I recently inherited an old (as in ~20 yrs old) .38 special Rossi and a S&W .32 long revolver from my grandfather. I have little experience with handguns and want to buy some basic range ammunition to get to learn and know these weapons, and possibly take the concealed course in the near future to further my handgun knowledge. Additionally, for the .38, possibly recommend some home defense ammunition as well for down the road. I am trying to learn more mainly through web research about these two, so feel free to chime in. I realize neither is particularly valuable or top-of-the-line etc. From the little reading i have done about them, this is what i gather:

the S&W .32 was once meant for personal defense, but is now generally considered outdated, lacks stopping power to be a home defense weapon, but is fairly accurate for small game type applications.

the .38 seems to be old enough that I doubt it can take P+ ammo, and I should probably stick to the basic stuff. It is still serviceable for personal uses.

1 ...

Report Post

Posted by bapple

Capital City

Member since Oct 2010

11870 posts

Posted on 7/10/14 at 11:30 pm to man in the stadium

quote:
I have little experience with handguns and want to buy some basic range ammunition to get to learn and know these weapons, and possibly take the concealed course in the near future to further my handgun knowledge.

These handguns should be fine in shooting standard pressure ammo. What I mean by that is don't buy "+P" ammo, which denotes a higher pressure rating. I doubt you see +P ammo in 32, but in 38 it is very common for defensive loads. Here's an example:

As far as using them defensively, if they are super old, I think you would have an easier time finding a modern gun that fits you. A lot of buyers don't realize that shooting a gun that is comfortable to you is important. Just like the man who buys his wife a gun without her consent, if it's not comfortable to her, the chances of her shooting it or even practicing with it are slim. Stick with a respectable manufacturer and pick what feels best to you.

quote:
the .38 seems to be old enough that I doubt it can take P+ ammo, and I should probably stick to the basic stuff. It is still serviceable for personal uses.

Unless it denotes +P specifically on the barrel, I wouldn't advise it.

If you are curious as to what guns would be better for carry or what general purpose for these guns you are looking for, check out my video for first-time buyers here:

First Time Firearm Buyers