Am I the only one who feels this way, or is there a great silent mass of pistol shooters out there who still have a deep and abiding love for the old 38 Special? Back during the 1960's and 70s, it seemed like every gun magazine I picked up had an article slamming the 38 special. All the gun writers seemed on a vendetta to END this old cartridge once and for all.

Naturally the 38 survived all of their rants and scarcely noticed a ripple on the waters. Finally the gun pundits just gave up and today, as far as they are concerned, the 38 Special is "The Gun That Never Existed."

Another burning question I have tonight is, "Lives there a shooter so unlucky as to have never owned of fired a 38 Special?" If so, I'm sorry.

I just can't help really getting all warm and gushy feeling about this cartridge. I've done things with a 38 I never thought possible and most I've never duplicated with any other pistol.

The remarkable thing of it for me has been the journey. I began my pistol shooting with a 38 Special...or what was CALLED a 38 Special. Actually it was one of the hidious post WW-2 38 S&W conversions. My first box of ammo was the old 158gr RN bullet, soft as bubble gum, and probably loaded with a couple of grains of bullseye. My FIRST shot with this pistol was one I'll never forget. I shot a discarded 55 gallon steel drum. Range was 15 yards. The bullet made a dent and bounced back and hit me in the leg!

It's a wonder I didn't dig a hole and bury the pistol and never tell anyone I had touched such a thing.

Talk about pissed! Talk about disappointed! I could throw a rock and do more damage!!!!!!!

Quick as possible I traded the POS off for something else...but danged if I didn't swing around a few months later and buy me ANOTHER 38. Only this time it was a new Mod. 15 4" by S&W. Gun shot like a dream and by this time I was tooled up for it and loading my own. And as I ran up and down the scale of possiblities for 38 Special ammo I discovered this pistol had many personalities from superb target pistol on up to hot ammo I could shoot thru both sides of abandoned car bodies at the junk yard...if the bullet didn't hit things like hidden window frames etc. And best of all, I never found a "bad load" for the 38. I couldn't put together anything it wouldn't shoot and shoot WELL.

Over the years, I've been without a .22 pistol at times...but ALWAYS had a 38 or one model or another. I own several pistols I love like brothers......but I think my 38 will be the last to go.

For me, rifles are like old friends. You really care about them and enjoy being with them. You can wait to go out and do things together. But a pistol should be like a lover, a more personal and intimate thing. You hold it in your hand like a child and it becomes an extension of you. You don't sling it over your shoulder like a rifle. You place it in a lined holster and wear it close to your family jewels and always at your right hand.

It's late and I've had way too much orange slice tonight for my own good, so I'm going to hush before someone recognizes I'm just a sentimental old fool.

Anyway, long live the 38.....the gun that wouldn't die.


[ 08-23-2003, 10:06: Message edited by: Pecos45 ]

PECOS 38SPL HBWC IS PROLLY THE MOST ACCURATE HAND LOAD I USE IN MY S&W MODEL27.I LOAD EM WITH LOVE AND 3.2 GRS OF BULLSEYE. GOOD NITE BUDDY........

I have just rediscovered this little jewel of a cartridge. And for those who are familiar with it, know why this round will be here for a while longer. I use a 2" barrel, 5 shot handgun in this caliber for self-defense and don't feel "out-gunned" in the slightest. With a 158gr. J.H.P. bullet on top of 4.8gr. of A.A. #5, this is ALMOST as perfect as it gets (for me anyway).

False - I worked my way thru college in a gun store and remember many of the "experts" spouting off how a snub nose 38 was so inaccuarate you couldn't stand on one side of a street and hit a parked car on the other side, or another popular myth was the short barrel wouldn't stabalize a bullet and within a few feet the bullet was doing summersaults thru the air.

I didn't know any better and believed it must be so. A few years later I bought a 5 shot chief's special. Was I in for a surprise! I used to take it hunting with me and when I grew tired I would sit down and pick off small rocks around me out to 25 - 30 yds. The truth is, if a person will hold a snubby still and aim it, the gun will damn sure shoot better than most can imagine!

But you already know this, don't you?

I have a Taurus M689 (.357 Mag) through which I shoot almost exclusivley .38 Spcl lead round-nosers because they are cheap to shoot, don't make lots of noise and don't recoil as much. Additionally, I can always find lots of brass for it laying around public ranges on the rare occasions that I go to one. The .38 is a great gun with which to start women shooting for Reasons #2 and #3 above. Not to worry; it will be around for a long time to come.

Pecos, you have class. One of my favorite small game guns is a S&W 10 with a 4" pencil barrel. I have milled and installed adj sights on it, and have reformed the butt/frame. It is one of the first guns I fully finished by myself. It is rust blued, and is a dream to shoot. I bought this gun for 160 bucks.
Its kinda funny... all this disscusion on the other thread about the 9mm. I hunt quite a bit with handguns and can tell you with out a doubt I would much rather hunt with a 38spl than a 9. Cast semi 158s make great generial purpose loads. The 158 LSWHP is a very serious smallgame/coyote bullet, and speers 148HBWC inverted is a deadly rabbit/coyote load.
When I lived in Alaska, I had shot a spike while fishing, he was about 30 yards or less and hit him through the lungs with a 158LSWCHP. The bullet was recovered on the far side, fully expanded. He ran maybe 50 yards.

