.38 special and an 820 pound wild Hog
- Thread starter Master Blaster
- Start date
EVERYTHING is "marginal" if the bullet doesn't get to the right place. If it does, it works. Everything that gets the bullet to the right place, generally works.
A .38 snub COULD be marginal, depending on the load use, and conditions. ESPECIALLY conditions.
Some testing, done in the late 70s, found that the traditional police load of a 200gr LRN, fired from a snub would not reliably penetrate 60s era car windshields. The same load, fired from a 4" service revolver, would.
Choose the right ammo, and the .38 Special, even out of a snub nose is more effective than you might think, based on energy/velocity numbers alone.
Of course, YOU still have to do your part correctly...
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I assume only that the 38 will continue to perform as it has in the past. With over 30 years an an LEO and about 20 of those working the street in the inner city I have seen LOTS of people shot with 38's, cops, felons etc. I base my opinion of what I saw and shooting investigations I was around for or involved with.
How many people have you seen shot, the internet does not count?
I assume only that the 38 will continue to perform as it has in the past. With over 30 years an an LEO and about 20 of those working the street in the inner city I have seen LOTS of people shot with 38's, cops, felons etc. I base my opinion of what I saw and shooting investigations I was around for or involved with.
How many people have you seen shot, the internet does not count?
If you do everything right, the 38 special is still marginal. I base it of experience and that of those I trust. I was a cop in the late 70's. I saw all kinds of failures in REAL LIFE shootings. +P Hollow points from a J frame snubby fail to penetrate windshield, windows on a real moving car in the 80's.
The reason the 38 hangs on has nothing to do with its effectiveness, it is because people are intimidated by the 357 magnum. Oh it hurts us, oh its loud. I have seen cops who could drill out the center of the target with 38's and barely hit the target with magnums.
My opinions are based upon my experiences on the street and research. Even the 357 magnum fails under the right set of circumstances. To me it is about consistency. I use what has worked best over a wide range of circumstances. There are too many variables we cannot control. To prepare yourself, willingly for a holy grail situation is preparing for failure, just like training for the losing gunfight.
There are situations where that may be all you can carry, I get it. I carry 2 357 Sig semi auto's, and reloads.
I don't think anyone here who has espoused the virtues of the .38 Smith & Wesson Special (I'm being historically formal 
) would say it's the end
all or the near best pistol caliber.
But it has a very good record, made better by today's advancements in bullet design and powders used. And it remains one of the most controllable
revolver rounds available for the excellent to the very average shooter.
Sadly, one poster believes his experiences are the end all argument against
the .38 Special. One example he cites is a hollowpoint round from a snubby revolver not penetrating a windshield. I'd be surprised that a bullet designed to mushroom, especially if from a snubby, did go through a windshield. And in shootings, it's never explained how the .38 failed---did it not bring down the person who was shot? Were the hits solid upper torso, neck or head shots or not?
Much was made of the slam and bang of the .357, probably one of the best if not best personal defense round. But examples of even it failing
exist. Mas Ayoob, who has chronicled a lot of shootings, once mentioned
how a cop made six solid hits with his .357 rounds and the attacker still
managed to get ahold of him. Other officers rescued the officer.
So let's give the .38 special its due. And for those of us less proficient, less
able to handle a .357 well or do not care for automatics, may we live in
good health knowing the .38 will probably get the job done if we do our part.
) would say it's the endall or the near best pistol caliber.
But it has a very good record, made better by today's advancements in bullet design and powders used. And it remains one of the most controllable
revolver rounds available for the excellent to the very average shooter.
Sadly, one poster believes his experiences are the end all argument against
the .38 Special. One example he cites is a hollowpoint round from a snubby revolver not penetrating a windshield. I'd be surprised that a bullet designed to mushroom, especially if from a snubby, did go through a windshield. And in shootings, it's never explained how the .38 failed---did it not bring down the person who was shot? Were the hits solid upper torso, neck or head shots or not?
Much was made of the slam and bang of the .357, probably one of the best if not best personal defense round. But examples of even it failing
exist. Mas Ayoob, who has chronicled a lot of shootings, once mentioned
how a cop made six solid hits with his .357 rounds and the attacker still
managed to get ahold of him. Other officers rescued the officer.
