The American Caliber

For the most part, the 38 has had one meaning to handgunners—the .38 S&W Spl. It might be argued that this was the handgun cartridge of the 20th Century for Americans.


Personally, I think I have probably fired more .38 Spl. rounds than any other handgun round, including my personal favorite, the .45 ACP. Most of this comes from my early years as a deputy sheriff, when I was shooting on the team and running over the PPC and Bullseye courses a dozen times a week.


When I got into handloading, I put together thousands of 5.5 grains of Unique/158 grain LSWC loads that duplicated our duty ammo. It was with a .38 that I really learned the revolver, just as earlier military experience with .45s taught me the pistol.


The .38 Spl. is a grand old cartridge. It has armed cops and civilians, won matches, taken its share of game and generally performed it all well. Since 1899, when the first M&P S&W revolvers came out of the Springfield plant, the .38 Special has been the "go-to" cartridge for American handgunners, and—like Dangerfield—it don't get no respect.


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