You could always load it with Buffalo Bore 158 LSWHP +P ammo for defense, and load the non +P version of it for practice. You can buy the same bullets they use from rimrockbullets dot net.
Nice D frames, both of you.
Every time I see one of these, I think of the Alice Cooper album "Lace and Whiskey".
One is pretty prominent in the cover art.
Just realized Seagram's VO is the whiskey in the pic. That's some nasty stuff. Never did like it.
Just remember, what's referred to as +P nowadays was considered standard pressure before 1972.
So, it's what your gun was built to shoot.
In fact, most modern +P ammo is pretty weak. It's a marketing ploy.
Buffalo Bore +P ammo is one of very few that is actually the same velocity as the original loadings.
The .38 Spl wasn't known as a widowmaker because it lacked in power, rather, the RNL bulllet design was sorely lacking in performance.