The .38 Special... underrated?

[gunnerbob]

What's the opinion here? I love the .38 Special, own three of them in different makes & models. Yes, I trust my life & the lives of my family to it.

How did the .38 Special get SUCH a bad rap? Was it Dirty Harry?

I've searched other forums and found that many people actually really like the .38 Special... so where'd this stigma come from?

Also posted this in Handgun Ammunition... trying to get everybody's opinions.

 

[Nightmare45]

My mother was given a 38 special by my dad many many years ago, when dad was out of town she would sleep with it under her pillow, called it "her sleeping pill", crack shot by the way. That pistol is still in my possession, my wife answers the door with it when not carrying her Kimber 45. Love that pistol, and would never underestimate said weapon.

 

[Everclear]

I love my 38 spl. revolver. It's just a little bulky for pocket carry so I bought a Ruger 380 for pocket carry.

 

[Phillip Gain]

Just the facts...

Based on ballistic testing done by Brass Fetcher Ballistic Testing

Perhaps the most successful revolver cartridge of all time, the .38 Special is most at home in a small-frame, concealable revolver and exhibits performance in ballistic gelatin similar, but not quite equal to the 9x19mm Luger.

Commonly available jacketed hollowpoints (JHPs) in this caliber will generally exhibit above-average bullet expansion and slightly-less than 12" penetration depths, when fired from a short-barreled revolver (a 'snub nose'). This is largely due to the fact that the longer a gun barrel is, more of the bullets propellant charge is burned and the faster the bullet travels. Snub nose revolvers typically utilize 2" long barrels, among the shortest barrel lengths for any caliber handgun, exacerbating this situation.

For longer barrel lengths (which usually means a larger gun in terms of all the other dimensions - weight and height, etc), a .357 Magnum is recommended. This handgun can fire the .38 Special (with no additional safety precautions) and of course, the much more effective Magnum load. Such a cartridge/gun combination can easily be handled by a shooter of moderate handgun experience and ammunition for both calibers is widely available at a reasonable cost.

In short - they make EXCELLENT back-up guns. And they do a fair job as a primary gun as well.

It should be noted that the .38 Special was the standard cartridge for many police departments for a long time, back in the days when police carried revolvers. As assailants got tougher (and more drugged up), officers became concerned that it just wasn't enough. This, in a nutshell, is why the .357 Magnum cartridge was developed.

 

[B2Tall]

In short - they make EXCELLENT back-up guns. And they do a fair job as a primary gun as well.

It should be noted that the .38 Special was the standard cartridge for many police departments for a long time, back in the days when police carried revolvers. As assailants got tougher (and more drugged up), officers became concerned that it just wasn't enough. This, in a nutshell, is why the .357 Magnum cartridge was developed.

Precisely why I bought a .357 when I wanted a snubbie. Plus, I can always shoot .38 with it if I want (and frequently do at the range).

 

[The_Outlaw]

I love my 38 spl. revolver. It's just a little bulky for pocket carry so I bought a Ruger 380 for pocket carry.

I think it's a great cartridge. They shoot very nicely through my Colt King Cobra.
I'm seriously considering the Ruger LCR as my next purchase.

 

[jon@hmbgny]

I am a proud owner of a s@w 442 .38
special. and would not want to be on the other end of it

 

[B2Tall]

I think it's a great cartridge. They shoot very nicely through my Colt King Cobra.
I'm seriously considering the Ruger LCR as my next purchase.

I have an LCR. It quickly became my preferred EDC when I'm not working.

 

[revjen45]

The only negative I see for .38 SPL is the difficulty in finding non - +P social work ammo for older guns.

 

[Rich_S]

My mother was given a 38 special by my dad many many years ago, when dad was out of town she would sleep with it under her pillow, called it "her sleeping pill", crack shot by the way. That pistol is still in my possession, my wife answers the door with it when not carrying her Kimber 45. Love that pistol, and would never underestimate said weapon.

Why would your wife need a firearm to answer the door? Do you mean to say that she actually opens the door without knowing who's on the other side?

 

[Saltcreek]

The 38 Special got its bad rap due to the original bullet which was considered standard round, even to the early 1980s by some Departments and Security firms. The roundnose lead bullet at 760 to 850 Fps, depending on the barrel length, was famous for overpenetration, non-expanding, and making clean neat holes with the round nose slipping through causing little damage. This of course required more rounds to stop a person. In addition, it bounced off of car window glass, (I have seen this) and bounced off car sheet metal, (saw this too), This is the reason the 38-44 Outdoorsman, and 357 Magnum were developed, along with "metal piercing" bullets to penetrate cars.
The new generation of jacketed and hollowpoint bullets that most you youngsters know, didn't make their appearence until the 1970s with "Super-Vel" leading the pack. Before that it was solid lead bullets only for most law-enforcement. Handloaders could cast hollowpoints, but most Departments don't allow handloads except for training ammo. My own Deartment got "modern" so until 1986 we "upgraded" to a 125 grain jacketed softpoint, which still had little expansion at 38 velocities. But heck, one of our Council members thought we should train with blank ammo because it was cheaper for the budget. They also wanted to only buy 8 pairs of boots for the Fire Dept and have them share the boots. So there is your brief history on how the 38 got a bad rap.
PS - current ammo has greatly evolved with either the 158+P Hollow Point FBI load,(Remington has the best dead soft lead for expansion and penetration) or for very reliable expansion in all materials, the Speer 135gr +P hollowpoint. I carry a S&W 649 every day since retirement.

 

[Bighouse Doc]

Do YOUR job and place it right and they will go down just as fast as with a 44magnum!

