Rodney’s ‘rod”

The late Rodney Dangerfield never got "any respect." Neither does the 38 Special caliber, or the snubnose revolver, which is often one in the same.

In the gun world, there is sort of a "double-whammy" here, and I would be remiss in writing articles about 44 Magnums, AK-47's and such.....and NOT give up a little tribute to a very under-rated little life-saver, the 38 Special "snubnose" revolvers.

The 38 Special "snubbie" comes in "all flavors."  This one is a Smith & Wesson.  There are lots of others, but this one will do, for the sake of discussion.

Long before the 45 Automatic, the 357 Magnum and beyond............

.....the old 38's were ""gittin' 'er done", as they say.  Most police departments carried them (usually with a longer 4 or 6-inch barrel, but these little snubnose guns were a favorite with the oldtime detectives, being both comfortable for all-day duty wear, and ...........

...........they "concealed" well.........and would also fit nicely in either a car's glove box or a lady's purse.......(including the "fanny-packs" of today).

It would be hard to imagine an old Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson or James Cagney gangster film WITHOUT several characters carrying these under their coats.

Well..........that was THEN, and this is TODAY.......things have changed now......or HAVE they?

In today's gun fraternity, we live in a world of magnums.  Like in the 60's, everyone had to have a Corvette or GTO...........shooters have to have a MAGNUM of some kind.....to SOME.......it's whatever is "biggest" & "baddest."  I'm somewhat guilty of it myself, but when I'm out hiking up in the woods there's no such thing as packing "too much power."

But I'm here to tell ya that the coming of the 357, 41, 44 and UP........did NOT render the old 38 "obsolete".  No it did not.

At the start of this blog, I mentioned "double-whammy."  Here's what I meant by that.  First, the 38 Special is often considered "underpowered".........well, compared to a "magnum", it is.  But one must remember that the bigger centerfire magnum handguns were originally designed for FIELD use on larger game than "mankind."

"Dirty Harry's 44", was never intended for the streets of San Francisco.

While handguns have indeed become more powerful over the years, human beings have NOT, and a headshot from a 38 Special will kill an intruder just as quickly as it did 80 or 90 years ago in the streets of Chicago, and so will a TORSO hit unless the guy's wearing body armor, (which MOST handgun cartridges won't penetrate without the proper ammunition, which I'm not going to discuss on a public blog).

The "little" 38 is also a much more effective cartridge than it was 80 years ago, because of the well-designed jacketed hollowpoint bullets we have available today.  It would stop a criminal THEN, and will stop him even BETTER today.  Keep in mind though, that, as with ANY gun, it still falls to YOU to put that slug where it needs to be.  A "grazing shot" to the shoulder or leg from a high-powered pistol, isn't going to be as effective as a SOLID "HEAD-SHOT" from a 22.

A gun is only a tool.  It's still up to YOU to use it properly, and safely.

So, I don't see "stopping power" as an issue, and while I DO most often carry a 357 on a daily basis, (just because it's my FAVORITE caliber), there ARE times when the smaller 38 is just more "convenient", and I usually carry a speedloader with me, as you see here, but I never really expect to use it.

A popular question seems to be......."If the larger 357 Magnum was BORN as a "38 Special on steroids", and will SHOOT the 38 cartridge as well....why do they even bother to still MAKE a 38?   Why don't people just buy a 357 and shoot BOTH cartridges?

Good question......but easily answered...........

A 357 Magnum handgun HAS to be built heavier and stronger to withstand the extra power of that Magnum cartridge.  With the  added size comes weight and bulk, (a 41 or 44 Magnum is not an easy gun to conceal).

Most 38's, as earlier discussed, will slip easily into a fanny pack or under a coat un-noticed.

So....."stopping power" is the FIRST of the "double-whammies", but is not a personal concern, (in MY book anyway), and the "little obsolete" 38 Special in my opinion is a BETTER cartridge than the ever-popular 9mm it is seen here with.  (On the surface, the 9mm projectile seems LARGER than the 38, but it isn't, as the 38 bullet is seated deeper into its case).

NOW......."stopping power" of the 38 discussed, we've come to the SECOND half of that "double whammy" against the 38 snubnose----------ACCURACY........"ya can't hit anything with it!"

Not so.

True.....you can't EXPECT a "snub" to shoot targets at 25  or 50 yards with all the accuracy of a long barreled pistol ---------ain't gonna happen.

The "snub's" target was shot at 30 feet, and the 357 target was shot at about 30 YARDS (nothing outside the "9-ring"), but you EXPECT that from a 6" Python.......not a 2-inch Smith..........but these targets are also roughly the size of a man's chest, so the little "snubbie" is still getting some decent hits.

Remember ALSO though, you didn't buy that gun to win any "long distance pistol matches."  According to the FBI, the average pistol encounter is just seven yards--------that's twenty-one feet, just a bit over the length of a 62 Cadillac.   How far is it from your kitchen table to the front door? A 38 "snubnose" is just fine for most "human" situations, although as I indicated earlier, I wouldn't pack one in the deep woods where the "animals" come a bit larger.  That's where you WOULD want a 357 or BETTER.

As an afterthought.....a 38 Special is also a better-suited caliber for most apartment dwellers, as they are less likely to OVER-penetrate an intruder, go through the wall and hit someone you hadn't intended to hit.

The 38 Special snubnose.........designed over 100 years ago, but is still better today than most people give it credit for.  Their small size and lighter recoil are popular with the ladies too.  Of course, "revolver-reliability" is a factor there as well.

But among the "macho-mob"..........."no respect"...........until you get HIT by one!

If Rodney Dangerfield was alive today, would HE pack one?  Probably..........but knowing HIM, he'd forget to load it!