2-2...I agree with you but you gotta compare apples to apples.
Not all "hunting" is the same. Hunting "non-dangerous" game at a distance is not the same as dangerous game up close. "Hunting" a brown bear with a .30-06 and shooting him at 100 yards is a lot different than having one come for you unprovoked at 50'. You want the 06, or a .375.
As to same caliber comparisons, take the same defensive shooting situation...you want a .35 Remington with a 200 grain bullet at 2000 fps or a .358 Norma Mag. at 2800 fps.... Well you say you shoot the Remington better....great, but if you miss that brain shot, which you are probably going to do as it isn't sitting on a table like a block of Jello, then what do you want hitting the bear, the punny Remington or the Norma Mag.?
And it's the same with .35 caliber rounds. The .38 Special gained the deserved reputation in LE as a "widow maker". If it worked well on the street the .38 Super and .357 Magnum would have never been invented. Same with the 147 Subsonic 9mm...if it had worked so great the .40 would have never been invented. Designer bullet may work a little better this time around but the only thing that makes a .35 caliber work is VELOCITY and the more the better.
And before you think I am a +40+ guy I am not. The last ten year in LE I could buy and carry ANY 9mm, 40 or .45 I wanted to (except SA semi-autos)...my choice...S&W 6906 9mm carrying the departmental issue 115 Silvertips. Why, because I had friends who shot people with the rounds and knew they worked. And if they had switched to the 147 SubSonic ammo I would have ditched the 6906 and bought a .45 because I had no confidence in the round...
Bob
I think your data pool is very dated. The "widomaker" .38 Special hasn't been issued in at least 25 years to any major LE Agency, and even 25 years ago it wasn't the "widomaker" anymore when used with +P JHP ammunition. The famous "FBI" load which is at least 40 years old had a very good reputation on the street. The "widowmaker" is the 158 RNL load, and that bullet design is at least 120 years old.
The switch to the .40 from the 9mm 147's is because the first generation of 147's didn't reliably expand. The solution for all of the .35 caliber handgun cartridges years ago was more velocity. These days, it's not really a "must have" since the manufacturers have designed bullets that perform very well at sub-sonic velocities.
With that said, it's not as if the velocity thing is suddenly irrelevant. Most LE agencies tend to use 124+P to get the barrier penetration they require rather than going to the 147.
The high velocity .35 bullet is just as valid today as it has ever been, the lower velocity 147's have finally come into their own. So while I really share your love of the .38 Super and 9x23, I don't agree that the ONLY thing that works in a .35 caliber is velocity. That was true for most of the time, it's not true today (at least in my opinion).
