[Slow]

8 rounds of .22 mag. or 5 rounds of .38spec.+P. Trying to decide which Ultra-lite to go with for CCW

[WebHobbit]

.38

[Ala Dan]

.38 +P for me!

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member

[DennisE]

.38 Special +P. Dennis

[Quantrill]

.38 Spec. Quantrill

[Logistar]

.38 Special +P

I suspect this might be unanimous.

(Also, remember that a .357 WOULD allow the use of the .357 magnum cartridges if you had an occasional need for it. - Might be plenty of recoil though... not to mention FLASH and NOISE out of a short CCW barrel. I would not use the .357 as my "normal" carry load.... that would be .38 +P.)

FWIW

Logistar

[Brian Williams]

38
I carry a mod 60 3" most days.

[Edward429451]

45, err, I mean 38.

[Jim March]

38, UNLESS I was recoil-sensitive :).

Seriously, the 22Mag J-class Tauruses have potential as "granny guns" :D.

[Johnny Guest]

- - -And if all I had available in an easily concealable piece was a .22 mag, I'd certainly go for it. After all, a short, light, .22 on your person beats a six-inch .357 left in the car, or a .50 Desert Eagle locked in the cabinet at home.:D

But, given the quesion as you posed it, I'd go with the .38, without doubt.

Best,
Johnny

[tbeb]

.38 special +P

[chaim]

I see people are judging this from a power perspective pretty much exclusively.

I had a full weight Taurus 605 .357mag small framed snub and I got rid of it because recoil with magnum ammo was strong enough that I didn't see using it for defensive purposes and it wasn't particularly enjoyable at the range (follow-up shots would not be quick enough to use for defense and at the range it just wasn't very pleasant so I figure I'll go w/ one chambered in an easier recoilling cartridge and not have the extra weight of the .357mag chambered revolver- the .38 was a few oz. lighter). However, if power was the only criteria I would have been severely negligent to get rid of this gun since it is hard to do better than .357mag out of this sized gun. Heck, throwing carriability in with power as the criteria one could argue everyone should own a Scandium yet most would agree that is the correct solution for very few people.

Anyway, in an UL you may find the same kind of situation with .38+P or even regular .38s. If that is the case you may be better served by the .22mag. Even regular .22lr has more energy and stopping power than .25acp and plenty of people use that for backup and in some situations even carry a .25acp auto by itself. The .22mag has even more power; out of a handgun it has more than most .32acp loadings and many people settle for a .32 as their backup and even sometimes as their primary. It isn't a .38 or .38+P, but it won't leave you as underpowered as some seem to act.

With a small snub most people need to practice alot before they can be good. They are some of the hardest handgun designs with which to become proficient. If you find an ultra-light .38 design tough to shoot comfortably you won't practice enough. In that case you may certainly be better served w/ the .22mag (at least assuming you plan to only own one snub).

Another possibility, albeit extremely unlikely, is encountering multiple assailants. If I am facing 3 people I'd much rather have 8 shots of .22mag or even 9 or .22lr than 5 of .38spl or +P. None of these calibers are particularly hard-hitting and even w/ .45acp there is a good chance that you'll need the old double tap to stop your assailant. With 3 people and a 5 shot snub you can do 2 DTs and one can only get one shot (w/ nothing left over for face shots if the DT doesn't stop some). With the .22mag you can do 3DTs and still have 2 shots left over in case a face shot is needed to stop a couple or there is some other unexpected situation, and w/ the .22lr you have the ability to hit all three attackers three times if needed.

Personally, I would agree that in most situations the .38 would be better. Ideal would probably be a light weight .38 for carry and occasional practice coupled w/ a .22lr or .22mag snub for cheap (in .22lr anyway) and easy practice (and to give you the flexibility to occasionally carry the higher capacity snub should you feel the situation warrants it). However, I don't like the "one size fits all" answers you are getting. There are certainly situations where the .22mag or even a .22lr may be better, depending upon your particular situation (recoil adversion and finances).

I may get myself a .38 though now w/ the Taurus 9mm snub coming out that is my more likely option. Power equal to or better than .357mag out of a 2" barrel and recoil closer to .38 or +P. However, I plan on a Taurus 94 in .22lr for easier practice so I can practice enough to get good and I'll probably get the .22 first (thus, if, as hoped, I am in a CCW state by late summer I may have only the .22 as a snub option for a little while- and you know, I won't feel particularly disadvantaged in that situation).

[22luvr]

Although I do carry a .22mag mini-revolver some of the time, I'd prefer .22 mag in a rifle or a long-barreled revolver for varmints and plinking. The .38 has been putting down bad guys for most of the 20th century. I'd go with the stats........

I've owned two Taurus revolvers and judged them both first rate in terms of fit/finish, accuracy, and reliability. They make several excellent small, lightweight .38 spcls, all based on their successful model 85's that would suit your carry needs ideally.

[ruger357]

.38 Mod. S&W 637.

[9mmepiphany]

.38+p...

but i'd take a six shot .32mag over a five shot .38

[Jason Demond]

Nothing less than a .38 Special, for me.

[notbubba]

Of the two, go with the .38.

You also have the choice of a .32H&R mag. in the same size.
It's a nice little round.

[yotehunter]

If you carried a couple of 22's you could at least say you have a 44. If your going to carry CCW at least get something that you bet your life with and 22 just doesnt have good enough odds when there are some really nice small light revolvers out there that have much better performance for CCW.

[Kahr carrier]

38 Special.

[P95Carry]

Yep ..... 38 spl.

[Poohgyrr]

Ummm,
.38, because it is easier to load a .38 down than to load a .22 maggie up. Besides, reloading is unbelievably cheap for .38's ( more practice).

Unless I had some medical problem that made it impossible for me to be effective with .38's......

[Mannlicher]

.38 is the lowest on the totem pole I will carry. A .22 is just out of the question.

[denfoote]

I actually do carry a Taurus M85UL. The recoil of +P loads isn't that bad, and it ain't that difficult to shoot accurately either!! My lovely wife gave me the pistol for no apparent reason other than she's a babe. 3/4ths of the way through the first box I started hitting black. 1/2 the way through the third box I started putting multiple rounds through the same hole or close to it. This was done at 10 yards, double action, which I consider to be the gun's useful range.

Get the .38!!! :D

[FJC]

Absolutely I'd pick the .38 over the .22. Both are deadly, but I'd trust 5 rounds of .38 to stop a fight much faster than 8 rounds of .22...