I know that the envogue carry guns are high capacity auto loaders and I use a Glock 32 .357 SIG myself.

However, I recently acquired one of these:

https://www.taurususa.com/firearms/...-38-special-p-6-round-matte-stainless-2/

Thus far I really like it. Its accurate and very comfortable to carry.

Anyone else carry the venerable old .38 or a revolver?

Likely a million people or more. Nothing wrong with a 38

Yes, most all the time. 5gr Unique and a cast SWC. I feel pretty safe in my area. Not many roving bands of Antifa, mostly rattlesnakes and other varmints that need shot.

Yep, but I have been told that I am handicapped because it only has five rounds.

Nice looking Taurus.

Thanks

I am also happy to know that I am not the one to carry a .38

I carry a 38 Special in the house and around the house. I carry a Colt Detective Special. It's a 1972 model. It wasn't advertised as such but it's been ceracoted. Surprisingly enough the finish is much tougher than the standard blueing. So that's the one I carry.

One of these is with me wherever I go.
Bob

Mine isn't as pretty as yours, but my beat-azz 642 is a constant companion.

George

I have a hard time seeing the advantages of a revolver over a small 9mm like a Glock 43 or Sig 365.

It sees duty with local carry.

I love my 642’s but when using one in our CC matches, it was plain to see the advantages of my Shield and G43. But that’s stacking the deck against a revolver. Reloads are slower, 5 shots vs 7 or 8, you name it.

But in the real world there are times when a J frame 38 is more than enough if you are. I’ll never be without a J frame, can’t say that about my Shield and G43 as they both went down the road. I can carry a G19 just as easy as either one of those but keep the J frames for days when I’m in gym shorts.

In my case I have some nerve damage in my hands from chemotherapy side effects and I cannot get a good grip or easily manipulate the slide on a small auto. I can get a better grip/control on the revolver.

I have an 80s vintage 649, and a couple year old 642 that I carry from time to time loaded with 135 grain +P Gold Dot ammo. I still carry my Glock 43 the vast majority of the time and my Gen5 G19 at church.

Ron

My paws are to big for them little 38’s.

A relative of mine carries a Ruger SP101 in .38/.357 now.. And the person is very good with it..

There is no advantage. The P365 can be carried with a 10,12 or 15 round magazine. The 9mm is a more potent rd in a small pistol than a +Pb38 Special.

The Glock or the Sig is flatter and in my experience easy to carry

I've had my eye on that model Taurus since they announced it earlier this year.
Waiting for the light weight version to be available. 3" barrel is the snubby sweet spot, IMHO.

US Secret Service carried .38's into the '60's...then went to the .357, does anybody know why that decision was made?

Ballistics?

my wife carries that gun in 357 only dao. i wouldn't want to get on her hit list.

NYC law enforcement found a Key ingredient into one shot stops in the 30's with a 190g and 200g SWC loaded to +P velocities in the 700-800 fps, all that heavy Winter Clothing took a heavy bullet.

My brother in law was with LAPD, shot a guy five times in the chest with his 38 duty weapon, and the guy kept coming, partner had to dispatch the guy with a shot gun. A good friend was with Atlanta Police, first day on the job. He had to shoot a bank robber 6 times with his 38, and he survived.

Bullets have dramatically improved since this time, but nothing trumps shot placement.

I've carried lots of double action .38 Special revolvers over these past 40 years. Nothing wrong with it, assuming you know how to shoot a double action revolver well. Six rounds will cover the vast majority of situations in which you will need to draw a gun to save your life, and well placed .38 Specials will do the job in most cases.

It's the minority of situations that I worry about, though, and why I like to carry a double stack 9mm instead, nowadays.

My 12 ounce loaded S&W 337PD is my most often carried piece because it is a whole bunch lighter than anything else that I have. I don’t put myself into dangerous enough situations to warrant packing too much else. The wife has never operated anything but a cap pistol and could work that little .38 Special if the need arose. Snake shot goes into it for southern snake country woods walking

I don't carry a revolver nowadays for CCW, but I have a couple DA 357 revolvers (Security Six, and LCRx).

I will always have a special place in my heart for a 38 Special. That is what we carried back in my days as an Embassy Guard.

'82-'83, Ruger Service Six with 130gr ball (Brazzaville)
'83-'85, S&W Model 10 with 130gr ball (San Salvador)
'92-'93, S&W Model 19 with 125gr Nyclad HP 38Spl+P(Frankfurt)
'93-'95 S&W Model 19 with 125gr Nyclad HP 38Spl+P(Zagreb).

Here's an old pic of yours truly, with the Model 10, down in El Salvador, 1984.


That's back when I was young, dumb, and hard as woodpecker lips.....grin

MM, why the .38 revolver and not the 1911 .45 or Beretta 9mm?

