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Why did Police use the 38 Special instead of 45 Long Colt?
its only a page back!!!
OK, here we go again,
The basic reasons for the big bore DA revolver "falling out of favor" with police is that they were never "in favor" to begin with. While very popular out west, and with the army, big bores were never really needed in urban/metro areas, even in the 19th century.
Cowboys, Cavalry, and Sherrifs in the west had to be able to drop horses, cows, and other large critters when the need arose. People rode on horses, alot, and so the size and weight of the big bore revolver was less important than it was to a man on foot, like the city patrolman.
For the beat cop, packing around a large heavy gun was a burden. And, their situation very seldom required that level of power.
When the Army dropped the .45 for the .38 Colt, it was because they no longer saw a regular need for being able to stop horses. The odds of our troopers facing enemy cavalry looked mighty slim.
Unfortunately, the anemic blackpowder .38 Long Colt round turned out to be a less than satisfactory manstopper. So the went back to the .45 SAA, and a few years later, mandated a .45 cal for the auto pistol they were considering. end result? The M1911.
Also, as discussed at greater length in the other thread, getting shot in those days was more often lethal than it is today. If the bullet didn't kill you outright, at best, you only had a 50/50 chance of surviving. Medicine wasn't any where near as good. If infection set in, you were toast! SO, people tended to do their best to avoid getting shot. Better a billy club beat down than a flesh wound from a pistol! Your odds of surviving were better!
The 357 mag was introduced around 1934 and was developed for police use probably due to prohibition related law enforcement and the ability of the caliber to penetrate car doors and so forth. The 357 mag revolvers were dubbed the most powerful handguns in the world at the time.
No, not exactly. The .357 Magnum was not developed with law enforcement in mind. Early ads recommended the .357 only for "powerful men of exceptional physique". It was not marketed to, or with law enforcement in mind, until well after WWII. What many found out was that the .357 was very good at penetrating car bodies, and while more than a few lawmen did use the .357 (if they could afford it), it was not originally developed or sold with police use in mind.
If you look at the writings from many of the experts from the 1950s through the 70s, most of those with some kind of police or combat experience felt a medium/big bore caliber at around 1,000fps would be the ideal police round. Something in a .40/.41 caliber was wanted. Even Bill Jordan (the man probably most responsible for the S&W Model 19 .357) felt that it would be ideal. The K frame size .357s were intended to be carried a lot, and shot (with magnum ammo) a little.
Unfortunately, what the industry gsve them was the .41 Mag. Only available in big frame guns, and at first, only in a magnum level loading. By the time a reduced velocity load (suitable for police work) came out, most depts that had an interest had already tested the magnum, and decided it wasn't suitable.
Move up to the 80s, and the semi auto is becoming the gun of choice for police, as well as the military. Finally, the 9mm was being made with bullets that reliably improved its performance. Glock didn't make the semi auto the police weapon of choice, what they did do was capture the market by under bidding the competition (mostly) and offering a high ammo capacity product.
S&W scored a major coup, creating the .40S&W, giving the performance the old time writers felt was best for police use, and doing it in a 9mm size gun, with decent ammo capacity.
Big bore DA revolvers just don't fit the needs of today's law enforcement. Might it be because in order to use one effectively, one has to be able to shoot well?
