What's the point of buying a .38 revolver?

[gunslinger]

Just load 357 cases to 38 spcl performance. I always did this way for target shooting.

[gunslinger]

Of course the military is slow to change because of the cost of upgrading to the latest greatest caliber of the moment. OTOH, as the Muj used the 303 so effectively against the Russians; DoD should have known eventually they would need a counter.



The switch was driven by the ammunition more than the platform. Everyone knows the reason the 38 Special was replaced was it's poor performance during the Philippine Insurrection in 1899–1902.

"The .38 Special was introduced in 1899 as an improvement over the .38 Long Colt which, as a military service cartridge, was found to have inadequate stopping power against the wooden shields of charging Moros during the Philippine-American War. Most hand-loading manuals and other references date the cartridge to 1902 and the Smith & Wesson Military and Police revolver variation of that year.

Although it was introduced thirteen years into the smokeless powder era, the .38 Special was originally loaded with black powder, but was offered with smokeless loads within a year of its introduction."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.38_Special

The Philippine Insurrection began in 1899. Today's 38 Special ammunition is often greatly enhanced as compared to what was available back then.

The 45 Colt was there well before the 38. If they just needed a more powerful round, they could just issue 45 LC revolvers.
Besides, the .38 is a very specific case.
There are lots of other nations which switched from revolver to semiauto which didn't have any issue with the Moros
They did so for the reasons I stated before.
In CLEAN conditions a revolver is far more reliable than a semiauto: it has no "cycle" that can jam.
But in the messy, dirty conditions of a battlefield, the semiauto, being "closed" proved itself more reliable than the revolver, with its open mechanism.
Moreover, a jam was far more easily solved in a semiauto than in a revolver, where a stuck cylinder, hand or cylinder stop can render the gun completely useless until a complete disassembly is performed.
Pocket carry? Get a Glock 26.
Same size as a Chief's Special and twice the ammo.

[90lxtc]

Lighter recoil....Big difference between .38Spl and .357 Magnum....carrying also has alot to do with caliber choice.

[HDR]

The 45 Colt was there well before the 38. If they just needed a more powerful round, they could just issue 45 LC revolvers.

According to some articles the Army did re-issue some Colt No 3 or the Schofields during the Philippine Insurrection. The Shofield was issued from 1875 to 1892 and the 38 LC was from 1892-1909. So, I'm more curious why they replaced the 45 Schofield with a 38 LC

Besides, the .38 is a very specific case.

It was based on the 38 LC; why did you say it is very specific?

There are lots of other nations which switched from revolver to semiauto which didn't have any issue with the Moros

It was a new century; time for new toys.

I don't know why other nations did what they did; however, for the US almost everything I've read states a variation of this:

"During the same time frame that John Browning was putting the Winchester Repeating Arms Company on the map, a highly motivated tribe of warriors, known as the Moro, were giving the U.S. Army fits in the Philippines. To prepare for battle, the Moro used a combination of body binding with leather, narcotics, and religious ritual to put themselves into an altered state of consciousness which left them insensible to injury. Soldiers found that their revolvers chambered in .38 Long Colt simply would not stop the Moro. It should be noted that their .30 Krag rifles didn't do a whole lot better against these warriors.

Based on the experience with the Moros and extensive testing on animals and human cadavers, an Army Ordnance Board headed by Col. John T. Thompson (inventor of the Thompson sub-machine-gun) and Col. Louis A. La Garde, determined that the Army needed a .45 caliber cartridge to provide adequate stopping power. In the mean time, Browning who was working for Colt, had already designed an autoloader pistol, around a cartridge similar in dimension to the .38 Super. When the Army requested designs for a new handgun, Browning re-engineered this .38 autoloader to accommodate a .45" diameter cartridge of his own design with a 230 gr. FMJ bullet, and submitted the pistol to the Army for evaluation."
http://www.sightm1911.com/1911%20History.htm

Notice it says 38 LC. which was the issue at the time

They did so for the reasons I stated before.

Other than the technology became available I don't have a reason.

Pocket carry? Get a Glock 26.
Same size as a Chief's Special and twice the ammo.

I know, always buy a Glock. Some gun shop clerk pulled that on Sig and she asked as it didn't fit her hand why? I thought that was a pretty good question for a newbie. LOL