.38 Special for hunting

[Thomasss]

Anyone use a .38 special hunting? If so what are common animals to hunt.

 

[derek45]

not enough for midwestern deer...IMHO

 

[Ohen Cepel]

Wadcutters are nice on small game. Clean, large hole cut and puts things down quickly.

 

[JERRY]

any small game within the accuracy range of your gun. seems expensive though for such uses.

 

[Cfish]

A buddy of mine hunts squirrels with his Dan Wesson and 148 wadcuttersi

 

[John Dunbar]

Works on the jackrabbits out this way!

 

[mcb]

Shot a fair numbers of armadillos with mine and more nope-ropes then is healthy for a guy.

 

[e rex]

Deer have been killed with a .38 Special. I have an older Speer reloading book that calls 6 grains Unique with a 158 gr. lead bullet a +P load.
Mine with a 150 grain 358477 out of a 4" tube and the 6 grain load reads 1050 fps on my Chrony. A deliberate, proper placed bullet within 50 yards seems lethal to me.

 

[brewer12345]

I've shot small game with a 38 out of a lever action. My experience is that a 38 RNFP makes less of a mess of a rabbit than a HVHP 22LR.

 

[Milt1]

I've shot plenty of .38 Special ammo that I've hand-loaded. I would never use it on deer and would advise others to not use it on deer as well. If it's deer you're after move up to the .357 Mag. I would use it on small game such as rabbit that hopefully you can take head shots on.

 

[tactikel]

Small game only, Coyote on down to rabbits. 50 yards max range.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

not enough for midwestern deer...IMHO

Yeah,
Illegal for use on deer in my state, The People's Republic of Maryland , and I think it's illegal in VA too for deer. Some of the CAS shooters in my area have used their .357 Rifles on deer out here with ammo loaded with 180 grain bullets, and then use .38 special with 125 grain lead semi-wadcutters on sitting rabbits, and head shots on squirrels.

However with COVID, nobody is using rifles on small game other than .22 LR and .17's in my area now.

LD

 

[Dunross]

I would have to be very close (as in assassination distance) to shoot a deer with a .38 revolver and the same for hogs not in a pen. But most anything else would be OK if I thought I could hit it at the distance presented.

Ed Harris wrote an article on "full charge wadcutters" in 38 if you can find it. For under forty pounds no need for hot loads. Most anything will do.

 

[Meeks36]

Can take deer with it. Very close, no room for error shot, and alot of tracking. Medium game sure. Large game no.

 

[kanook]

A .357mag brass with .358 200gr Round-nose, Flat-point, gas-checked hardcast lead bullet going around 1,100 fps works very well in some revolvers, but I use 38 special brass in some lever and bolt actions to make it cycle and get the same speed.

So the question now is it less lethal because of the brass marking?

 

[tws3b2]

If I wanted to hunt and 38 spl is all I had. I'd go trade it in for something more suitable. Hunter Ethics includes using a proper caliber and firearm.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

.38 Special is more than adequate for small game.
The only question is, should it be used for deer or larger game.

The game laws are written based on the idea that most folks can't precisely place their shots and don't have a surgeon's knowledge of the anatomy of game animals, and there are too many people who think they can and do but who can't and don't.

 

[Sistema1927]

.38-44 loads, the basis for .357 magnum, would be adequate for game up to the size of deer. If your .38 revolver is stout enough to handle them, and if legal in your locale, then why not?

Otherwise, stick to Coyote on down.

 

[jag1954]

Took out a groundhog that was eating the tomato plants in our backyard some years ago with my S&W Model 10. Nailed him from about 15yds. Did the job quite nicely.