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Five-shot group from 15 yards with vintage Military .380 Mk IIz rounds.

Five-shot group from 15 yards with Remington 146-grain lead bullets.

Five-shot group at 15 yards with handloads using 3.1 grains of Unique and 146-grain lead bullets.

Smith & Wesson continued to produce their smaller I-frame Terrier and .38 Regulation Police revolvers (later the Model 32 and Model 33, respectively) in the little cartridge, but with the introduction of the Smith & Wesson Chief’s Special in 1950 and the rival Colt Detective Special both chambered in .38 S&W Special, there was not much interest in the little .38 S&W revolvers anymore. They soldiered on until 1974, when Smith & Wesson made their last .38 S&W handgun.

Yet while the .38 S&W has been on the brink of extinction at one time or another, it just refuses to throw in the towel. This is in no small part due to the sheer multitude of handguns around the world chambered for it. Not counting the more than half million Military & Police revolvers produced for the British, Smith & Wesson made over 1,000,000 handguns of the little pocket variety over a period of 60 years. Then there were the countless thousands of revolvers made by various other companies all over the world. .38 S&W ammunition is still very easy to obtain, with Remington and Winchester both offering loads using the venerable old 146-grain lead bullet that is advertised at 685 fps and has a muzzle energy of 150 ft. lbs. These modern smokeless loads can be safely used in the break-open revolvers as long as the gun itself is in safe working order.