Early this evening, while looking up load data for the old British .380/200 load I came across some interesting tid-bits about 200-grain bullets in .38 Special traveling ~550-600fps.
https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/200...ice-cartridge/
The conceptual idea, is a .38 Special load that penetrates decently, recoils softly, and has the potential to yaw when it hits tissue. Science wise, the idea has some merit. The longer and heavier 200-grain bullets are less stable from the twist-rate common in .38 special barrels (particularly between 2-4"). And the low velocity doesn't allow high speed stability to occur either, such that when the bullet hits something it has a tendency to upset. I can see this being pretty lame, if we're talking an 85-grain .380 bullet, but a 200-grain lead slug seems like it might push a further on the penetration front. It seems that this was the same idea, by-the-by for the .380/200 load that British cooked up for Enfields and Webleys. Send a 200-grain round nose bullet out at about 6-650 fps. It penetrates fairly deep and may get upset in the process and turn over.
While I'm not normally for voodoo magic to get bullets to work, the simple reality is that there aren't very many good .38 Special loads for snub-nosed revolvers out there. You get penetration and no expansion, plenty of expansion and minimal penetration, or expansion, penetration, and plenty of recoil. So, I'm interested in anything that might work a bit better. I know we have some guys who have probably played with 200-grain bullets in .38 Specials - what say you? Yay, nay, indifferent?
The very real downside is that it is likely to not defeat any kind of intermediate barrier reliably. Chances are good if it hits windshield glass it will deflect pretty hard. So, anyone who may have a higher chance of shooting through a barrier this will be a non-starter.