I take a .38 Chiefs Special with me when I carry, which is rare. Since I'm not enrolled in the spray and pray crowd, I think the 5 rounds will suffice, however, just in case, a speed loader is not far from hand. Additionally, I think that even though malfunctions may be rare in the autoloaders, it is even rarer in a revolver.
Phil

It's kind of strange, but the State Department supplied the firearms/ammo. I don't know if that is still the case or not.

Yeah, seems odd and doesn't make sense. Welcome to working for Uncle Sam, right?

Yep.

I always felt a J frame or SP101 with 158 grain +P LSWHP's was perfectly adequate as a CCW. Then I got my Sig 365.

I'm not in the spray and pray club either. I just prefer to carry the 'reload' already in the gun.

I did carry a SP101 for a while, with an extra speedloader. The Glock 17 just seemed to me like a more efficient way of going about things.

Seems like the bullet choice matters a bit more in cartridges like the 38 for self defense purposes. If picking a the right bullet and load, I think it is a great choice. My preference would be something heavy and easily deformed, like a backward hollow-based 150gr wadcutter, or some version of a soft SWC-HP at 150-160 grains. I suppose some of the newer short-barrel Gold Dots at 135 grains would be a good choice, too, because of their thin jacket and bonded core.

I am more in the semi-auto camp though. There are flaws with autos, but they can be mitigated by tailoring the ammo to the gun so that functionality is as close to 100% as one can get. And because of the higher operating pressure, 9mm will trump 38 Special in power in same barrel length every time. That's never a detriment, and both are hard to shoot in small guns without practice.

If I was carrying a 38Spl today, I'd really like the OP's Taurus for the shootable size, 6 rounds, tritium fixed sight, round-butt Hogue grip, and the 3-inch barrel that generally takes velocity into the range of expansion. I might just opt for the 'FBI Load'. Soft 158gr lead SWCHP, at +P.

Yup SW 637 airlight with extreme cavitators.

I like revolvers. They're my favorite handguns. I have a few old S&Ws, Colts, and Rugers that I enjoy.

But for CCW I go with an autoloader. I don't really feel any pride of ownership in the autoloaders like I do the revolvers. To me, the autos are just appliances. But their high capacity, light weight, flat profile, and quick reloads make them superior to revolvers for a CCW in my opinion.

My LCP in a Desantis pocket holster is my second wallet. Other times I carry a Kahr CT-9 in an IWB holster.

Question, you like revolvers but your carry guns are a LCP (have one too) and a Kahr 9.... but neither of those are considered high capacity. Why not stick with a six or 7 shot revolver?

Those are some awesome pics Shane. Thanks for sharing.

A S&W 642 here.

After 25 years j-frames just feel so familiar in the hand and pack so easily in a pocket.

I woulda got the Airweight with the shrouded hammer but all they have around here recently is the 642, hidden hammer.

I prefer DAO over an exposed hammer on guns like these, they don't snag on anything.

MM a buddy of mine bought a 4" light barrel model 10 a couple years ago and we were amazed at how well it shot. A 10" plate at 50 yards was fairly easy. Cool pics!

I keep one in the battery of carry weapons, mines a bodyguard.

Mike

An Airweight Bodyguard (J-Frame .38, not the auto pistol S&W calls the Bodyguard nowadays) lives in my bathrobe pocket.

“Spray and pray” is fundamentally different than realizing the bad actors are in packs now, and five shot revolvers have the utility of a short stick.

Reality is, if you’re not one-on-one with that thing, you’re outnumbered and out gunned and you brought it on yourself.

Great Pictures. Oh, to be young, dumb, and woodpecker hard again.

It's easy to get rusty hitting things with any particular snub.

There's no revolvers as small as an LCP. The CT-9 holds 8 in the mag, one in the chamber. Biggest advantages, quick reloads, flat profile, light weight.

I have an LCP, also, but just the other day I decided to occasionally carry a pocket auto (in a proper pocket holster), for particular purposes, and I was deciding between the LCP a the Kel-Tec P-32. I laid them side by side, weighed them, etc.. I decided to go with the P-32. It's lighter, slimmer, no larger in any proportion than the LCP, and carries one more round than the LCP. And a loaded spare mag fits in the change pocket of my jeans just about perfectly ... but that true for both of them.

But if someone wants to carry a revolver, it's their business. I briefly contemplated exchanging the CT-9 with one of my 4" Model 10s. (which I like very much) But the model 10 is noticeably heavier and thicker than the CT-9 and gives up 3 rounds of capacity.

In my opinion, with proper loads the LCP is as effective as a J-frame .38 in a real world confrontation and it holds 2 additional rounds. Also, I can shoot the LCP better than I can a J-frame snub.

The LCP and other sub compact .380s are the best idea to come from the firearm industry in a while.

They're nice appliances.

There's a 2" M&P on my hip right now.

Pre-Model 10?

No, this one is a 10-5. My other 2" M&P is of '49-'50 vintage.

I guess you can still call a Model 10 an M&P. People call the 19 the Combat Magnum, and the 15 the Combat Masterpiece still.

