What's your opinion of the .38 Special?

[45-70.gov]

but  then  the  35 remington  is  .358 inch 

bigger than them all  and  called  a 35  not  36  or 38

[SHOOTALL]

yep and i have loaded them in 357 mag. and 357 max. cases !

[williamlayton]

ANSWER: They are all the same except for the case size and powder charge.
I reload my .38's, 9x23 and my .38 super with the same 9mm bullet from Zero. They are Jacketed.
Now, the semi-auto's are rimless or semi-rimmed.
The 9x23 case is a Winchester case that is actually a small rifle case and stands much greater pressure than generated in the .357 and can be loaded too greater speeds than the .357 mag.
We are talking the same bullet.
Different cases.
The modern .38 super can be as effective as a .357 mag.
Blessings

[SHOOTALL]

not in factory loads due to bullet shape IMAOHO !
Handloaded maybe maybe not, but even there autos need to be loaded in a certian pressure range to be reliable . I have seen 38 super revolvers in the past but it seems that now 357 mags can be used with full moon clips and have taken over as the case is stronger ie a 38 super with a 125 gr bullet can achive 1300 fps where a 357 mag with a 125 gr bullet can make 1750 . both are max loads both listed by Hornady.

[Wyo. Coyote Hunter]

  AZ, back to your question on wadcutters at 900 f. on game. For some reason, I don't like the idea of using wadcutters on any game but grouse or cottontails. Honestly, I have shot them very little, but I feel when we shoot game or varmit, we need to use enough power for a humane death. Wadcutters seem to loose too much poop too soon to do that in my opinion. I could certainly be wrong, but for shooting jacks or coyotes, I think I would want a good Keith style cast bullet or Jacketed bullet that would have plenty of punch when it hit. These days about the only thing I use my .22 pistol on is gophers or once in a while forest grouse. I must be getting old, but I  hate the thought of shooting somehting and have it living a second longer than necessary. I want it dead now. Even the old coyote, for the bad rap he has, is a fine game animal. But tough as a boot. He deserves to be shot with a load powerful enough to put his lights out fast.  Jacks like wise. With a pistol, we are not as accurate as with a rifle, at least I am not, so I like good killing loads when turning the pistol on game.

[JayAK]

Assuming the flexibility of handloading and a gun rated for +P pressures, what are your feelings about the .38 Special as a general purpose handgun round?  It seems like it should be perfectly good for everything from target shooting and plinking to varmint control to home defense. 

It is a great round.

[jcn59]

Decided against it.

[NASTYGUNZ]

My carry gun, .38 S&W airweight...I also use my scoped Tracker .357 with 38s for small game and varmint hunting.

[NASTYGUNZ]

Ive taken a variety of game with this taurus tracker in .38/.357...my best kill was a beautiful red fox i called in along the edge of a small swamp...he was about 25 yards from me...kinda weird angle looking right at me...heard the click when I pulled the hammer back...I shot him right in front of his shoulder...lower neck....JHP...38....went down right there nary a twitch.

[Travis Morgan]

A .38 will do 99% of anything a revolver's good for. If you wanna hunt big game or shoot really far, then you need to trade up. That said, for most purposes, a bigger, faster chambering will do most of those things even better.

[SHOOTALL]

funny thing is that in the old days the 45 Colt , 44-40 and 41 Colt all got put aside for the 38 colt and 38 S&W when they came out and 32 S&W too . Not so much for better ballistics but ease of carry and 2nd shot ease . And remember those guys were gun fighters not arm chair gun experts , might say they was end users !

[Travis Morgan]

Not necessarily; very few of the gunfighters tried and stayed with the .38's.(excepting Cody and his .36's) Just like today, cops that are poor shots like lighter guns that don't kick as much. Cops that are smart enough to want to make it home want the bigger, heavier guns, and are willing to carry more mags. . The .38's were smaller and more packable than the peacemakers, and popular with the folks that knew enough to carry a gun when they were traveling or away from town, but rather indefferent to guns.
    I guess it can be compared to firemen and regular folks; regular folks have the one crappy little fire extinguisher under the sink because they know they might need it, but they don't care about fire extinguishers; they just have one, but don't even know if it's still charged.
    A fireman, on the other hand, probably has several throughout the house of the appropriate rating, but heavier duty, not the 1 lite ones you get at Wally World. He makes sure his family knows how to use them, and regularly checks to make sure they're charged.

[SHOOTALL]

hum , guess Watt E.  carrying a 38 under his coat was a myth ? I wish I had a copy of the old article i had a chance to read as it was written in the 1920's and pointed out what i posted .
BTW. why carry a larger cal. than a 357 mag ? Its still king of the one shot stops ?

[teamnelson]

The .45 Colt in blackpowder did 1000 FPS/566 lbs at the muzzle with a 255g bullet, while the .44 wcf (.44-40) pushed a 200 gr at about the same speed in a pistol. Lots of folks compare the 44-40 to a 44 special in terms of performance. The .38 special falls short of both, and the .38 S&W fell short of that. I have an H&R in .38 S&W made in 1897 that locks up tight, and will put all 5 in a pie plate at 15 yds, that a great uncle carried all over the southwest tucked in his waistband. Its better than .36 cap & ball or a .31.

Had a retired cop teach me a double action drill on my model 10 (.38 special) yesterday at the range, that he learned from another cop, that he ... Seems like LEOs have been carrying .38s for a long time. Guess that makes the .38 a heavy duty option.

[Travis Morgan]

hum , guess Watt E.  carrying a 38 under his coat was a myth ?

You mean Wyatt Earp? Lots of people carry sub caliber backup guns. And he mostly used his gun for a club.

[45-70.gov]

My carry gun, .38 S&W airweight...I also use my scoped Tracker .357 with 38s for small game and varmint hunting.

thanks for  the use  of  your picture
this   is what  my   3  kids  carry.......so  i guess  i  endorse  the  38

i personally put up with  the weight  of stainless  640   in  357mag    [no  +P  for me]