Would you trust your life to a .38 special?

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MikeNice
The ultimate in average is not what I want to hear. This is a tool for protecting the life of not just me but my family. Average is not what I want.

I would trust my life to it if that is what I had on hand. You can kill with any caliber of hand gun. The question is, how confident are you in your ability to place the shot when it counts? If you feel more confident putting a .38spl+P on target than a 9mm or a .40S&W then it is the best gun to trust.

I have owned a .38spl and I believe that it would stop a bad guy in most situations. I just wouldn't count on using less than three shots.
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I think that your definition of average is slightly different from the author's or mine for that matter. In this case of stopping power, "average" is still stopped or in many cases, dead. Will the .38 Special open the largest hole? No... Does the .38 Special have the highest velocity, energy or penetration? No... What it does have is an outstanding track record of stopping men. Besides the ubiquitous .22 LR, no other bullet has stopped as many men in the last 100 years in the US. Not a bad track record for "average".

More and more, LEO's and civilians are replacing the .38 Special with semi-auto calibers like the 9mm and the 40 S&W, and in terms of the next 100 years, these calibers will likely supplant the average .38 Special in total number of men stopped. This will not necessarily be due to their vastly superior stopping ability, but due to a shift in what is popular to carry. In the FBI table below, we can see that from 1999 to 2008 the .38 Special was responsible for the 3rd highest number of officers killed while wearing body armor. These statistics don't necessarily show one caliber's effectiveness over another, but rather what people are more commonly carrying. It does however show that the so-called "average" .38 Special is still right in the front of the pack for man-stoppers... Even if its size, speed and energy are just "average".

http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/killed/2008/data/table_39.html
 
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gglass said:
I think that your definition of average is slightly different from the author's or mine for that matter. In this case of stopping power, "average" is still stopped or in many cases, dead. Will the .38 Special open the largest hole? No... Does the .38 Special have the highest velocity, energy or penetration? No... What it does have is an outstanding track record of stopping men. Besides the ubiquitous .22 LR, no other bullet has stopped as many men in the last 100 years in the US. Not a bad track record for "average".

More and more, LEO's and civilians are replacing the .38 Special with semi-auto calibers like the 9mm and the 40 S&W, and in terms of the next 100 years, these calibers will likely supplant the average .38 Special in total number of men stopped. This will not necessarily be due to their vastly superior stopping ability, but due to a shift in what is popular to carry. In the FBI table below, we can see that from 1999 to 2008 the .38 Special was responsible for the 3rd highest number of officers killed while wearing body armor. These statistics don't necessarily show one caliber's effectiveness over another, but rather what people are more commonly carrying. It does however show that the so-called "average" .38 Special is still right in the front of the pack for man-stoppers... Even if its size, speed and energy are just "average".

http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/killed/2008/data/table_39.html
Click to expand...
This post was so good I had to repeat it in its entirety.
 
NO! Absolutely NOT! And all of you should immediately take your .38's to your FFL and send them to me. I promise to take them off your hands. :D:D:D

/smartaleck

Yes, I do. I have a snubbie and a 66-3. Though the 66 is a .357 it usually has .38's in it. I carry speedloaders when I carry a revolver, although in truth, if I get my 55-year old arthritic self into a situation where six .38's won't do it, I must have done something awfully stupid.

That said, I do prefer a semiauto with more rounds per mag for the bedside table gun. We have home invasions in the Houston area, and have had some not all that far away from us, and were that to occur, that might be the exception to the above paragraph.

Jan
 
Wow, great topic. Well, this is my first post here so no flaming please... be gentle.

Anyway, the original question was would you trust your life to a .38 spl. The simple answer is yes. My 50 year old Colt Officer's Model Match is dead on accurate, and when loaded with Glaser Blue "safety slugs" I feel it provides the best possible solution for close quarters defense.

Colt_Glaser.jpg


The only questions is how accurate will I be in a "do or die" situation ? Calm, cool and collected, like at the range, or jittery and nervous under pressure?

Hopefully, I'll never have to find out.
 
Absolutely.

My folks both have them as bedside companions as well.

Now that I have larger calibers at hand, I'd still be happy with .38 if my primary CCW was in the shop.

What you lose in power, you gain in "write your name in cursive" aim.
 
Dudemeister, Welcome to the forum.

I strongly urge you to reconsider the Glaser Safety slugs. They do the exact opposite of what you want. They disentegrate in flesh (and underpenetrate) but penetrate through drywall and stay intact.

What you really should look into is a high velocity/light weight hollow point, like Hornady's Critical Defense 110 grain FTX or something else similar

I personally think my .38 is adequate, but given the choice I would reach for my 5.56 semi-auto first. If travelling, I pick my .38 with no qualms.
 
There is nothing wrong with the 38 special. My personal preference would be for a 6 shot, 4" gun.

The serious question here is why you think you need to decide between a revolver or an automatic! Just get both! :D
 
Waywatcher said:
Dudemeister, Welcome to the forum.

I strongly urge you to reconsider the Glaser Safety slugs. They do the exact opposite of what you want. They disentegrate in flesh (and underpenetrate) but penetrate through drywall and stay intact.

