JohndeFresno wrote:Here is parting shot on this subject, since I, too, am concerned that some newer shooters might put a little too much credibility on some of the posts here that infer that a tiny .22 caliber pill, or even a hard cast .38, is universally acceptable and sufficiently humane for anything much over 150 lbs.
1) Accuracy counts, sure. But not all hunters shoot 1,000 rounds a month, like some here apparently do; so near accuracy should be taken into account.
2) Have we forgotten the adrenalin factor? Shooting game - even a harmless lil' Bambi - starts your juices flowing, breathing heavier, and hands shaking quite a bit more than shooting at a paper target, on your own time, from a pistol rest. Those of us who are VERY experienced hunters (no, I don't call myself one of those) have possibly taken control of these highly undesirable variables to the shooting process. But I've been around enough really good hunters to know that the effect does not go away completely - let's be honest with each other.
3) My carry gun is the Colt .45 ACP, which I sincerely believe is the finest and best handgun and caliber combination for self-defense, excluding perhaps some $5,000 custom job of the same type that I can't afford. For me, a properly loaded .44 Magnum is the optimum fun gun and hunting handgun for anything in my state, even though I also own a beautiful .357 6" Python (which I rarely fire). For hunting, no .38 Special load can come close to a similar load in a .44, I don't think. I THINK that the .44 boolit IS bigger, and that its optimum expansion is also larger; but don't quote me. And even my bespectacled eyes can see that the casing holds more powder; and the gun has more steel on it to handle more powerful loads. Simple observations, methinks.
Having said that, people who prefer larger firearms are not all inept at shooting or cleaning their handguns, thank you very much. In fact, I would guess that MOST folks who prefer the larger bore firearms are quite experienced shooters; new shooters are frequently intimidated by overblown stories of recoil and other nonsense. My first handgun was indeed a sweet little Colt Police Positive Special (.38 Spcl. caliber). That was 50 years ago. For 43 years (starting with the .45 ACP in Viet Nam) I've fired and regularly carried by mandate, necessity or (sometimes) choice the .38, .380, .357, 9mm, .40, and .45 ACP. And while it's true that most men between 13 and 18 years of age, and then again most folks older than 45 think that they know it all (and none of us do), I've seen a few and studied quite a few police shootings, the source of most of my observations handgun effectiveness.
4) Again realizing that rank-and-file police officers are not necessarily the best shots in the world, they are (at least in California) regularly trained and must qualify several times a year, under stress conditions and rather considerable peer pressure. Even so, they do not always land their shots in a 1/2 inch circle on live "prey" - quite the contrary. Now liken that to a shot at some Bruin or large tusker that emerges out of nowhere, perhaps confronting a hunter who might only practice just before the season begins! We are not all 86er's on this net!
5) I have experienced (been a part of) the police transitions all the way from the off-hand in pocket, one hand upright side stance(!) with .38 revolvers to .357's to 9mm's to .40's and .45's. Since the FBI in all of their supposed wisdom did not "bless" the .38 Super semi-auto pistol (pretty much the same, ballistically), the .357 died to the semi-auto. Citing Fresno City Police and Fresno County Sheriff shootings of which I have studied since the 38 and 9mm era (whatever was FBI's Holy Grail at the moment), memory serves me well that there were several continued attacks after the assailant was shot several times. Once the .40's and .45's were employed, the assailants were usually dropped immediately in their tracks, either permanently or long enough for the police to take control of the situation.
As far as I'm concerned, in the real world where you might not be able to take 3 seconds a shot and punch neat little cloverleaf patterns, using shooting glasses and earplugs, into a piece of highly contrasted target paper at 25 yards, and on a flat terrain with no obstacles and plenty of warning, it is clear to this old codger (among many other opinionated old codgers on this site
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
) that the .38 argument for larger game is, shall we say, a bit too apologetic and therefore exaggerated for this fine little target round.