When I was young, “stopping power” was much discussed, whether for the game fields or the streets. Times change, theories change, and ammunition for the smaller caliber guns has become more effective – though of course, those improvements also improve the effectiveness of more powerful firearms.
As a young cop in the times when I was mandated to carry a revolver on patrol, my choice was either .357 Magnum with 125 grain jacketed hollow point bullets rated for 583 foot-pounds of energy per shot, or my Smith & Wesson 1955 Target revolver in .45 ACP, its barrel cut to four inches. There were brief periods when I carried the .41 Magnum S&W Model 58 and even briefer when I packed a .44 Magnum…but never did I wear the “anemic” .38 Special on patrol. I did carry a snub-nose .38 for backup and, in the early days, wore one on my own time because, hey, I wasn’t likely to really need it when I wasn’t driving a patrol car, right?
Improved ammunition changed things, particularly the “FBI Load” of the 1970s introduced by Winchester, an all-lead 158 grain .38 Special semi-wadcutter bullet at 850-900 feet per second velocity. It actually expanded – particularly the soft lead Remington version –and it soon developed the reputation of hitting like a GI .45 hardball round.
I got to know and become friends with Edmundo Mireles, the hero agent who finished the epic April 11, 1986 Miami shootout that left him and several other agents wounded and two of them dead. Ed, firing one-hand only because a .223 rifle bullet had shattered his left arm, killed both of the cop-killers with Federal brand FBI issue 158 grain lead hollow point .38 Special rounds from his Smith & Wesson Model 686.
I have known Brent Wheat for a long time and Roy Huntington, longer. These veteran street cops have an excellent discussion on the .38 Special at the GUNS magazine YouTube channel, here: