Bill Jordan said the .38 Special is the most powerful cartridge the average man could hope to master.
As a "fan" of magnum cartridges, I'd be disinclined to argue with him.
And remember, he said that back when the average man was a man - not the weak, fat and soft version we have now.
The argument here would be the mastered .38 Spl / 9mm vs the good enough 10mm or magnum...
In years past, most people did not have anywhere near the amount of disposable income that so many people today have (which does not include me...). Even "gun people" didn't usually shoot nearly as much as many people do today. They simply couldn't. Ammo was not cheap. This is why there were often .22lr versions of full size belt pistols... because practicing with .38spl, .45acp, or anything else was pretty dang expensive. People usually simply weren't able to work up to the point where they thought that .357 Magnum was a pussycat, like so many do (or think they do) today. Everyone today has Magnumitis. This was not so in the past.
