[carguychris]

Jeff #111's post about the .38/44 cartridge is all correct, but I'll add some more information about the postwar "revival" of the extra-hot .38 Special. I've culled this from an old post in another thread.

FWIW if you're wondering why ammo manufacturers would market .38Spl+P+ ammo that will blow up most .38Spl revolvers, here's why.

In the late 60s and early 70s, some state and local governments, primarily in some large Northeastern and Midwestern cities, became concerned that .357Mag ammo was too powerful and was therefore inhumane for law-enforcement use. (Let's not get sidetracked discussing the logic, or lack thereof, in this conclusion; I'm merely reporting the facts.) Some of these governments passed ordinances banning the use of .357 Magnum ammo, and others adopted policy-level bans due to fear of lawsuits.

It didn't take long for the ammo manufacturers to figure out that they could load ammo to .357Mag pressures in a .38Spl case, and viola- +P+. Hence, when the district attorney came knocking, the chief of police could show him a box that said ".38 SPECIAL", and since all of the beat cops were already carrying .357Mag revolvers, there was no problem using the extra-hot ammo.

However, it didn't take long for savvy attorneys to figure out this obvious shell game, nor did it take long for unethical or ignorant ammo dealers to start selling +P+ ammo to the general public, some of whom were inevitably compelled by their own machismo to try out this extra-potent "Law Enforcement Only" ammo. Throw in the numerous late 80s switchovers to hi-capacity 9mm semi-autos, and by 1990, most police agencies had stopped buying .38Spl+P+. The combination of low demand and liability concerns prompted all the ammo makers except Federal to drop it from production.