What can and what can't a .38 special do?

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I must be doing some thing wrong? I load 38 sp and 357 mag with the same bullet. As far as I know the 38 S&W uses a .36 bullet but the 357 and 38 sp use the same 357 bullet (loaded to different levels) but the same bullet. Just like a 22LR the 38 SP (with the right bullet) is way better than a lot of people give it credit for.

Yes the 357, 41 and 44 magnums are more powerful than a 38sp but the 38 sp is easier to to shoot well for most people. If you are in big bare country the 44 mag may be lacking in power. Personally I could live the rest of my life with just a 22LR and a 38SP or 45 Colt. Having owned and shot magnum hand guns and some in rifle calibers, if I need more than a 38 or 45 then the 12ga comes into play. :D
 
Didn't a ,38 end the Miami shootout?
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Yes the 38 did finally ended the gun fight. Platt and Matix. were wounded several times wilh a 9mm and a shot gun but a six 38 +P LSWCHP 158 gr from a model 10 4 inch from agent Edmundo Mireles, Jr finally finished the job.
But as the FBI learned its better to more than just handguns to a shoot out. Afterall, the handgun is not the best choice for a gun fight with several attackers.
Howard
 
this is not actually true so please be reasonable

Again...why use a .38 snub that HAS to expand to be effective, when you can use a .44 Special that is already effective without expansion, and is just as small to carry?
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you can have a small weapon and can have lightweight weapons(which are less accurate when they are lightweight with larger caliber bullets), but a 38 is Extremely snug....almost as snug as it looks in those 1980's cop shows(or 1990's for that matter.

I notice the difference by carrying my snubby 357s(own two of them). 44s are even bigger and bulkier(the cylinder as an example) plus usually heavier. I almost bought a 44 super redhawk alaskan one time, but they were gonna be out of stock for a long time(might have been discontinued?).....the 38 is very snug and that has to be a positive on the negative/positive worksheet before buying a SD firearm.
 
Deputy276 said:
Spats McGee said:
"Yes, the .357, the .44 Mag, and others start with a larger bore diameter and..."
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Wrong. Last time I checked my math .357 was SMALLER than the .38.
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Yeah, I guess I got in a hurry when I wrote that part. What, exactly, are the respective diameters of .38Spl and .357 Mag?
 
I to believe the .38 spl is a very good weapon. A .38 spl can and will stop a man and it can do it with standard military full medal jacketed rounds. I was unlucky enough to be part of a shoot out with the Viet Cong troops trying to blow up one of our C-130 aircraft. The enemy were killed with 2 shots each to center mass. the distance was about 20 yards. The VC were armed with an AK and M-2 carbine. The S&W combat masterpeace was standard issue to aircrew and mobility teams in Vietnam along with M16s. I carry a S&W model 642 or a Model 60 with 3 " barrel daily.
 
"The fact is, the .38 special was a relatively powerful cartridge."

I guess you could say that when you compare it to cartridges like the .38 S&W or .32 Long. But it depends on how you define "powerful".

You may find this interesting. It gives a frame of reference as far as the power of the .38 special. I worked for a drug store chain back in the early '80s. One of our district managers who I worked with at the time found himself in one of our stores when a guy came in to steal some drugs carrying a .38 special. Everyone not behind the pharmacy counter was ordered to lie on their faces, so "R" (we'll call him that) did so in line with company policy. During the robbery, the guy decided he should shoot "R". Luckily his aim was off and "R" survived. He was hit in the shoulder as he lay face-down. The bullet passed through his shoulder, bounced off the tile floor, re-entered his shoulder, traveled along his humerus and exited at the elbow. When I saw him I just had to ask what it felt like. He told me it felt like being hit full force with a baseball bat.

I remember that every time I hear how "underpowered" the .38 special is.
 
IMHO...
The .38 Spl is a competent cartridge. The j- and k- frames are excellent revolvers.

The issue is capacity. In this day and age, multiple adveraries may be the rule instead of the exception, and 5 or 6 rounds "may" or "may not' be adequate.

Only you can make that determination.
 
I've never been in a gunfight or even threatened with a firearm, but I look at it this way...if I'm faced with multiple armed adversaries it doesn't matter what sidearm I have, I'm screwed. But that's just me :)
 
Good discussion (mostly).

