[TBM900]

I would, if I had any, but data proving a negative is notoriously difficult to find, and its not something I was ever interested in collecting. Sorry.

Nothing to do with "proving a negative", rather it's about supporting your own assertion.
One would reasonably assume that someone making such a bold statement would have some sort of factual basis with which to form such.

I do, however, wonder why, if the standard .38 Special Target Wadcutter ammo is the "bees knees" for stopping power

The term 'stopping power' is not one I used.
Further, the term itself is gibberish and I simply do not understand how people can rationally use it.

why has no police agency ever issued it for service use?

Do you have a source for this assertion?

Has everyone been wrong for the past century??

You do know that for the majority of the 20th century, when revolvers saw their most prodigious use in law enforcement, the majority of LEOs supplied their own weapons and ammunition.....don't you?

I don't mean to imply that it can't work, or won't work, just that if it worked as well, or better than other things, then I think it would have been used by someone, somewhere so there would be a body of proof

As compared to the body of proof you used to state they are 'not considered good man stoppers'?
Just say'n....

The wadcutter concept works well, semi wadcutters work well, very well when bullet alloy and velocity are properly matched to the intended task.

Ok, I'm all ears, show me the metrics, the considerations, the data, and the body of proof to from this 'positive' assertion, that would then negate the 'negative'. I've got my bucket-o-popcorn, a big-gulp, and comfy chair.....

.38 Special Target Wadcutters are soft, and slow which is great for some things, and not so much for others.

I find it interesting that you keep referring to alloy/softness and inferred that is a negative trait. Yet in the real world they generally tend to not deform to any significant degree (or even at all). Most of the slugs I've recovered over the last four decades could have been reloaded with little effort, the few that did, struck bone and usually deformed less than modern wonder bullets. And yet they all worked beautifully as intended, something I can't say for many modern wonder bullets.

I guess that's just how things go when one basis their comments on real world experience versus......well.....frankly, I'm not sure what.

There are no magic bullets

At no point did I state or imply there were.
Yet you are wholly denouncing one apparently based on no hard data or first hand experience.

I do find this fascinating, especially considering the topic of 38 Special out of a short barrel. The majority of modern $2.00 per round 'wonder bullets' actually fail or under perform in the categories that so many believe important, often at the expense of higher blast/recoil.

Do you ever get out to the SouthWest? If so you've got an open invitation to our ranch and come on a handgun hunt with the lowly 38 wadcutter. We can do a little video and maybe even a side by side comparison with your perceived 'better' short-barrel 38 Special load.