosphere and yours climbs up from the deeps of the Mariana Trench back to normal. It's why we waste youth on the youth; they are the only ones you can trust to screw it bad enough that they'll finally grow out of it due to desperation.

Be of good spirits and enjoy your 38 Spcl's. I'm hoping to bag a Lady Smith with a 3" barrel in a 38 Spcl, and I'm totally unconcerned what some young genius at the LGS thinks or says. I also own a sweet 686 4" 38/357 and I shoot mostly 38 Spcl's as they are more fun.

Take care,

R :rolleyes:
 
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Lots of misinformation out there. Apparently, you just encountered some of it at your local gun shop. The lesson is, just because a kid works in a gun shop doesn't necessarily mean he knows what he's talking about.
 
Too much "spray and pray" mentality among a lot of younger
shooters today.
With the proper bullet a .38 will do fine as long as you can
put the bullet where it counts.

Chuck
 
I don't keep a Model 10 by my bedside. There is, however, a 4" Model 64 stoked with +P Gold Dots there. ;)
 
Sleestack, I know exactly what you are talking about. I am 38 years old and also grew up shooting revolvers. When I became a cop in 1995 my first duty weapon was a S&W model 66. I carried it for a year before my agency switched to the Beretta. That makes me the last generation of cop that has carried a revolver on duty. I love shooting and carrying revolvers. So every year I brought 2 or 3 revolvers to qualify with as off duty/back up guns. in 2010 I was transferred to the detective division for the second time and I was able to carry what I wanted again. So I chose to carry a revolver. The firearms instructor asked me to attend his firearms class to give a class on how to work a revolver. Every time I showed up at the range with my 686 and 625 I was laughed at. These young officers stopped laughing when we had a 12 round challenge. 6 rounds reload and 6 rounds. After shooting 12 rounds and reloading faster than the guy with a Glock next to me there was a little amazement. This is because not only was I faster but my group was tighter. People stopped laughing at that point. Last year the patrol captain decided that he did not like me carrying a revolver so he convinced the Sheriff to change the SOP to only allow semi autos.
 
"internet really full of dumbasses? "

Yes, but it's not just the internet, and it's certainly not new. One fellow quoted Mark Twain above, and if you read the earliest recorded writings of mankind, it's as it ever was.
 
You can fix ignorant, and you can even fix rude, but you can't fix stupid.

The jerk in the gun store has probably done more to hurt shooting than most politicians by selling tiny guns in powerful calibers to non-shooters. They decide they hate shooting, and can't do it, and flinch, and hurt their hand, and have a group the size of a barn door. All because the 'expert' in the gun store 'helped' with their gun selection.

What a shame. In any case, you did fine, you can't fix stupid. Move on.
 
With the right bullet and load the .38 is a fine self defense round.
 
Welcome to the forum. 39 yrs. old ,,you're just a youngin'.

Since I've retired ,I've worked part time in a LGS for the past 10+ years. It's amazing the number of customers and sale people that are 'self proclaimed' experts.

The 38 spl. isn't and wouldn't be my first choice for a home defense or carry firearm.
Having said that, my brother, my father, my son-in-law, myself , and several other people I know have and carry either 642's or 442's or other J frames in 38 spl..
The old 158 lead round nose probably wasn't a very good self defense round. But I think the new Gold Dot & Critical Defense ammo out there is leaps and bounds ahead or the old LRN.

Do I have and carry a 38 spl. ? Yes, sometimes I do.
Is there better calibers out there ? Sometimes & for somethings , Yes, I think so.

Like I often tell people , you can hit a deer in the tail with a elephant gun and he'll run away. Put a .22 behind his ear and he'll drop like a rock.

A 38 spl. model 10 S&W is a darn good firearm,, and I don't think you are undergunned with one..

That's MY self proclaimed expert opinion. That and buck & a half will get you a cup of coffee. :D
 
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.38 special is a great sd round. practice and shot placement are keys. some people think it is underpowered, but i sure wouldnt want to be standing in front of one.
 
First of all, welcome to the forum! Here you will find friendly and helpful people with whom you will enjoy sharing ideas and information.

The M-10 is eternal. The .38 Special is ubiquitous. Both are not unlike the .30-06 in the post .308/7.62mm era in which the .223/5.56mm is so prevalent. I.e., the M-10 and it's .38 Special round are not less effective. They are just not the flavor of the day among the cognizant. And, they are an enigma to the less/poorly informed so often found opening and closing the cases in various gun shops/departments.
 
If you were looking to get confirmation of your choice of the model 10, you found the right place. I suspect that the young man that you encountered wanted to sell you a higher priced semi auto, a few spare mags, a holster, and a couple boxes of ammo rather than a simple .38 SPL revolver. Most of the sales people will always try to lead you to something more expensive regardless of their personal beliefs. After all...they are sales people and probably are on commission.
 
I remember an American Rifleman article from the late 40s or early 50s about the right rifle for Alaskan hunting. One tongue-in-cheek line ran "Our grandfathers slew them with .30-40s, our fathers poleaxed them with .30-06s, but todays moose will fall to nothing less than the latest .300 Magnum". Bearing in mind the only .300 on the market at the time was the .300 H&H, moose must have toughened even more since then.

I think you found the author's grandson at your LGS.
 
forget what that fool said, I'm the same age as you (OP) and have a ton of different handguns; if I could only have one type of gun for defense, practice, "target" shooting, and collecting it would be the .38 snub nose (or 4") revolver

with the right bullet & load it's perfectly fine for defense; if capacity and fast reloads are issues then carry two J-frames
 
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Jayhawkhuntclub said:
Unfortunately, that's not true. They don't tell themselves; tell everyone they meet. You should meet my brother-in-law. I've never met someone so determined to show his expertise, even on things he knows nothing about.:(
Click to expand...

We must be related. I have the same brother-in-law.
 
Just remember, with a revolver, two things are needed...

Practice......Practice......Practice

And

Shot placement......Shot placement......Shot placement

There are so many experts in this old world, that I'm proud to a Dumb A__
 
One thing I've experienced about a .38 spl. K frame is that it points sweeter than any 9mm auto I've ever owned. This is essential to accuracy. Revolvers are sort of like just pointing your finger.

I can also carry a speedloader with less hassle than an extra mag.

And the improvement over the years have given .38 +P hollow points great results in expansion and penetration.

I'm 34 and prefer a .38 over a 9 or 380.
 
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