What you really should look into is a high velocity/light weight hollow point, like Hornady's Critical Defense 110 grain FTX or something else similar

I personally think my .38 is adequate, but given the choice I would reach for my 5.56 semi-auto first. If travelling, I pick my .38 with no qualms.
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Thanks for the welcome, Waywatcher

I used to think that the Federal Hydrashok was an impressive round, and I've also seen the effects of a full wadcutter in ballistic gel, but frankly I do like the idea of a round that will NOT come out the other side, and will spend all its energy by spreading a bunch of birdshot over large area at the point of impact.

While I grant you that it will probably not be very effective at a distance and when the perp is wearing heavy/winter clothing, this slug is well suited for where I live in California.

For winter time, there's always the Silver tipped version, which carries heavier/larger birdshot (#6 vs.12)

P.S. I also have a small Llama .380 Auto with Hydrashok's, just in case I have to reach for "extra support".
 
Hello friends and neighbors // Kylaen welcome to THR this is a great place for firearm related info.

Yes I trust my life to a .38 daily.
A S&W 442 is my EDC, sometimes accompanied by a 1955 S&W M&P 2" .38 or one of my .357s.

158 grain LSWCHP is a fine round from a 4" or a snubbie.

The S&W 686 is a great choice, I have a 1983 S&W 586 6" and love it.
It does not sound like you intend this for carry and conceal so a 4" barrel might be ideal.
To get a full ejectior rod you need a 3" or longer barrel, this also gives a longer sight radius and slightly less recoil as well as more velocity than a snubbie.

I am currently looking at a 686P 2 1/2" which carries 7 rounds of .357/.38.
I would prefer a 3" but only the 686 comes in 3" not the 686P and I have other 4" .357/.38 that sore of fit that niche.

Other candidates along those lines are the S&W model 386, 7 round or the model 327, 8 round both in .357/38.

As far as being better off with a snub, IMHO it depends on your surroundings.

If I am mostly indoors or in and out of the car a snubbie is perfect.
If I am mostly outside or traveling the country I like something with a little more sight radius so I might add a 4" or 6" revolver or even have a .357 rifle in the truck. (If it is hunting season and I will be near some DNR gameland)

Getting a S&W 442 or 642 in .38 is a great start, they are light weight, can be used as a night stand/pocket/purse/IWB/OWB/hiking/biking/you name it handgun.

Perfect for protection in tight places like public bathrooms/rest stops when that bad road food causes an unexpected emergency pull in. It is hard to have great situational awareness sitting in a stall.
This is one of my most vunerable scenerios and I trust my life to a .38 in this case most of the time.

Save some money and rent as many as you can before laying down the big bucks, one will usually stand out on its own.

Good luck finding what works for you.
 
Since the question is would I trust my life to a .38 sp, the platform (revolver) and it's reliability (very high) are in play as there aren't in semi-auto .38 sp that I am aware of.

I think the .38 sp j frame SW revolver is just about the best pocket gun around. Very, very reliable-which is the first concern. I personally would trust one over any .380 auto in terms of reliability. It can be used at contact distance since it doesn't rely on recoil to cycle. A casual hand in the pocket can be on it when walking to a car, etc.

Using gold dots or the 158 +P LHPs, it packs a good punch. I consider the best .38 sp +p rounds to be the minimum acceptable rounds in terms of power that I would use in a defensive gun, so I guess the answer is yes.

I would prefer a high cap 9mm as the best 9mm rounds are slightly better and the capacity is more in line. However, given the factors I discussed, when concealment needs dictate a smaller gun, I would go .38 j frame and be OK with it.
 
I generally like to use .357 Magnum ammo in my all-steel guns capable of handling it, but have no actual problem trusting my life to .38 Special, particularly the well-proven 158-grain LSWCHP. It seems the Speer 135-grain JHP Gold Dot made for the shorter barrels has also proven itself with NYPD use of it in shooting real-life bad guys.

One of the sixguns on my short list is an S&W Model 10 or 64 2" snubby; I even already have a nice set of BluMagnum grips set aside for when I have found the perfect sixgun.
 
the 38 special has sent alot of folks to the outher side, not my first pick but yes the 38 will get the job done!
 
Dudemeister said:
Thanks for the welcome, Waywatcher

I used to think that the Federal Hydrashok was an impressive round, and I've also seen the effects of a full wadcutter in ballistic gel, but frankly I do like the idea of a round that will NOT come out the other side, and will spend all its energy by spreading a bunch of birdshot over large area at the point of impact.

While I grant you that it will probably not be very effective at a distance and when the perp is wearing heavy/winter clothing, this slug is well suited for where I live in California.

For winter time, there's always the Silver tipped version, which carries heavier/larger birdshot (#6 vs.12)

P.S. I also have a small Llama .380 Auto with Hydrashok's, just in case I have to reach for "extra support".
Click to expand...
This is a horrible idea, and not just to me but to the people who study this for a living - like the FBI and Dr. Fackler at the Army Would Ballistics Laboratory. I suggest you read the FBI's report on handgun wounding effectiveness and immediately dump those safety slugs. You need penetration first and foremost.
 
I would rather have 158 LRN than the safety slugs. But there are choices far superior to both.

There are conventional ways to control overpenetration if it weighs heavily on your mind.

Some examples, high velocity lightweight JHPs, the classic 158 LHP, etc.
 
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