Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns The 38 thread

We have a 32 and a 44 thread and they’re both great with lots of good info and discussion. I guess we should have a 38 thread to go with them.

I think the 38 special is my favorite handgun cartridge of all time. Bill Jordan claimed it was about all the average person could hope to master without real fanatical dedication to the larger heavier recoiling rounds and I think there’s a lot of truth to that.



While I won’t claim to have mastered it, I am actively working at it. I try to shoot at least 200-300 a week and oftentimes more. I spent a few hours earlier today casting and sizing about 500 wadcutters. A 4 cavity H&G mold along with a Star sizer have probably done more to improve my shooting than any other accessories, makes it nice when you can make a bunch of bullets quickly. They shoot very well and stay stable to at least the 50 yard line with a load of 3.5gr of W231.

I also cast and sized a couple hundred bullets from an old Cramer mold I’ve had for several years. It’s a wonderfully built 2 cavity and casts really easy. It makes what Cramer used to claim was a SWC but I would say it’s more like a RN with a tiny flat on the nose and a little bitty front driving band. Whatever it should be called it is absolutely the most accurate 38 bullet for long range shooting I have ever used. Propelled by 5.5 grains of Power Pistol it’s pretty easy to get them to land on a 12” plate at 150 yards or further.

I really enjoy a good 38. My two favorites are a 2" model 15 and a 6" Model 14 -3 . Shoot a lot of powder coated lead 125s over 4 gr of HP-38 . Easy shooting load and a pound of powder goes a long way.

Great thread! Can't wait to see where it goes.


Okie John

I shot almost exclusively .38 Special in handguns throughout the 1980s. It's an old standby that doesn't often get enough credit.

I have 38s in J, K, & N frames in 2”, 4”, and 6.5” barrel lengths. I’ve gotten the bug lately and have been on the scout for a Colt Officers Model Match or Target.

Strangely one of if not the most accurate 38 shooters I own is a beaten and battered 4 5/8” 357 Blackhawk I have $75 in. It shoots 38s as well as any K38 I’ve ever had and points like a wand for me.

I like the 38Spl. I think it is kind of underappreciated today, by the younger generations of shooters. I've carried it as a duty round on embassy guard duty way back when, in the 1980s and 1990s. So it will always have a place in my inventory, part sentimental, part practical.

I have a couple 357 revolvers, a 3" Ruger LCRx, and a 4" Ruger Security Six. My only true 38 Special revolver is this Ruger LCRx,

The Kid: I cut my "pistol teeth" in the late 1960's with an issued Smith & Wesson Model 10 in 38 Special - and some time later once I qualified "Expert" with that pistol I was allowed to request an issued Smith & Wesson Model 15 K-38 Combat Masterpiece with 4" barrel.
I fell in love with THAT Model 15 pistol.
It eventually even shot "Super-Vel" ammunition quite well.
I have been buying, trading and shooting revolvers in 38 Special ever since, and I own a BUNCH of them today.
Over the years all the folks and young people I have "instructed" in pistol shooting always included revolvers in 38 Special during my tutoring.
The VarmintWife for example shoots my Smith & Wesson Model 66 (with 6" barrel) so VERY well (with 38 wadcutter/target loads) that I was/am impressed.
And I have been around a LOT of pistol shooters in the last half century plus!
I say long live the 38 Special revolvers.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

The 38 special and 44 mag are absolutely my two fav handgun cartridges. Fantastic cartridge to cast and hand load for. I have a bucket full of Jframes, and many k frames. Mild to wild it’s an awesome cartridge.

My first:

I grew up with .22LR, .38, .357 and .45 ACP pistols. Dad always had some working guns around. A career in LE started back when duty-issue guns were round, not square. I don't shoot revolvers nearly as much as I used to but I do keep my hand in some double-action shooting once in a while. My two favorite pure .38s are my old M15 and my newer no-lock Airweight 642. I have a couple of other pure .38s. A M64 3" round butt and an old M38 Airweight Bodyguard are in the mix but good pictures can't be found for some reason. The M64 I have given to my mother for her house gun.

That's nice!

That’s a slick looking M15. Those are pretty tough to beat for an around the ranch revolver. Especially if you’re like I am and prone to random plinking breaks when out on the place.

I wish I’d have bought a handful of them back when they were available as police trade ins for a few hundred bucks.

I may pick up a beater M14 to cut to 4” or 5” and make a heavy barrel M15 out of. Some agency back in the revolver days ordered just such but they’re of course collectible and expensive. No reason I couldn’t whip one up.

I like 38 specials a lot. Great cartridge, inexpensive to shoot, especially if you reload. Some classics. Minimal recoil, very accurate what’s not to like.
A S&W M&P made in 1915 and a M10-5 made in 1976.

That's when I got mine.

Classy, really like that.

I didn't hesitate to crow when I scored this 4 screw last year. Full circle I guess, as I cut my revolver teeth shooting a couple hundred wad cutters a week for several years.

To me, the 38 double action revolver is a natural stepping stone in learning handgun skills and,,,,, they're just plain fun to shoot.

Great thread!

Love the .38 Special and it is a very popular round for sure. I have used it extensively in the field, shooting big desert Jacks as well as some ground squirrels.

A good wadcutter (or sometimes SWC) makes short work of a jackrabbit.

My only pure .38 is a nickel Model 10-5 I got about a year or so ago with original box, paperwork and accessories. Haven't ever shot it. Lately I've been thinking more and more that I'd like a couple of .38's to play with, maybe another 10 and a 60 to carry sometimes.

I have an old .357 Flattop that I have used to hammer the Jacks a time or to as well, using .38 WCs and SWCs.







Dropped one or two with a J Frame two. That took some real concentration, as it is a tough gun to hunt with for sure!

Those new Ultimate Carry J Frames are NICE! I know I love my 432 in .32 H&R.