Jimmy Neutron Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 Mcboog I really appreciate you takin the time to add your imput (everyone else as well). It's obvious you have experience in this area and after reading all of this thread over and over again I still don't know what I'm going to do. Someone outside the Huddle told me early on that for a relatively inexperienced shooter looking for personal protection a .38 snub nose would be the way to go, which more than one of you have said as well. So taking all into consideration I think I will ask my gf stepdad to let me shoot it at the range and if I like it maybe I'll try to get him to sell it to me cheap (I have shot a .38 before and it was definitely comfortable) The points brought up about malfunctions in a stress situation is something I need to consider so I will rethink the wheel gun. Would it be worth it to go .357? He has both the .38 and .357 S&W with the internal hammer. I would have to look up price differences but if I remember correctly the .357 seemed like it could be concealed fairly easily as well. A .357 is a much better self defense round - you actually have to worry about over penetration, so stick with the lighter loads. The downside is, there is much more recoil, noise and muzzle flash. If you do go with the .38, be sure to go with a +P load - that means the cartridge is loaded to above SAAMI pressures, but should be safe in any modern gun in good condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furd Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 A .357 is a much better self defense round - you actually have to worry about over penetration, so stick with the lighter loads. The downside is, there is much more recoil, noise and muzzle flash. If you do go with the .38, be sure to go with a +P load - that means the cartridge is loaded to above SAAMI pressures, but should be safe in any modern gun in good condition. Or you go with a .38 +P in the .357, which just might be the best combination IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Neutron Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 Or you go with a .38 +P in the .357, which just might be the best combination IMO. Yeah, I guess that needs to be said. You can shoot .38s out of a .357, but not the other way around. Buying a .357 and shooting .38s for practice is a good way to go because .38s are about 2/3 the price of .357 and is much easier to shoot lots of. You should still shoot with whatever more stout carry ammo you choose, be it a .38 +P or full house .357 magnum. .357s are generally built a little more stoutly and have a longer cylinder to handle the more powerful round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McBoog Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 Yeah, I guess that needs to be said. You can shoot .38s out of a .357, but not the other way around. Buying a .357 and shooting .38s for practice is a good way to go because .38s are about 2/3 the price of .357 and is much easier to shoot lots of. You should still shoot with whatever more stout carry ammo you choose, be it a .38 +P or full house .357 magnum. .357s are generally built a little more stoutly and have a longer cylinder to handle the more powerful round. The last three posts by Jimmy and Furd are right on! The .357 is a little bigger, so check to see if it fits your needs. Remember that every 1/4 inch and every ounce count over a full day of carrying. Yet another thing to consider, the ballistics of the three rounds coming out of such a short barrel are all very similar. They are so slight that it is not truley significant for "stopping power" (unless you believe there is... see my first post ). The reason is that because the barrel is so short, the bullet leaves the barrel before all of the powder is burned. Some call it "spitting powder". The first time I shot a snub .357 in low light, I thought the gun had exploded! It is very cool to watch it from the side! Flame coming out of everywhere! If you miss, at least you adversary will soil himself This effect happens because the burning powder is being propelled out of the barrel along with the bullet. The more efficient the burn, the lower the flash. As gun powder burns, it turns to gas and as the gas rapidly expands, that is what pushes the bullet down the barrel. The short barrel does not contain the bullet long enough for a completely efficient gas burn. This reduces the "push" and hence wastes the excellent performance of a .357. The evolution of the .357 snub came about as a compatible back up for cops that carried a .357 on their belts. They are made more robust, because there is extra pressure and the cartridge is a little longer. By carrying a back up that is chambered in the same round as your primary weapon, you don't have to carry two types of ammo. Rarely do people carry extra ammo for a back up if it is a different round from the primary, so it is a "luxury" to have the same ammo for both guns (when you go to your back up, it usually means things are really bad and reloads are probably moot at this point in the fight anyway ) For your stated needs, I still say the .38 (built to handle +p or +P+ rounds) will be sufficient. The .357, to me, is "just that much bigger" to make it "just that more unconfortable". I am a big guy, and it is not that easy concealing and carrying a gun all day. From Circle Cirlce Dot Dot, "If you wanna find the piece, check the pant leg". Most backups end up on the ankle. If you do this, PRACTICE DRAWING THE WEAPON A LOT! Do it in a way that you are ALWAYS keeping you eyes on your target. That means going into a squat, not bending over. They also have some very nice in the pocket holsters, but that pocket is now unusable and you need to wear looser fitting pants so that you don't "print" (the outline of the gun seen through the clothing). The last thing I want to point out is that the coolness factor on wheel guns is definately lacking. They are non-existent in the movies/tv anymore and are considered old technology. Now is not the time to worry about cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lions suck Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 (edited) Good advice about the wheel guns. One other factor to consider...the spent shell casings stay in the cylinder, not sprayed all over the ground like a semi. Most ballistics used to determine what gun shot what comes from the casing...not the actual bullet fired. Most fired bullets are mis-shapened and very hard to get a true bal reading but a shell casing retains its shape and is much easier to identify. Shell casings are like bullets, each has there own distinct markings...like fingerprints. I sat on a murder jury a few years ago and this helped immensly when coming to a verdict. Just one more point for the revolver. +P 38 is the way to go IMHO. Edited March 14, 2007 by lions suck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caveman_Nick Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 Good advice about the wheel guns. One other factor to consider...the spent shell casings stay in the cylinder, not sprayed all over the ground like a semi. Most ballistics used to determine what gun shot what come frome the casind...not the actual bullet fired. Most fired bullets are misshapened and very hard to get a true bal reading but a shell casing retains its shape and is much easier to identify. Shell casings are like bullets, each has there own distinct markings...like fingerprints. I sat on a murder jury a few years ago and this helped immensly when coming to a verdict. Just one more point for the revolver. +P 38 is the way to go IMHO. You know...in case you wanted to run around committing murder "For all lawful purposes" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lions suck Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 You know...in case you wanted to run around committing murder "For all lawful purposes" Exactly!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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