.357 vs .38 special

[Mordis]

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By listening to some of the setiments here and on other forums, im apparently underarming my self with my 4" .38spc. Sure I have shot .357mags in other guns, but for me the .38 is very controlable and has good stopping power.

My k-38-m15-3 cant chamber .357mags anyways.
It is a accurate gun, and easy to carry. With the .38 i can get back on target alot quicker then with the magnum.

I just cant believe there are people who still think the .38 is inadaquate for self defense. Considering that it accounts for alot of home invader kills then most any other round.

WIth good factory ammo, it does what it needs to do, and does it with low recoil. Thats one of the biggest reasons i love my 4".38, its low recoil and very accurate. Its also a easy round to teach newbies to shoot with.

Some of you people talk as if anything not .45acp or .40, or .357mag should be discontinued.

 

[cccook]

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Mordis, I agree with you. Carry whatever works best for you...just carry. When Texas regains OC, one the arms I intend to OC is a 4" Colt .38 spc Police Positive w/ Hogue grips. It's pretty sweet.

I have CC'd it but it cries out to be carried openly.

 

[Taurus850CIA]

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I carry a .38 special snubby for several reasons. I chose the gun for size, weight, and configuration. It's small size is great for easy concealability. I chose blued steel for the weight, and it's effect on controllability. I chose a concealed hammer and rounded surfaces for ease of draw. It was available in both .38 spl and .357 mag. I know that i could shoot specials from the magnum if i wanted more controllability, but one of the things my cpl instructor mentioned stuck with me. If you are ever in a situation where you have to use lethal force, the wrong jury could easily get hung up on a caliber that ends in "Magnum". That word has a stigma attached to it of excess. Magnum calls up images of hot-heads, and excessive force, and all kinds of unfortunate and negative associations for those among us who do not use or possess firearms. If the lawyer against you is good or lucky, he could stack up a jury of not just non-gun-users, but gun haters, and the "Magnum" designation could very well do you in. In most situations, it may not mean much, but if I ever have to stand in front of 12 of my "peers" to defend my actions, I want every little bit of help I can get. If that means nothing more than an absence of one word, so be it. If I had bought this little revolver in .357 mag, I would still carry .38's in it for the controllability alone. It may not be much, but not much could very well mean the difference between remaining unperforated, or riding in big van loaded with flashing lights...


Shoot straight, and carry on!

 

[WheelGun]

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The J-frame S&W is still mycary sidearmof choice as a licensed civilian legally carryingfor over 20 years (and that's in New York State)!!!

In my opinion, there is no need for anything more powerful or with greater firepower for a family man who simply wants to go about his business or take his family our for a hike on the weekends.

I can understand if you are going into high crime areas as part of a business (carry $$$) or if you are answering calls as a LEO or if you are in the military. However, I WAS in the military and it was there that I developed my distaste for semi-autos (Berettas kept jamming).

 

[HungSquirrel]

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I have a S&W 686 4" 6-shot .357 that I purchased precisely because .357 is tolerable to shoot in a full frame revolver. Cheap practice with .38 special hardly moves the revolver at all. Considering the .357 recoil is heavy (but tolerable), I would never dream of trying to shoot it out of a lightweight snubbie. That is precisely why my snubbie is .38 special only. I seriously doubt my ability to accurately hit a target with such powerful recoil out of a light gun, particularly in a self-defense scenario where adrenaline is running high.

 

[mike45acp]

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Hello
one thing about 38spl is that in a +p you can get close to the ballistics of a 357mag the advantage is the 38 gun can be smaller and lighter.

 

[tripledipper]

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Hey Mike, its a coincidence thatyou just posted this because I justbought a 95% ratedusedS&W 637 today at locala gun show to replacethejunker I was using for CC which was too heavy and not +p rated.

 

[mike45acp]

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The 38spl is still a great round and I believe winchester makes a hollow point that is not +p

 

[curtm1911]

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If you want it for defense purposes, get a small .357, shoot any .38 round you want to and know you can step it up if you want to. Remember that smaller gunsrecoil more. 4" .357 is not bad to handle, I like Rugers, but whatever, it is nice to have the choice of power levels to choose from with the .357. I have one each in both calibers, want more........oh well.......

 

[curtm1911]

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Here is the other one, guess which is which from previous post, don't know how to post multiple pics.......sorry.......

 

[rodbender]

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SS is the .357

 

[cce1302]

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I would have to guess that the picture labeled "security six .357 magnum 1.jpg" would be the .357.

:celebrate

It's a good choice. I've got a GP100 6 7/8" SS .357 that I carry on occasion. Oddly, I thought that I could shoot .38 specials in it if I ever wanted to, but after shooting a couple boxes of them through it, then shooting a lot of .357 through it, I thought "ehhh...might as well stick with the .357s.

For a lightweight .357 that won't bloody your hand, try the S&W model 327PC 2". It's got a round butt grip that's pretty comfortable to shoot (compared to a j-frame), holds 8 rds, and is lots of fun.

 

[Loneviking]

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Keep in mind that with a snubby, the .38's are going to be easier to extract than a .357 shell because of the length of the shell and the length of the extractor.

I prefer a .357 with a 3 inch barrel as it seems the perfect length for balance, concealment and functionality as a defensive weapon.

There is nothing wrong with a .38 spcl. round. I finally found some of the Buffalo Bore .38 rounds that are a soft wadcutter with a hollow cavity, aka 'Keith Bullet'. They have a gas check to prevent leading and chrono at around 1400 fps out of a 3 inch barrel. They are designed to mushroom violently on impact and I don't have any qualms about carrying these on a daily basis. I keep one speedloader with Winchester Silvertips in case I need something with more penetration.

 

[Marco]

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OP what did you decide on?

I have conflicting data.
a source, reported the .45 ACP as having the best record of one-shot stops Another source said the .357 mag.125 gr. hollow-point had the best record.

http://www.handloads.org/misc/stoppingpower.asp?Caliber=0

As for ballisticsfor those that buy into that, the .38spl from 2"< bbl is hardly as potent as a .380with fewer rounds and a slower reload for the untrained.

 

[mike45acp]

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Hello
The 357 magnum round with a 125gr jhp shot out of a 4" barrel has the best one shot stop rate. I myself carry a glock 21 in 45acp with hornady +p rounds.

 

[rscottie]

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I have a Ruger SP101 with a 2.25 in barrel. It is quite manageable with Federal 125 g semi-jacketed hollowpoints. It does make a pretty loud boom.

It is practically invisible in a IWB small of back holster.

 

[nova]

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[Don Barnett]

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An FBI agent told me that if they carrya .45 ACP, then the ammo of choice is Remington Golden Saber (230 gr), because it works.

 

[Flyer22]

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I have a .38 special 5-shot. At the time I bought it, I was thinking more of CC than OC. I chose it because it seemed to me thatit offered the best all-around compromise between stopping power, ease of concealability, and ease of drawing.

 

[tarzan1888]

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There is nothing wrong with a .38 Special.

The .357 was invented in 1935, because the .38 Special did not do well shooting through car bodies, and the Highway Patrol wanted something that would accomplish this.

The .38 Special was finally replaced by the 9mm, after over 80 years as being the handgun caliber of choice of police departments across this country, not for lack of stopping power, but because the new young LEO's wanted larger capacity.

When I was helping my son-in-law buy his first gun, he had no interest in the "old fashioned" wheel gun. He wanted a new polymer auto.

He ended up with an XD 45.



My thoughts.





Tarzan