In Praise of the .38 S&W

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

Since I was bored this morning, I thought I'd post a few words of praise for one of my favorite cartridges, the .38 S&W. It doesn't get a lot of press, and isn't as popular as I think it should be, but it's still a great old round.

 

It can be used in pocket pistols, derringers, main match revolvers, and I've even seen some single shot rifles chambered for the thing. (If only we had a single shot pistol caliber side match..) I've never seen a main match style rifle chambered for it, but I am still holding out a slim hope.

 

And, here's the part where it gets really versitle...

 

Through the magic of handloading, this thing can be loaded very light, or very hot. And depending on the gun you are running it through, you can do either quite safely. With a little experimenting, and sticking exlusively to published data, I have found one loading that's quieter than high performance .22 RF's and on the other end, some potent little charges that I would not let anyplace near my pocket pistols on a fools bet. These I run exclusivly through my Mark IV Webley, but I still don't think they are as potent as the .38/200 loading the Brits built the gun around for WW2.

 

What it all comes down to is a cartridge that is a lot of fun to work with, and that is surprisingly flexible, given the smallness of the case.

 

I heartily recommend this little round for anyone who wants to have some fun with something that can literally be taylored for just about anything imaginable.

[Tom Bullweed]

I feel the same way about the .32 H&R Magnum that I have been loading since 1984, the year that it was introduced. Heavy loads in Ruger S-Six exceed .38+ Special, light loads run even with .22 LR's and good medium loads with XTP bullets work well on targets in my S&W J-frame Centinial.