The basic question still remains :
Is the .38 S&W Special sufficient for self defense ?
Your choice of load, bullet variant, etc.
Personally, I believe the .38 Special is not dead, but deadly !
What do you REALLY think the .38 Special is capable of, in self defense .
Now is the time to tell the truth, and share some wisdom .
OK ?
Perennial topic.
Yes, the venerable .38 S&W Special remains a viable defensive caliber, especially when using some of the modern loads and bullet designs.
It only requires browsing among the ever growing number of small revolvers in the market to see that it remains popular, and is seemingly experiencing yet another recurrent cycle of popularity.
While I started my LE at the beginning of the 80's being someone who thought that
only .357 Magnum, .45 ACP and .44 Magnum were "sufficient" for "serious defensive usage", it didn't take long for me to come around and revise my thinking.
As a working LE firearms instructor I had ample opportunity to meet quite a number of experienced instructors and cops who still found the .38 Spl to be a viable choice for off-duty & secondary (backup) duty weapons. I met cops who had been involved in shooting incidents who still chose to carry .38's on their own time, even if only as an option among some other calibers they owned and occasionally used.
For the last several years of my career I carried one or another of a growing number of 5-shot J-frames on my own time, and I invested a lot of range hours training, qualifying and practicing a variety of drills with them. I continue to carry them in my retirement. Sure, I'll sometimes decide the circumstances may make carrying one of my 9's, .40's or .45's a better option, or even something a bit lighter, like one of a pair of LCP .380's I picked ... but my collection of more than half a dozen J-frames speaks to the confidence I have in them.
A couple of my J-frames are M&P 340's, which are chambered in .357 Magnum, but I typically carry them loaded with one or another of 3 different .38 +P loads I've come to favor. Faster recovery and easier controllability at speed than when using Magnum loads, but even then I'll still sometimes carry Magnums (and sometimes use them for quals, training or practice).
I have a pristine S&W 37-2DAO I picked up before retirement, made on the older aluminum 37 frame. It only sees standard pressure loads for both range and carry, as I don't want to risk shortening its service life.
One of the advantages of the .38 Spl is that a wide variety of loads and bullet types can be used. Just about something to fit anybody's needs and reasonable preferences. Loads from low pressure 148gr target wadcutters up to a variety of +P loads, and everything in between.
The venerable "2-inch snub" has received some attention by the major American ammo makers in more recent years, too, resulting in some refined JHP's that help provide for better ballistic "performance" (expansion and balanced penetration).
While I carried a variety of issued guns on-duty throughout my career - .357 Magnum, 9, .40 & .45 - I'd have no particular qualms about carrying a 4" .38 Spl revolver if I were to return to active LE duty, as long as it could be stoked with one of the assorted good quality +P loads. (Sure, I'd once again opt for a .357 Magnum and some middleweight load, meaning 125gr-145gr, if it were available, but being restricted to "only" carrying a .38 Spl wouldn't cause me to lose sleep at night.
)
One of my several J-frame .38's are often
one my LEOSA weapons when we make road trips.