-Doc

 

[hotti]

that's BS, unless you mean in the brain. The .44's 4x greater energy and enough velocity to reliably expand a hp mean it's MANY times more likely than a .38 to down a man with a chest hit. No body hit with typical handgun ammo, anyway stops a man by physical incapacitation, other than a pure luck hit to the spine, above the shoulders. What you must do is create enough shock, pain, etc to make him WANT to quit his attack, psychologically. Sure, go ahead and start your bs about how this is "not reliable". Well, NOTHING is reliablly about physical incapacitation, at least, not for at LEAST 5 full seconds, and probably not for 10 seconds, because the brain KEEPs thata much xygenated blood in it. YOu can BLOW APART his heart and he can physicall function for 5 seconds. It's happened already.

 

[hotti]

The .38 plus P lhp is nothing much, 250 ft lbs in a 2" barrel, 300 ft lbs in a 4" barrel. In the Miami-Platt incident, this load failed once to pierce the skull, no barriers in the way, from 15 ft, with a luck hit from a .38 snub. From a 4" barrel, at 3-6 ft, it failed 6 x out of 6 tries to pierce both a car's glass and the skulls of platt and matix. The .38 is feeble and will remain so until SAAMI decides to up the max pressure allowed to 40,000 CUP. The revolver, of course, has its problems, in any caliber. It's fragile, w prone to rapid wear of working parts, exposed to debris and moisture, has a high line of recoil relative to the forearm of the shooter, etc.

 

[NCIC105]

Guess that is why My Colt Python, which has over 3,500 of rounds ran through it is rusted out, won't lock up any more, not accurate, Springs broken...

For someone to say a revolve is not dependable just show's lack of knowledge.

 

[Bighouse Doc]

A good solid 38 hit will clip the vital structures just as good as a bigger bore. A central hit with most 38s will clip trough a sternum, heart, great vessel, and lodge nicely in the vertebral column. The 44 will probably damage just as many structures and exit from the spine.

What benefit is a 45 or larger caliber? They don't blast people from their feet and across the room like in the movies. The benefit of a larger caliber is that they can still reach the "Off Buttons" despite a marginal shot.

An interesting recent study: Firearms Stopping Power: A Different Perspective

BS filter time: How many CCW' have to shoot through vehicle parts, defeat barricaded suspects, and defeat armored vehicles? Precious few I suspect. In reality, probably close to none!

BTW, Since I have the autopsy report from the shootout, please tell me which shot you are talking about. If you are trying to describe wound "F" you need to know the soft lead bullet "Fragmented" on his zygomatic arch. one fragment cracked his middle cranial fossa and contused his right temporal lobe.

-Doc

 

[agrippakc]

I have in .38 a SW mod 36, 10, and a mod 19 in 357. I shoot a low recoil HP in my mod 36 which is my BUG. It's a solid and accurate cartridge. if it wasnt for my love of 1911s it would be what I would carry exclusivly. In the end, no matter what you hear, shoot what works for you. Theres a guy in japan that can drive a sewing needle through wooden boards with his bare hands at a decent distance, needles work for him.

 

[agrippakc]

Also, after reading some of the other posts it needs to be said that my models 10 and 19 are from the late 70's and the 36 that I carry is from the late 50s. All work like a champ, I shpot the heck out of them and with all of the if I can see it I can hit it. I even won a bet out at the farm that I couldn.t hit our center mass size steel plate from the 100 yrd mark. That pistol has a 3" barrel and I hit it on the third shot. 100 yards... Don't hate on the .38 wheel guns or i'll start talking about glocks.

 

[SGB]

The .38 special is ok but anything it can do the 9mm can do with a higher ammunition capacity, it's simply progress.

 

[santa]

The .38 plus P lhp is nothing much, 250 ft lbs in a 2" barrel, 300 ft lbs in a 4" barrel. In the Miami-Platt incident, this load failed once to pierce the skull, no barriers in the way, from 15 ft, with a luck hit from a .38 snub. From a 4" barrel, at 3-6 ft, it failed 6 x out of 6 tries to pierce both a car's glass and the skulls of platt and matix. The .38 is feeble and will remain so until SAAMI decides to up the max pressure allowed to 40,000 CUP. The revolver, of course, has its problems, in any caliber. It's fragile, w prone to rapid wear of working parts, exposed to debris and moisture, has a high line of recoil relative to the forearm of the shooter, etc.

First thing is a 38 is quite adequate as a carry weapon. It is far from feeble. I always ask those who de-ride it how they would feel getting shot by one. Second to say a revolver is fragile, prone to rapid wear is baloney. I had a 38 special that I fired more than 45,ooo rounds through without ANY problems whatsoever. It only needed cleaning after each shooting session. Third to say there is alot of recoil will depend on the gun and caliber being shot. Obviously a 44magnum with a 4 inch barrel kicks more than a 38 special with a 110 grain bullet fired out of a 4 inch barrel. Fourth IF a round fails to fire in a bouble action revolver you can 'pass over' the dud by just continueing to pull the trigger, where as with a auto you have to remove the defectine round and 're-rack' the slide. I have owned both revolvers and semi-autos. There are several threads 'revolver vs auto' on this site and perhaps you might like reading them. Lastly is a larger caliber is fine IF you hit the target correctly the FIRST time because there is more recovery time between shots with larger calibers. A 38 snubby is perfect for quickly getting off more than one shot. It is small, and easy to conceal unlike bigger guns. Even IF a person is able to hide a bigger gun(depending on your wardrobe) a smaller gun will always be easier to hide. Id rather have a 38 on me than a 45 at home.