So let's give the .38 special its due. And for those of us less proficient, less
able to handle a .357 well or do not care for automatics, may we live in
good health knowing the .38 will probably get the job done if we do our part.
Double Naught Spy
New member
Geez, give it a rest. The shooter could have killed this neighbor's old, large, escaped, domestic hog meandering about in his yard with an itty bitty .17 hmr or a subsonic .22 lr. People kill 2000 lb bulls with .22s, right? It wasn't like this was long distance shooting (just between the house and car port), or shooting some sort of beast hopped up PCP or meth. It wasn't enraged or charging. It was just sort of there in the yard, probably scrounging around for food like it was doing a couple of days prior when it lived across the road.
Y'all want to argue over the power classification and whether or not the caliber can kill (and I like how much smaller-sized people being shot was introduced as if it was relevant to shooting a giant domestic hog) and it really doesn't matter to the outcome of the story.
If you shoot badly, even with a big caliber, a hog can get pretty aggressive, or certainly not die readily. If you shoot very well, you can kill them with calibers much less powerful than a .38.
Y'all want to argue over the power classification and whether or not the caliber can kill (and I like how much smaller-sized people being shot was introduced as if it was relevant to shooting a giant domestic hog) and it really doesn't matter to the outcome of the story.
If you shoot badly, even with a big caliber, a hog can get pretty aggressive, or certainly not die readily. If you shoot very well, you can kill them with calibers much less powerful than a .38.
Rangerrich99
New member
In response to the OP, that's nice piece of shooting in what was probably a bit of a tense situation.
As for the choice of weapon, again much respect to the shooter. Most of my shooting buddies can barely keep 6 rounds on a paper plate at 12 yards (the stated distance to the pig when shot) with a J-frame, much less call their shot on a potentially dangerous, HUGE animal (according to the above story, he fired a single shot). Of course, we don't know from the story whether he used a J-frame or something with a longer sight radius, or if he used one or two hands, braced himself or shot unsupported, but if it was a J-frame snub-nosed revolver, this guy is a pretty good shot. Or pretty lucky.
As for caliber, well my limited experience has shown me that .38 spl will kill, so long as it hits vital organs/CNS. Just the same as 9mm, .40 S&W, etc. as long as the bullet doesn't have to go through windshields, doors, armor and so forth.
As for the choice of weapon, again much respect to the shooter. Most of my shooting buddies can barely keep 6 rounds on a paper plate at 12 yards (the stated distance to the pig when shot) with a J-frame, much less call their shot on a potentially dangerous, HUGE animal (according to the above story, he fired a single shot). Of course, we don't know from the story whether he used a J-frame or something with a longer sight radius, or if he used one or two hands, braced himself or shot unsupported, but if it was a J-frame snub-nosed revolver, this guy is a pretty good shot. Or pretty lucky.
As for caliber, well my limited experience has shown me that .38 spl will kill, so long as it hits vital organs/CNS. Just the same as 9mm, .40 S&W, etc. as long as the bullet doesn't have to go through windshields, doors, armor and so forth.
Double Naught Spy
New member
I think in this case, you mean "hogma."
walnut1704
New member
Jumping on hog's back would take more courage than I have, but many decades ago I did witness some old-timers hunt with dogs and a spear.
They had a pack of mongrels of various sizes. Some of the smaller dogs were trackers and were fast and could maneuver through the brush easily. They'd run the hog to ground. Once they got him contained somewhere the "big dogs" (some sort of freakishly large mutant mastiffs) would catch up and grab the pig by the ears. Then the hunter moved in with the spear. The spear was not thrown of course, just used as a thrusting weapon.
I asked why they didn't use a gun and he said he didn't want to shoot his dogs. Given the chaotic scene at the time of the kill I saw his point. Those dogs were going crazy. Looked like a canine tornado.
We are all talking about "choice" of caliber. Is there some suggestion that, when confronted with an enemy, no action should be taken unless we have the right "choice" of caliber.
If I am jumped by a cougar on my morning run tomorrow, which the DNR insists do not exist in the lower peninsula of MI despite footage, am I going to not do anything because the 9MM I am carrying is not the right "choice" of caliber?
If I am jumped by a cougar on my morning run tomorrow, which the DNR insists do not exist in the lower peninsula of MI despite footage, am I going to not do anything because the 9MM I am carrying is not the right "choice" of caliber?