.38 special

I like the 38spl and I'm currently looking for another one for my wife. I've always used the 125 +P HP but recently I've been looking at the 158grn loads. I have some wadcutter reloads that I want to start the wife out with on the range. They are soft shooters and a good starter load. I'd rather have a cheap shooting 38spl that I can afford to shoot then a 44 spl that I can't afford to shoot once or twice a month. The 38spl is a great target round and capable of SD if you need it.
 
It's one of my favorite cartridges. Anyone who underestimates the .38 Special is doing themselves a grave disservice.
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+1.

Don't get caught up and over think it. The .38 has been around for a lot of years and is certainly a capable SD round. It's recoil isn't nearly as bad as some of the larger bore handguns and lends itself to small, light weight revolvers that are easy to shoot, conceal and carry.
 
I like the way my S&W model 10-8 feels in the hand, and it is the most accurate handgun in my collection. Also, the .38 is easy to reload
 
Well you all convinced me! I am gonna scratch the .44 idea and purchase the .357 S&W I have been looking at. It is a real beauty; stainless steel and wood grips. I will keep using the .38s for the economy and all the reason stated above.
 
Whatever works for you is "the best".
My favorite revolver is an M25 in .45 LC. I have a lot more faith in the .45 LC than I do in the .38 Spl, but that's just one man's opinion...and I will admit that I only carry that revolver during the fall/winter/spring...and those three seasons may account for six months (Oct-Mar) at best.

The rest of the year, I carry a 1911.
 
I would be willing to bet that if it weren't for small frame, 5-shot, light weight revolvers - the majority of which are chambered for the 38 Special - the cartridge would have fallen to historical relic status. However, in the J-frames and similar size revolvers it's kind of a giant. If anyone besides Charter Arms could make a small 44 Special 5-shot, I bet you would see a lot more of those carried in place of the 38s. Just my $.02 worth! (smile)

Dave
 
"I would be willing to bet that if it weren't for small frame, 5-shot, light weight revolvers - the majority of which are chambered for the 38 Special - the cartridge would have fallen to historical relic status."


I'd take that bet, because I know I'd collect from you.

The .38 Special was around for over half a century before the first J frames showed up.

In those 50 years before the J frame Smith & Wesson manufactured well over 1 million .38 Special revolvers, FAR more than any other centerfire handgun/cartridge combination.

Since World War II, and omitting the nearly half million J frames, S&W manufactured close to another million .38 Specials. Add in the J frames, and you get nearly 1.5 million.

Colt, Ruger, and some other makers have also chambered rather large quantities of .38 Specials over the years.

The .38 Special wasn't the 20th century's best selling center fire handgun cartridge by accident.

And even today, in the age of the whizbang wonderloader, the .38 Special still sells a robust number of full-sized handguns and enormous quantities of ammunition.
 
And even today, in the age of the whizbang wonderloader, the .38 Special still sells a robust number of full-sized handguns and enormous quantities of ammunition.
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Lord knows I scoff up all the K-38's I can find ;)

Another factor is its use in .357 Magnum guns. Many, if not most, owners shoot primarily .38's in them.
 
So Tom Servo,,,

Lord knows I scoff up all the K-38's I can find
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So you're the reason I can't find a Model 14 K-38 Masterpiece!

Curse you my friend,,,
Curse you I say.

Aarond

P.S. Don't you mean scarfed?
Eat or drink (something) greedily or enthusiastically: He scarfed down the waffles.

.
 
I've got a number of more powerful handguns but my go to is a 38 special, 2 inch barreled, victory model.

I haven't watched the news yet, but I'm pretty sure that everything ever killed by the lowly 38 is still dead.
 
"I haven't watched the news yet, but I'm pretty sure that everything ever killed by the lowly 38 is still dead."

A large AMEN to that!
 
P.S. Don't you mean scarfed?
Eat or drink (something) greedily or enthusiastically: He scarfed down the waffles.
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Suuuurrre...scarf at the fact that English is my second language. It's like that time I found out that "inflammable" was the same thing as "flammable." What a country I live in now!

Don't feel bad; Model 14's have all but dried up on the secondary market. I did scarf a nice 4" Dayton model last year for a song, though. ;)
 
If you already have a 38...keep it.

Why scratch the 44 idea? 44's are the standard in versatility. If you want economy then you better learn to reload whether 357 or 44. It's so easy to load from powderpuff to bearstompers. 44 specials are your 357 Mag at lower pressures...keep considering the 44
 
What's not to like? Relatively cheap, good for self defense, and a nice cartridge to reload for.

It is THE go-to non-magnum revolver cartridge.
 
I recently acquired a S & W 2 1/2" Model 19 with the idea of making it my carry gun. Although it has .357 capacity I have no intention whatsoever of carrying with anything loaded more potently than .38 Special. For me, it's an ideal defensive round. The relatively light recoil means that, in a distress situation, one can get the gun back on target without being incapacitated by ear splitting detonations, blinding muzzle flash, or wrist straining recoil. And, as others have pointed out, .38 specials have been a potent law enforcement/self-defense round for decades.
 
I carry a 38 (in my 642 pocket Revolver).

If you learn to shoot the 38 is fine.

I don't think people are that much tougher then they were in the 20s & 30s before the magnums came out.

People just want to rely on other things instead of learning how to shoot.
 
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