Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Does anyone still carry .38 Special?

Yes.
I always have my S&W 640 with me in a travel bag. Most of the time I carry a Taurus 85 or a S&W 36 (no dash).
I like Rem. Gold Saber's in all 3. Heck, I carry a Ruger LC9 a lot with Gold Saber's. I like that load.

I have plenty of times. I carried an old Colt Detective Special for years. For years I carried J-frame S&W .38 Special revolvers, and for years I carried a Model 13 S&W (FBI configuration, i.e., three inch bull barrel, round butt frame), and it was generally stoked with .38 Special. My bathrobe pocket gun for years has been an S&W Model 38 .38 Special. It's what's with me when I let the chickens out in the morning. Not a thing wrong with it.

Even back in the day, when 158 grain lead round nose was the norm, it worked just fine at putting bad guys down. It started to get a bad reputation, however, in the 1960s when cops, increasingly, were being forced to engage drugged up perps. The old lead round nose wasn't doing it. Today, though, we have super sophisticated JHP loads for .38 Special that will do the job just fine.

Me too, my church and Walmart gun in the side pocket of my cargo pants. Way better than nothing.

Back in the late 80s, I had a (pre-Taurus) Rossi 88 stainless. The was the smoothest revolver, with the smoothest trigger pull of any handgun, I think I ever had. I was a great little gun. I carried PMC UltraMags in it. Foolishly sold it in the early 90s. Wish I still had it. Kept it under the counter of a store I managed before I got married.

I carry a Smith 342 at times w/129 +P hydrashocks.

Beats the crap out of a 380 for power.

A 9 will step up the power some, but mostly just in capacity.

I just heard Jerry Michuleck say the 38 is a very capable cartridge & only the 158 round nose cast gave it a bad rap.

Stainless Combat Masterpiece is on my hip every day. Buffalo Bore 158gr LSWCHP +P. Reloads are Underwood hard cast wadcutters (for both penetrating power and smooth, fast, no-hang reloads). I would be satisfied enough with Remington "FBI loads", but the Buffalo Bore is more better.

Hard to beat the Buffalo Bore Hard Cast Wadcutter Loading in a 38 Snub Nose for penatration.

Got a Retired LEO friend that got shot in the gut with the old Federal Nyclaid load he used to carry when he was a Detective. He got into a struggle with a Perp he was trying to arrest and the Perp grabbed his gun and shot him in the gut. He walked to the Ambulance and was only in the hospital for 2 days. 🤪

When out and about the homestead, I usually carry a S&W 66 with 4" barrel left over from my brief foray into law enforcement. I am not expecting anything serious so I load it with 158 gr round nose flat points loaded with 4.5 grs of Universal and use a Fobus clip on holster to lug it around. I carry a couple of speed loaders in my pocket for reloads.

This gives me much more positive results on skunks, raccoons, possums, and the occasional coyote or fox I run across than the 22 LR I carried before. I also feel a little better with the 38 if I were to run into a two legged varmint.

Yes. If I go outside around the place, a 637 & speed strip go too. lIt's loaded appropriately for its most likely use. For the next few months two CCI shot shells are up first.

Yes, a 638 in a pocket holster to follow gun fight rule #1. Mostly it's an around town warm weather piece. Out in the woods, up to no good, down at the hunting camp a '69 vintage Combat Masterpiece is a favorite.

Yup!

Not uncommon to shove the Bodyguard in a front pocket..

My wife carries .38's in her S&W 327 R8. The .38's are loaded with Rim Rock 158 grain LSWCHPGC, which are cast soft at 5 bhn. Over a stiff charge of Power Pistol she gets almost 950 fps from the 8 shot Smith with 5 inch barrel.

Manny

My wife’s model 60 is stoked with those factory 125 sjhp+p from rem. Very manageable from that 3” revolver. But awful snappy from the little LCR I bought for my daughter. That gets standard Wadcutter loads till I can load up some mildish loads with a harder cast dewc

s&w 642 loaded with wadcutters.

Thanks for the responses. It appears the .38 Spl is still in quite a bit of use.

3” M60, loaded with mid-power stuff, pretty much the FBI load. Bedside gun, plus my standby for serious carry when I don’t want a bucketful of 9s.

The 3” is much easier for me to hit with than a snubby.

yes my wife does i carry a 357 Mag most of the time.

Yup! Love my Model 10. Affectionately named Melvin.

My 38's are 6" or longer barrel revolvers. I usually use them for targets or practice. I prefer carrying revolvers with 4" or shorter barrels. Therefore, I'll usually carry other revolvers.

Yep!

My Wife packs a S&W airweight J frame, and I pack a Colt detective special as a backup for my EMP or P-365

Have both 38's loaded with 148 grain target wadcutters.

Virgil B.