38 special equals 9mm?

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I'll take a look, both sites are blocked (I'm at work).

I've seen the occaisional SP101 in 9mm for sale and prices are ridiculous. I should say I'd buy a new one for the same price as a 357 which is ~$500 out the door. The ones I've seen in 9mm have been upwards of $600 used.
 
The ones I've seen in 9mm have been upwards of $600 used.
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That one is no different. I think it's $650. I don't know if it is really worth it or not, but, a new Smith is going to cost even more. An older Smith chambered in 9mm is even more than that from what I have seen.

Personally I like revos chambered in 9mm. If mine were a little smaller I'd carry it.
 
My wife has a carry permit and carried a 2" .32 H&R mag. To qualify for a concealed permit she had to shoot a .38sp minimum. She shoots the class with a S&W 686 4" with 148g wc loads. We recently bought for her a Ruger LCR in .38 sp and it is a great gun for a small frame woman. She now shoots 158g jsp at +P loads with ease. We have 3 woman shooters in the family and only one can shoot a 9mm smi auto with out jaming (limp wristing).
Jim
 
Old krow said:
http://www.armslist.com/posts/403030/tampa-handguns-for-sale--ruger-sp101-9mm

I've never used these guys before, but according to the page they can turn quite a few revolvers (even a J-frame smith) into 9mm.

http://www.pinnacle-guns.com/revolver.asp
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The thing that keeps me from having a 38 converted is that you don't have the ability to fire rounds WITHOUT the moon clips you have with a 9mm specific cylinder.

Another slight issue for me is a 38 reamed to 9mm will have to be a goodly bit oversized for a large part of the chambers throat.
 
The thing that keeps me from having a 38 converted is that you don't have the ability to fire rounds WITHOUT the moon clips you have with a 9mm specific cylinder.
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I don't mind shooting with moon clips, it makes the reloads pretty quick.
 
Here's my take...

The 9mm is a little faster. The 38 can be had in some very wicked hollowpoints that simply wouldn't work in a semiauto. I have both calibers in carry weapons and feel confident that either would do the trick if called on.

So, they may not be "equal" but I think they're both "effective."
 
Can anyone report on the Double Tap 125 gr +P load out of a LCR?

The idea of virtually no muzzle flash sounds like a good idea for my
Mother, who will be picking up a LCR very soon.
 
I own Smith and Colt 2 inch snubbies and shoot Wadcutters and semi Wadcutters out of them and never feel under gunned. However when I feel the need for a little more pop, I always grab my 3 inch SP-101 in 9mm.
 
Can anyone report on the Double Tap 125 gr +P load out of a LCR?

The idea of virtually no muzzle flash sounds like a good idea for my
Mother, who will be picking up a LCR very soon.
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I've put some through my 642 which has the same length barrel as an LCR. There is a LOT of muzzle flash and concussion.
 
Hmmm someone raised the question about the brass length, 9mm being rather short, while .38Spl is a longer shell.

Was the .38Spl originally a blackpowder load, or was it made longer so that no one one stuff .38Spl ammo into the older (Don't remember which) 38S&W or 38Colt guns? Same reason as the .44Mag was made longer, so it wouldn't fit on older .44Spl guns.
 
Yep, it was and stil can be loadedl as a black powder round. You may be thinking about the .357 case being made a 1/10 of inch longer so it wouldn't fit in a .38 special cylinder/charge hole.
 
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We have all been caught up with ft lb energy,fps, etc. A .38 and even a .380 is more than sufficient enough to stop a bad guy by a proficent shooter. So..make the shooter more proficient.:D
 
The thing that keeps me from having a 38 converted is that you don't have the ability to fire rounds WITHOUT the moon clips you have with a 9mm specific cylinder.
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You don't need moon clips to fire 9mm rounds from this one...

HPIM5676.gif



HPIM5678.gif
 
Turns out a .38 special standard load is under 200 foot lbs of energy? And that's from a 4 inch barrel!

I have found some +p loads that range in energy from 250 ft lbs to over 400.
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Where did you find a .38+P load that delivers 400 ft. lbs. of energy?
 
IMHO, toss small capacity for either both. If you want compact try something like a 5 shot .357 mag 2.25" barrel ruger sp101 or, if you can get a good one (and many are good) a charter .44 special bulldog 2.5" barrel DAO. If size is a lesser consideration, get a double stack magazine small to midsize semi auto (but if you are doing that, I think .357 sig or .40 would be better than 9mm)
 
The flaw in this thread is velocity is used instead of energy. At the muzzle a +p 158gr 38spcl is comparable to a 357. Go 25 yards downrange the 357 is still making almost the same amount of energy as it did at the muzzle. Yet both the 9mm and 38spcl are slowing quickly. Go 50 yards downrange and the 357 is clearly superior.

One other thing the 357mag doesn't do much besides make a lot of noise from a 2" barrel. The 357 was meant to be shot from a long barrel.

Cheaper than Dirt is good about listing factory ballistics for it's ammo.
 
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One_Jackal said:
The flaw in this thread is velocity is used instead of energy. At the muzzle a +p 158gr 38spcl is comparable to a 357. Go 25 yards downrange the 357 is still making almost the same amount of energy as it did at the muzzle. Yet both the 9mm and 38spcl are slowing quickly. Go 50 yards downrange and the 357 is clearly superior.

One other thing the 357mag doesn't do much besides make a lot of noise from a 2" barrel. The 357 was meant to be shot from a long barrel.

Cheaper than Dirt is good about listing factory ballistics for it's ammo.
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Think of it this way

Velocity and not energy is the fuel that bullets use to expand.

At the muzzle from s snubby revolver even in. +p trim a 38 will struggle to make 800fps with 158g bullets. A 357 from the same barrel will do 1100 pretty easily.

IMO at any speeds below 1000fps expansion from even the most modern jhp's gets to be a dodgey prospect. I am not a fan of 158g bullets in either cartridge for defense. Save the 158's for the deer woods and get yourself a quality 12x grain hollow point or at most a 147 hardcast wadcutter in your gun can't drive jhp's hard enough to expand.
 
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This ia an interesting topic. In the real world, the choice would probably come down to which platform you like, auto or wheelgun. I shoot both calibers and platforms, plus others too. I doubt that a bad guy would care



Thank you guys for not turning this into a caliber war.
 
I guess the marketing weenies have won. They have convinced a large portion of the buyers they need a super fast round to do a good job and that round comes at a premium price. Marketing Weenies one, buyers nothing but the higher prices!

Well, if that were true, how do you explain rounds like the 45-70 just to mention one. The .45-70 will push a 405gr lead bullet clear through a Buffalo and at only 1400 fps from the muzzle. Heavy and slow works and works well. Sure a 9mm 124gr bullet @1200 fps will hit hard but a .38 Special 158gr bullet @950 fps will hit harder. It will also create a larger permanent wound cavity and that's important. Don't let the marketing weenies win, velocity alone isn't everything. Carry what you shoot best, both will stop the bad guy but the .38 Spl will do it better. :neener:
 
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