Smallfry, I just gave my son a heavy barrel model 10 I shot for years. Excellent gun. I thought when I got it that I would miss the adjustable sights...but the sights on the gun were exactly on....what was to adjust?

Rootbeer - I'm like you. I've got a S&W CIA model snubby in .357, but I rarely shoot anything in it but 38. And getting tons of 38 Spl brass for nothing has been easy.

And as I've already said, anything you put together will shoot well in the 38. It's just the sweetest pistol of all to get along with.

For sure the 38 can make a 9mm look silly. I've proved that to myself over and over. Where the 9 is pretty much a "one trick pony," the 38 is a whole orchestra of opportunities.

Dead, not in my eyes! Gotta colt trooper , colt Grizzly and my favorite of all a very very nice colt diamondback that just loves 4.3grns of 231 under a nevada 158grn semi wadcutter. Long live the .38 special (and the .45 colt too)

38 special ain't dead in my Smith and Wesson Model 52 semi-auto either...No golf ball sized target is safe at less than 50 yards...

regards,
Graycg

When I first qualified for expert pistol in the Navy, it was with an issue S&W 38spcl.
I now have a Colt Millitary and Police 38. It is a very smooth gun and shoots tiny groups with very little recoil.

For the last 30 years a Chief's Special with a bobbed hammer has been in my pocket anytime I had to go for a late night trip to the convenience store. I love the slab-sided govt. model, but here in the south, where light clothes and no jackets make concealing the old war-horse difficult, the Chief's just fits the bill. While I would not "go hunting" on purpose with a .38, it will do in a pinch. About a year ago while walking at the farm with wife and daughter, an 80 lb pig stepped out of the woods at about 30 yards. We had had problems with dope-heads looking for anhydrous ammonia at our place, so I had stuck a 4 inch ruger in my belt. One lung shot with a 110 grain +P JHP ended that porker's rooting days. Made some good sausage, too.

Thank you, lads, one and all for your hearty affirmations of faith in this superb pistol cartridge. We don't hear much about it any longer. The gun pundits have long since given up trying to talk it to death and the gun manufacturers are always coming out with something new to babble about....but all of us know a little secret: In the real world, the 38 SPl just keeps humming quietly along, doing everything well and waiting to delight anyone willing to give it a serious try.

Certainly there are faster, flatter shooting and more powerful pistols. But if there is anything out there that has the easy range of abilities the 38 Special commands, I've never found it.

Long may it be so!

OH BY THE WAY WHEN MY FATHER IN LAW WAS A COP HERE IN TOWN HE CARRIED A COLT .38SPL DET SPL. IT'S CUTE AS HELL AND A REALLY GOOD SHOOTER. MY WIFE INHERITED IT AND SHOOTS IT ONCE IN A WHILE.

THE 2ND AMENDMENT PROTECTS US ALL............

They're great fun Pecos. I have a S & W Model 38 (shrouded hammer) and Outdoorsman in 38 Special, as well as a Colt Detective Special, Official Police, Police Positive, and a Diamondback, 38's all. That's not including the 357's that I shoot 38's in all the time (hey, I'm cheap, no wait, make that "frugal"). - Dan

For teaching wheel gun proficiency and instilling confidence in novice shooters there is NOTHING better than a 38 Special...NOTHING!!

Dan - There's no shame in shooting 38s in a .357. The .357 was dreamed up by a bunch of devoted 38 shooters who started hot loading 38 Spl. but long ago most 38 Spl's were either REALLY frail guns or worse...converted from the scads and scads of 38 S&W's floating around. It didn't take a rocket surgeon to realize if a special case wasn't created there were going to be a bunch of blown up pistols around the land. So, the case was stretched .10 and the .357 stepped onto stage. At the time everyone marveled at it's power. Same exact story with the .44 Mag.

For every round of .357 I've ever shot in my life, I've shot 100 38 Spl. And with a well built gun, it's easy to load the .38 Spl up where it is one nasty pistol cartridge!

Most 38 Spl factory ammo today is still loaded rather timidly because the strength of all the 38s out there still varies a lot.

IMHO, to get the most out of the 38, it's definitely a handloader's cartridge.

IMHO, to get the most out of the 38, it's definitely a handloader's cartridge.

YOU'RE RIGHT ABOUT THAT PECOS........

THE 2ND AMENDMENT PROTECTS US ALL...........

LOL!@ tasco 74

I always imagined you as this really loud, easily excitable person.

Some very unique personalities on this forum.

And by unique I don't mean gay...