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Factory .38 Special 148-grain wadcutter loads tend to be very good target loads. They are normally loaded to low velocity
("mid-range"), often around 700 feet per second.
It's mild in recoil and report, it tends to be accurate, and it makes clean, easy-to-score holes in targets. It's also easy to duplicate with handloads, and the components are usually cheap.
That loading was considered pretty accurate in bullseye shooting at 25 and 50 yards- so much so that Smith and Wesson and Colt chambered target autoloaders for it (S&W Model 52 and Colt Gold Cup National Match .38 Special Mid-Range). The Army Marksmanship Unit made a semi-rimmed version for their autoloaders - the .38 AMU.
They wouldn't be my first or second choice for self defense, but if that's what you have ...