I believe that I should have defensive ammo for all large bore handguns that I own. This includes a S&W Combat Masterpiece in 38 Special that I inherited. I have been able to find information for 38 Special used in 2" BUGs. However, I have been unable to find much regarding 38 Special ammo for a 4" barrel. There does appear to be a general consensus that the "FBI" load of a 158 grain LSWCHP is a viable round, but I have not found supporting data. I suspect that since the 38 Special is no longer being used by law enforcement (I did see some federal rent a cops still packing S&W M&P Model 10s) that nobody is doing any meaningful testing or development for more traditional barrel lengths.
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