.38 Special ammo suggestions

Thanks so much for the replies, guys:)

I did well enough making the holster that mom wants to keep the gun around a bit. To be honest, i don't even think she can load the thing, but that's not what is important. I'm just happy that she likes it:thumbup:

I'm taking the info here to go see what the local gun store has in the way of ammo. I'd like to borrow the .38 from here some time when i'm not pressed for time and can put a box of rounds down range.

It's so good to see you posting, John:thumbup:

My thoughts have been with you, friend.
 
while i've been out of the gun scene for a while now here in the UK, before when i was back home in alabama i in the past experimented with reloading .38spl/.357 for use in my model 19 using full wadcutters with the hollow base outwards. makes a nasty hollowpoint. probably work in the snubby. not overly accurate, but at her expected range probably OK. if you have reloads you can adjust the recoil a bit by loading a bit light. do they still make glaser safety slugs? basically open nosed copper jacket filled with teflon coated lead shot swaged into place.

having said that, i never carried the 19 with them, i used semi-wadcutters mostly from zero bullets as they were just down the road in cullman.
 
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Based on the info I have, the gun was made in the early sixties. If you MIL is not familiar with handguns, I would strongly suggest the 148 grain wadcutters. One hit with a wadcutter is much better than 5 misses with something else. Best, Bill.
 
Thanks for the info, Bill:)
I figured it was a pretty old one. I'll see if i can get her to go with me to the range. 1/2 hour there last time was enough for her my wife and my bro in law:rolleyes: I could spend all day shooting:D
 
This probably dates me, but the first service ammo I was issued was .38 Special 158 grain round-nosed lead. The prevailing opinion these days seems to be you can't hurt anybody with this stuff, but bad guys definately got killed by it.

Ammo has improved alot since then, but the fact remains that any cartridge fired into a bad guy which is headstamped ".38 Special" is not going to do him any good.
 
I agree with you, Cliff. Not to open up the whole "you need X caliber to stop a bad guy" can of worms, but anything that I keep pistol wise in my home will probably be .357 and below. I think I read a quote somewhere that said, "We talk .45's, shoot 9mm, and carry .38's"
Now I have lusted after those giant .44s, .45 LCs, and even those giant .50's, and I often think of our friend Munk stomping around in the wilds of Montana with his blackhawk on his hip and his boys in tail ever watchful for the cougars that roam the woods. It makes for a nice visual, but I don't think I'll need a day to day firearm that will stop a hungry predator:)
My game plan is to get comfortable shooting this handgun (as of right now I am a terrible shot) and find myself something else to actually carry and shoot. This one, although of no real family importance to my father in law, is old enough to be an heirloom or sorts.

I really need to find a much more packable firearm than my 12 gauge 870:p Ever since our place of business was set on fire to cover up a break in, I have felt vulnerable in my business and my home. So, every day it's get up, unload the shotgun, slide it into its case (made it out of an old pair of leather riding pants that were smoke damaged in the fire), stash it in the truck, go to work, pack the case in to the office(don't really worry about taking it out of the case), work all day, pack the case out when i leave, pack it in when i get home, load it next to the bed, wash rinse repeat:p

If i get a dollar ahead and can talk my wife into it (the financial guru of the home), I'd like to get a nice packable .38, .357, 9mm, .40, or even a .45 for truck and work carry. I love the 870, and i feel very secure wielding it, but dang it do I hate packing it in and out ever day:D
 
If you're someplace that allows a little roomier clothing, Ruger Blackhawks can usually be found fairly inexpensively. Single-Action, and heavy enough that recoil isn't an issue for any but the most sensitive. Even novices usually find them unusually accurate.

Cougar aren't that big, and don't require rhino rollers to stop! :D

Something like a .45 Colt standard pressure is easy to control in such an arm. When you feel like it, the older (not the New Model) Rugers can stand so-called +P Colt loads that will take down anything smaller than Brown Bear, and perhaps that if you're lucky or good.

John
 
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