Ohen Cepel
Member
Out of the short barrels such as 2.5 inch the 9 mm might be the most practical for self-defense. Due to high pressure and no cycling/cylinder gap, apparently it still does pretty well out of the short barrels, while still having manageable recoil. In contrast, the .357 for example out of my 3 inch barrel is brutal with recoil, and tests show the .38 special going pretty slow such as in the 600-700 FPS range. I assume that the recoil issue is similar for the more powerful big bore calibers with the 2.5 or 3 inch barrels.
It is not that 9mm is bad in the platform. I simply prefer a wadcutter (and can load it for the short barrel) if it doesn't expand and snake shot loads (which are not common in 9mm). Plus, I can do 230gr 38's if I want heavy. For me, the 38 just scratches the itch a bit better.