For what its worth, some of you might enjoy this. I've been following this YouTuber for a while, and I find his tests and reviews to be very well done, especially when it comes to relative comparisons.

Here's what he found with the Rem Golden Saber 38+P JHP: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRe6BzIqu6U

Relatively speaking, that is one seriously deadly round.
 
I've been following tnoutdoors9 on Youtube as well, and he has some very good home ammo tests. The newer ones using the simulation ballistic gel with 4 layers of denim should give you a very good idea of what to expect.
 
Just curious, but if the .38 Special IS so special, WHY have the vast majority of police departments left not only the .38 Sprcial, but the 9MM (which is also .38 caliber) for the .40 S&W?

And why do people keep referencing the .44 Magnum when I am talking about the .44 Special? They are two completely different cartridges. The .44 magnum is basically a hunting caliber, although it will also chamber the .44 Special.

As to +P and magnum loads...I wouldn't use a caliber if that's what's required to make them effective.
 
Just curious, but if the .38 Special IS so special, WHY have the vast majority of police departments left not only the .38 Sprcial, but the 9MM (which is also .38 caliber) for the .40 S&W?
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Neither bullet is .38". The .38 uses a .357" bullet, and the 9mm uses a .355" bullet.

The switchover was due to many factors, and wasn't an outright repudiation of the merits of the .38.

First off, officers don't shoot as well as they used to, and the "solution" was a gun that held more rounds.

Second, the Glock pistols and their ilk are lighter than service revolvers.

Third, the FBI was involved in a botched shootout in which the 9mm was deemed inadequate against homicidal former Rangers with .223 rifles. The bullet that "failed" actually performed quite well, but they chose to blame hardware in the aftermath, so they went with the 10mm.

That didn't work out, so they drained a bunch of powder out, made a smaller cartridge, and the .40 S&W was the resulting compromise.
 
The 44 Special is actually .429, which is only 20% larger than a 357 magnum/38 Special without any expansion. With the velocity of the 357 you can get bullets that expand to over twice their original dimensions as seen here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxXTNzpBcvM&list=PL858978D90283EA35&index=9&feature=plpp_video

.754 >>>>>>>>> .429 >> .357


I actually carry a 9mm as my daily carry gun and I am fine with the 12"-14" of penetration and roughly .65" of expansion I can expect from the Federal HST.
 
As to +P and magnum loads...I wouldn't use a caliber if that's what's required to make them effective.
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I don't mean to be disrespectful, but I don't understand this statement at all. To me thats like saying you'd find a turbo or super charged engine less effective than the engine by itself. :confused:
 
As to +P and magnum loads...I wouldn't use a caliber if that's what's required to make them effective.
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Just to clarify, there are no circumstances where one would be able to safely use a "magnum" load to make a non-magnum caliber more effective. (The only possible exception would be the Hornady "Light Magnum" ammunition series, but that's rifle ammunition and isn't really applicable to this discussion.)

Either a caliber is a magnum caliber and the use of magnum ammunition is safe, or it's not a magnum caliber and the use of magnum ammunition is unsafe. Basically all that to say that you can't use .357Magnum ammunition in a .38Spl to make it more effective. It shouldn't chamber, for one thing, and if it did, it would be dangerous to fire it.

I'm torn on +P ammunition. Generally speaking, I'm a big fan of not trying to make things do things they're not really designed to do. However, .38Spl was originally designed to be a blackpowder cartridge, so there's an argument to be made that virtually any .38spl ammunition you purchase does something the caliber wasn't originally intended to do. I think, within reason, the use of +P in some calibers makes a lot of sense.
 
"I don't mean to be disrespectful, but I don't understand this statement at all. To me thats like saying you'd find a turbo or super charged engine less effective than the engine by itself.'

The purpose of using +P loadings in the past was to insure expansion when the bullet impacted things like leather coats or heavy denim. But modern bullets like the Speer Gold Dot, Winchester PDX-1, And Hornady Critical Defense have made +P ammunition obsolete. +P adds additional wear and tear on the firearm that isn't necessary. Or in your car comparison, it would be the equivalent of driving a Funny Car to the grocery store to go shopping. :D
 
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