When S&W added model numbers, they did not discontinue the original model names.

Huh. I thought they did.

1964 S&W ad.

I bought an LCP II for my wife to carry in a pocket holster. I can shoot it pretty good inside 21 feet. I just like the extra horsepower that my G43 loaded with 147 grain Federal HST provides. She wouldn't carry a bigger pistol than the LCP at this juncture.

Ron

My primary carry gun is a Glock 43 but I still carry 38’s quite often.
Sometimes, wardrobe dictates and it’s easier to shove the 642 in my pocket. Whenever we are wading the creek on a fishing trip, I have an old 4-inch barreled Model 10 that I carry because it is so battered and worn I don’t feel as bad if it gets “dunked”.
I also like to carry my Model 15 from time to time while out prowling around the farm.
I have a Smith Model 18 that I’ve hammered thousands of rounds through over the years so my familiarity with K-frames makes me reach for them more often than not and usually it will be the Model 15.
I love my 38’s.

All this talk of Model 10's makes me want another one.

When you’re dealing with a mob of fanatical Democrats bent on murdering you and your family you will need a semiautomatic pistol with 33 round magazines or an AR with 30 round magazines.

I like revolvers, not much to go wrong. Wife wanted a pistol, took her to several LGS's and she picked a model 60 3". Not nice with a full house 357, but accurate. She could not rack the slide on many of the semi's. I would not want not be within 50 yards of her with the J frame.

J-Frames are nice guns.

Then I guess you're SOL, living in California...

You still have reoccurring bad dreams of being a trooper with Custer? Better start drinking better quality alcohol, that cheap stuff is hurting your dream quality. Mb

Lord willing I will never put myself in such a situation. At least I hope I have more sense than that.

I carried a Smith&Wesson M49 Bodyguard at night several years ago. Felt fine with it.

The Gold Standard was S&W Model 12. It was carried by American Military Intelligence and US Air Marshals. Military Intelligence people only use the best. If you can't find old alloy framed K-frame S&W Colt also made similar six-shot undercover revolvers. When looking at used gun make sure there is no cracks in the frame where it meets the barrel.

Hillbillybear: I was required to carry a concealed pistol every day for 29 (twenty nine) years by my employer, during that time.
I chose the Smith & Wesson Model 60 in 38 Special.
I am glad I never had to bring that pistol into usage.
When I carry concealed nowadays I choose the 40 S&W caliber in a high capacity Glock with an extra magazine.
Again I am glad I never had to bring that nifty (and now very valuable!) Model 60 into action.
IMPO there are better calibers and better pistols for self protection these days.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

As street cop in the '80s my only authorized off-duty (and back up) gun was a "Chief".
On foot patrol In warm weather without a jacket, the only practical way to carry the 36 was on the ankle. Not good.
Off-duty, not good either - no one walked around with an untucked shirt in those days.

Likely back then and even more so today a great many carried quite easily in the pocket.

Carrying a steel J-frame in a pants pocket sucks.

Have to dress for the gun. proper pants, cover, belt, pocket, holster. Some think carrying a steel 1911 sucks, but many find they have used nothing else for decades.

I've done it quite a bit. Not a big deal at all.

I didn't know, that's what I have done for near 10 years now.... with a hammer no less......

A good holster helps. A Model 60 is been my standard carry since the early 70’s. Thad Rybka, Mitch Rosen, or Pocket Concealment Systems.

A good holster works wonders.

I carried a Model 60 in a Milt Spark IWB holster for about a year, and it truly feels like not carrying a handgun. On the belt, in a proper holster, the Model 60 disappears both in terms of detection and the sense that one is carrying a handgun. In the pocket, I'd much prefer an Airweight J-Frame.

I carry my 642 Airweight in front pocket as BUG whenever I have to be in the hood.

Carried thye Taurus again today. I am still lovin it.

Hey MontanaMarine, appreciate your service. In the picture you are lining up behind that machine gun left handed, left eye. But you appear to carry your handgun strong side right handed. You shoot handguns right handed and long guns left handed? Wouldn't be the first time I completely interpreted something wrong if I looked at your picture wrong.

Welcome to the 1980's....grin.

I'm a lefty, shoot lefty, left eye dominant. Apparently there were no LH holsters in any of the embassies back then. So any left hand Marines got issued RH leather. Not a good situation, but that's what it was.

I bet it didn't slow you down much.

We did some weak-hand training in Quantico. Thankfully I was never tested on the weak-side draw for real. Things got sporty in San Salvador often enough in the early '80s, but I always had a rifle or shotgun as a primary weapon when the security posture was higher.

Still, can't seem to find one...

HB, you have any more impressions?



Thank you.

Can't remember for sure but I think I found mine on Grabagun. You can go on their sight and click on "let me know when it's restocked". Or something to that effect. May have to look over a few (Taurus) pages because the 2" is way more available.

I am still really liking it. Very comfortable gun to carry.