38 Special revolvers

Rodfac said:
years of LEO carry and qualification shooting can do wonders for a revolver's trigger. "

I've some very good experiences with police trade-ins. However , in realistic terms , many of those leo carries are quite low in round count. Qualifications do not result in high round counts , and many - hopefully most - officers never discharge their sidearm in the course of active law enforcement. What I've seen is significant holster wear and lightly used mechanics. - and that's great!
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"If I could think of any good reason to have a 38 I would be tempted to return today but I can't."

I'm still trying to understand this comment. To me a good 38 revolver is reliable, accurate, cheap to shoot, light enough in recoil to train beginners, and enough for defense against anything short of bear and real boar.

I guess I'm in the camp of, "If I could think of any good reason to not have a 38, I would be tempted to return mine for refund today, but I can't.
 
Russ57 said:
"If I could think of any good reason to have a 38 I would be tempted to return today but I can't."

I'm still trying to understand this comment. To me a good 38 revolver is reliable, accurate, cheap to shoot, light enough in recoil to train beginners, and enough for defense against anything short of bear and real boar.

I guess I'm in the camp of, "If I could think of any good reason to not have a 38, I would be tempted to return mine for refund today, but I can't.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I’m not sure the meanings of these comments but I am sure they have a good history and basis.

Anyway, when I has young and funds were limited and had to be stretched, I bought my first centerfire revolver, a S&W Model 19. I could shoot 357 Magnum and 38 Special.

All was well with the world.

As more discretionary funds became available, could buy some 38 Special revolvers—and more 357 Magnum revolvers.

When plinking with targets of opportunity or killing the snot out of a paper target, I have come to appreciate my 38 Special revolvers like the Model 14 and 15.

But don’t get me wrong, I enjoy getting out a 357 Magnum and shoot higher power loads.

I feel my target level loads in a 38’Special revolver produce smaller groups than in a similar K-frame 357 Mag revolver. I prefer shooting 357 Magnum cases in my 357 Magnum revolvers . Maybe with some extensive load development, a bullseye target 357 Mag revolver can shoot as well as a bullseye target 38 Special.

On the other hand, the bullseye shooters know lots more than I to get small groups. :)

On to Taurus revolvers, if I stumbled on one that was more for target shooting vs self defense, I might give it a go. I’m always on the look out for a new fun shooter.
 
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I've got 12 .38spcl's, all Colts and S&W's. My favorite is a lowly S&W 10-8. I put more wadcutters alone through this gun than total rounds through the other .38's combined.

Forgive the crusty looking finish, its coated in RIG for winter storage.

right side.jpg

And a distant second is this old gal here. Bought it for $100 as a broken parts gun, mainly for the grips, but replace a $15 part and brought it back to working order. She's seen better days cosmetically but mechanically she's sound with a decent bore, and I have a soft spot for survivors, so I give her some exercise from time to time.

right side.jpg

And this one is probably my most interesting, It's former owner was one Major General Lamar Tooze, a combat veteran of WWI and WWII, and eventually commanded the 104th infantry, which Is based out of Joint Base Lewis/McChord and is local to me...pretty neat.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/109140002/lamar-e-tooze

left side.jpg
 
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I was at my LGS today looking for yet another “woods bumming” gun - I spend a lot of time hunting and hiking and generally wandering around outside, and am in search of the perfect partner to have on my hip. I was looking at a SW 317 (22lr), but don’t like the aluminum cylinder and worry about an overly tight cylinder gap and binding issues. Also looked at a SW 648 (22 WMR), but that’s a big piece of steel to lug around. Then I spied one of of the new “classic series” Model 10s. I have an old M&P (1947, pre-Model 10) that I love to shoot but it’s in mint condition and I don’t carry it and don’t put a ton of rounds through it…somehow having an essentially new 75 year old gun getting rained on and scratched up doesn’t sit well with me. Soooo, I’m seriously considering a return trip tomorrow to pick up the new one. I’ve used 38s on undesirable critters (mostly armadillos, some skunks, and one coyote) to great effect. All that to say, the 38 is alive and well and one can never have too many irons in this chambering.
 
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I can't afford safe queens, range toys, barbecue guns, or museum pieces... So my guns really get worked. While my 2nd gun is matched for ammo compatibility and magazine exchange with my primary... a third gun slipped into a pocket can be found with many. In cooler months it is a scandium .38spl.
 
I can think of multiple good reasons to have .38 Special revolving pistols. Previous posts have covered it well, so, I will just say that my usual daily urban carry guns, lately, have been my two 2” K-Frame S&W Models 64. One, or the other, or both. Yes, “ammo capacity” means multiple revolvers. ;)

I am less likely to subject my blued sixguns to daily carry, but I have a post-war 2” S&W pre-Model 10, with a “transitional” hammer, and a 2” Colt Official Police. Rarely toted, for about 20 years, is my Nineties-era S&W Performance Center Airweight, based on an early model 642. (My usual minimum, since 2002, even for back-up, has been the SP101.)

My longer-barreled revolvers are .357 Magnum, rather than .38 Special, but I am gradually aging-out of shooting ammo approaching full-pressure Magnum in anything other than my lugged-barrel Ruger GP100 sixguns. For future purchases/trades, .38 is Special enough.

I am not against auto-loadin’ pistols. A “baby” Glock can be a decent “emergency reload,” when my primary is a revolver. ;) Actually, I no longer trust my gimp right hand to always provide a stable platform, for reliable auto-loader cycling, but nearly 40 years of habitually reaching for my right hip, for the “primary” weapon, is hard-wired into my brain. So, a .38 Special revolving pistol, that does not mind how firmly I hold it, and does not pound my aging right hand too badly, is a very good and valid thing to have.

I am used to reaching for a reload with my left hand, and, I write left-handed, so, controlling a trigger with my left index finger is not a problem. My left hand, thumb, and wrist are much healthier, and able to shoot autos reliably. So, my holsters for “baby Glocks” are mostly left-handed. My second gun may be a second revolver, of course. Eleven or twelve rounds is quite a bit, even in the big-city environment.
 
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