crzy4guns

The .38 special does indeed have the edge in ballistics, but if you will read any of the work that Marshall and Sanow, two former police officers, put into their books on stopping power you will find that both calibers are in a virtual tie. That being the case I went with the .380 Walther PPK/s because of the greater firepower and the ease of reloading with a magazine. I liked the way it conceals better, for me anyway, because it is flatter than a S&W 642 .38 revolver I used to own. However both are not that hard to conceal. If recoil is the problem try standard pressure loads instead of the +P's. I had originally started with a 1911 clone and found that it was too heavy to carry all the time. I say carry the one that you think will be with you all of the time. A good .38 snubnose or a .380 auto beats a 1911 .45 left at home or in the car any day of the week. Just my .02 worth. Woo that was a long winded reply.

QKShooter

"The lightweight snubbies (which I'll never use) will rip your hand off when fired."

The perception of the recoil is a bit stout but, it's honestly not nearly that bad at all.

__________________

RJ Stewart

We might factor in price also. I believe it's more economical to shoot .38 Special than .380.

I've found a Taurus 651 .357 at a local shop, and it would conceal much better, being a snubnose with a shrouded hammer. I'm thinking about getting it for a pocket gun and only shooting 38 Specials in it, carrying Remington GS +P's. I would think a steel snubnose designed for the .357 would fire the .38 quite nicely, and be very controllable.

Oh, and the "almost rip your hand off" was from personal experience, not just a statement. I owned a SW 642 for a short time, and had to sell it because it was way too painful for my arthritic hands to fire. It did indeed feel pretty bad. Maybe not "ripping my hand off" bad, but too uncomfortable to ever shoot regularly. I'll never own another scandium snubbie.

__________________
Robert John Stewart, The Lost King of Scotland

AZ Husker

RJ, you weenie! My girlfriend shoots a 642 with +P's! The soft LaserGrips do help though. Arthritis is a terrible affliction for shooting!

__________________
Treat me good, I'll treat you better. Treat me bad, I'll treat you worse.

Breakdaddy

I think it's pretty much been covered already but I agree that in a similar platform the .38 is a superior performer. I feel that the 9mm +P trumps either in a similar platform which is why I pocket carry a Kahr PM9.

crzy4guns

The Kahr PM9 does indeed trump and render both the .38 snubnose and the .380 auto obsolete. In fact I am thinking of getting one myself come to think of it.

Ridgeline

I have a J-frame 38 and a Walther PPK 380, I will sometime carry one of these when "I'm not carrying". But with that said I would likey pick up my BHP 40 and be done with it. And all of there are much better than tossing rocks. What will see you thru is training, training and more training.

__________________
"Eternity is Too Long to be Wrong"

Texas CHL Instructor & Holder
Life Member NRA
Member TSRA

Metro 40

Actually, the opposite is true. There are very few (if any) modern 38 snubs that are NOT +P rated. I can't even think of any. Even the less expensive Rossi is +P rated.

+P is no big deal, anyway. The old loadings of standard factory .38 special ammo were hotter than today's so called "+P" stuff.

A small pocket pistol or revolver is for close-up work. I'll take the reliability of a good .38 snub over any .380, any day of the week. The .38 will work from inside a pocket, it will work pressed up against the bad guy's torso, it is not subject to limp wristing, and it throws 158 grain bullet at the same velocity or greater than a .380 throws a 95 grain bullet.

Recoil is not pleasant when target shooting with a lightweight snub, but in a self-defense situation, you will not notice the recoil nearly as much. In many police shootings, officers were surprised that their pistols only "popped" instead of the usual "bang" that they were used to at the range, to the point that those officers initially thought that they had bad, underpowered ammo!

__________________
"Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything." Wyatt Earp

Dusty Miller

On WHAT planet?!!!

Dusty Miller

HO-chee-MAMA!! I'm sure glad I shoot a .357 magnum instead!!