I spent half my law enforcement career carrying a .38 Special, and half of that time resenting the fact that we were required to carry 158 gr. RNL as duty loads. Finally they allowed +P JHP's and eventually we went to .40 S&W Sigs.
Now that I am old, I just love the .38 Special and think that the old 158 gr. RNL is just the perfect thing to shoot out of one. Must be a nostalgia thing. I have also thought of shooting a deer with it, just for old time's sake. I would shoot a nice doe behind the shoulder from 25 or 30 yards away, and I'll bet I would be cutting up a deer that evening.
It wouldn't be an ideal gun and cartridge combo for deer, but it would kill one as humanely as an arrow, if you put it in the right place. I would treat that .38 as if it were a bow, and go kill a deer.
As humanely as an arrow? A 158 gr. .38 Special lead round nose. You don't bowhunt, do you?
