A Couple of Vintage .38s
By MARJ LAW
Joe knows that I don’t like .38s. This is because often a male relative assures Newbie Mature Person that if he or she gets a .38, all one has to do is point and shoot for defense.
Often this mature person will find a small .38. It fits in her hand. For a woman, it fits in her purse. It’s lightweight. It’s reliable. It comes in colors. It’s not too expensive. Yay!
But wait! Wait!
Don’t buy! This small cute gun has little mass to absorb the recoil. Put in some .38 ammunition and “Ouch!” says the mature person with arthritis. “Ouch!” says the person with carpal tunnel syndrome. “Ouch!” says the fragile or small-boned person having trouble controlling the gun.
This is why I’m not happy with .38s. They’re often sold to people who will have difficulty controlling the gun’s recoil. And I won’t be shooting a snub-nosed .38 because I’d rather not deal with much recoil myself.
Let’s talk about .38s. They are revolvers. A lot of guys buy them for their women because they “will never jam,” and they have great “take down power.” Even Joe, knowing how I feel about those .38s, says he likes them because yes, they are reliable. He likes the snub-nose Smith & Wesson Chief’s Special. He says it is very accurate. And, he says that for him, it is easily controllable.
Do you believe such balderdash? We’ll start with the phrase “never jam.” The .38 has a cylinder that turns. C’mon. Anything that moves can be made not to move. For instance, if a bit of chewing gum wrapper or other debris insinuates itself somewhere around the cylinder, it can stop the cylinder from rotating freely. Naturally, if the cylinder only moves partway, individual chambers won’t align with the barrel. Age, grease gunk, debris… All these things can wreak havoc with the timing of the cylinder’s turn. Good luck thinking smugly that it can never jam!
And the .38 is controllable? Sure. It’s controllable for Joe. He has huge bones and lots of military training. But you take Newbie, that person we spoke about with arthritis, with carpal tunnel syndrome, a small-boned or a mature person… Have any one of them shoot a tiny .38. Warn them, of course, that they’ll have to have a very firm grip and be ready for a harsh recoil.
But today, Joe is going to change my mind about .38s. Good luck. “You will like shooting these .38s.” So he says. He brings two revolvers to the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office range: the Colt Diamondback and the Smith & Wesson Model 14 K-38 Masterpiece. They are vintage handguns.
But they’re still .38s.
This K-38 has a 6-inch barrel. Okay, so it’s a hunk of metal with a 6-inch barrel. It’s still a .38.
The Colt is a hunk of metal with a 4-inch barrel.
“You shoot first,” I say, planning to watch him with the Colt. If he jerks a bit at the recoil, I’ll know to be ready to hold the gun extra firmly.
He shoots. Not bad. We’re aiming at 8-inch targets at 21 feet. He’s on target. He shoots the full five rounds.
“Wow!” he calls happily. “Smooth!”
Okay. I don’t quite believe him, but now it’s my turn.
I plant my feet. Shake out my shoulders. Lean forward a bit. Line up those sights. Firm up the arms and wrists. Squeeze that trigger.
Squeeze? No! More like slide! The trigger is smooth: like butter! Where is the recoil? Did he fool me? Am I shooting a .22?
I look at the sides of the gun. It really is the Colt. What happened?
“Did you put in those 148-grain Wadcutters?” I ask suspiciously. Wadcutters are made for target shooting and have less powder and lighter grains than other .38 ammo. However, I’ve noticed that if you put Wadcutters in the cute purse-sized .38s, most of the mature people we’ve been talking about still cannot manage the .38.
Yes, Joe did load Wadcutters. Somehow, this 4-inch barreled, all-metal gun is acting like a .22 with the smoothest trigger I’ve ever squeezed.
“Put in the plain lead round-nose 158-grain rounds,” I suggest, knowing that when he does, this thing will kick like a rented mule.
Okay. The 158-grain does have more recoil. It’s not heavy, but it certainly is more than the Wadcutters. Not bad. I could really like this gun. I’d shoot those Wadcutters for practice and pleasure all day long and load the 158-grain ammo for defense.
Maybe I don’t hate all .38s. Just those tiny ones with the nasty kick.
“Let’s try the K-38!” I ask.
Again, Joe loads the Wadcutters first, and again, the K-38 is easy to manage. The K-38 also has the nicest, smoothest trigger pull. The recoil is a bit more than the Colt. But not too much more. And I find the balance to be nose-heavy because of that 6-inch barrel. This is a personal feeling. Joe doesn’t feel the balance to be nose-heavy.
Next, we both take turns shooting the 158-grain lead round nose ammo. The K-38 shoots well with another butter trigger and a middling recoil. Recoil is sturdier than the Colt, but not at all harsh like the snub-nose .38s.
Grips on the two guns are different. The ability to get a good grip on the gun you shoot will make for better shooting. Joe likes the grip on the K-38. I do not. It is too curved for me. As Shooters Gate says: “It provides a means of control over the firearm, allowing you to stabilize, aim and fire accurately. The design and angle of the grip can affect everything from your shooting stance to how well you can control recoil.”
I really like the grip on the Colt. Grips on both guns are nicely checkered for a firm hold, but when you hold a gun, you’ll feel if the grip is good on your hand. Again, this is a personal choice.
“Okay, you win,” I grumble to Joe. “Not all .38s are harsh and hard to control. When you put those nice Wadcutters in either the Colt or the K-38, both shoot very smoothly and with very easy recoil. So, if you have one of these vintage revolvers, you can practice with the Wadcutter. This teaches you how to manage your gun. When you load it for defense, even though the recoil will be stronger, now you’ll have the experience to shoot well. The only downside is that the Wadcutter rounds are more expensive and sometimes difficult to find.”
“Ha!” Joe is grinning. “I’ve taken you over to the dark side. Now you have to admit that you like some .38s!”
Marj Law is the former director of Keep Wakulla County Beautiful who has become an avid shooter in retirement.