.38 special vs. .44 special in a snub

[Great Scot]

I currently own a Smith and Wesson 637 .38 and I use it as my ccw. It's nice and light and loaded with premium hollow points, I feel reasonably well protected. However, I looked at a Charter Arms Bulldog recently and I began wondering if moving up to a .44 special would be a good choice. I realize the ammunition is going to be more expensive, and recoil may be more extreme, but is the extra power of the .44 special worth it? Any thoughts on this issue would be appreciated.

 

[Heavy Metal Hero]

What about .357 mag?

 

[svtruth]

Haven't shot much of it

but the numbers indicate that .44spl is pretty close to .45acp.
Then you are hip deep in the revolver vs auto debate as well as a caliber debate. If only there were more .44spls available, you could include manufacturer vs manufacturer for a trifecta.
Good luck.

 

[Heavy Metal Hero]

Sort of on this topic but what about trying to find a wheel gun in .45 ACPor getting .45 ACP moon clips? It would be a lot cheaper than .44 special.

 

[Great Scot]

Thanks for the responses. I've shot a snub .357, and the blast and recoil was a little much for fast follow up shots. I considered a .45 snub, but they are hard to come by and I haven't had much experience with moon clips. Are they easy to use? Are they fragile?

 

[Plink]

I carried a small .44 special as my concealled carry gun for several years. Recoil is quite manageable. Comparing the two cartridges is about like comparing a hot .380 to a .45 ACP. Though the .38 with it's heavier bullets gets a bit better penetration than a .380 would.

The .44 special is a great carry round in my opinion. It's also a low pressure round which is especially desirable. If you ever have to fire it indoors, you don't get slapped upside the head by a huge pressure wave like you do with the magnums.

I normally avoid Cor-Bon ammo like the plague, but their DPX is an awesome round in .44 special.

 

[Bear41mag]

The .44 special is a great carry round in my opinion. It's also a low pressure round which is especially desirable. If you ever have to fire it indoors, you don't get slapped upside the head by a huge pressure wave like you do with the magnums.

I normally avoid Cor-Bon ammo like the plague, but their DPX is an awesome round in .44 special

Ditto, this is my prefered carry cartridge, only I do it in a Smith 696, but I would feel just as comfortable with a bulldog.

I also like CCI 200 gr Gold Dots for a factory round, or a 240 grain Keith at 900 fps in a handload.

 

[M2 Carbine]

I had a Charter Arms 44 Bulldog long before concealed carry.
IMO it's a big step up from 38 Special.
I wish I had it now.

 

[Charshooter]

I have shot 44 Special in a 44 magnum and I can see where it would be much more manageable. I also like light 44 magnum loads but these are not CC guns!

 

[Sundles]

The 44 SPL is only a step up from 38SPL, DEPENDIG ON THE AMMO you choose to use for both.

There are some good 38SPL+P loads out there, but there are some really weak inefective 38SPL loads out there. Same can be said for the 44 SPL. So no, a 44 SPL is not automatically a step up from a 38SPL. It all depnds on the ammo you choose for both.

ANY firearm is only as effective as the stuff you feed it.

 

[dispatch]

My opinion. Bigger bullet, bigger hole, more punch.

 

[glockman19]

.38 in that size. even the .357 has too much kick the .44 will hurt your hand after 20-30 rounds. IMHO

 

[recondoc]

One of my favorite carry guns is the Rossi 720. It's not a true snubbie with it's 3" tube but it shoots really well and can handle just about any .44 SPL load out there. Not a lightweight though. Now Rossi hasn't made them for several years and more and more folks are "rediscovering" the .44SPL round and snatching the 720s up when they find them.
Doc

 

[skeeter1]

Having had a Smith M60 in .38Spl for 27 years now (and a M66 snubby in .357Mag which I've since sold), I'm going to stick with the .38. The .357 was downright brutal. I sold the M66 to a US Army officer (shooting friend of mine) who can handle it better than I could.

I haven't tried a .44Spl, but I have a hunch it would be more like the .357. The thing about the .357s is that there are a lot more to choose from, and you can always use .38s in them.

 

[joneb]

I handled the 2000 Bulldog and its a bit scruffy and loose, I'd love to shoot one, it is small and light compared to a S&W 696. Here's one review ;http://www.gunblast.com/Bulldog_Pug.htm
The CA 2000 .44 Pug may be worth a look, this guy liked it, or maybe he's just happy to get a free gun

 

[Maddock]

For about 10 years my always gun was a stainless Charter Bulldog that I had modified by Frank Glenn to a two inch barrel and bobbed hammer. I used the magna-like stocks with a T-grip. I even shot it in snubby class at my local club. I competed with and often carried 240 grain SWCs at 750 fps (180 power factor), which does come back at you in a 24 ounce (loaded) snubby with the small stocks. Speer’s 200gr JHP at 800 fps seems a bit milder, but louder. Pachmayr rubber Compac grips significantly ease the discomfort but make it even tougher to pocket or ankle carry. I eventually switched to a 442, primarily because of the weight with size as a secondary consideration. The last of my CorBon 158 LSWCHPs (975fps from the 442) are currently my carry load and they a bit less comfortable with Boot Grips than 240/750 from the Bulldog. Neither of them is anything like a full house .357 from a 2 inch J frame – OUCH.

The only things “wrong” with the .44 Special snubby are:
• The size/weight of the smaller guns. They are significantly heavier and/or larger than a J frame airweight.
• The lack of a broad selection of factory defensive ammo.
• Since no first line manufacturer has ever made a true snubby in .44 Special, the selection is limited to second string manufacturers like the Charter. I was extremely fortunate that the example I had was OK.

In guns of comparable weight with equal stocks, factory .44 Special is much more pleasant to shoot than .357 Magnum. Out of a 2 inch barrel, I’ve got to concede that the best .357 loads are probably significantly better than the best .44 Special loads, but not enough to justify the added control problems.

 

[earplug]

I had the Charter Bulldog

I got rid of it due to my lack of practice with it.
I got little pleasure shooting it. DA trigger pull issues and cost of shooting it. Switched to a alloy J frame, Much better for my use.

 

[Dustinthewind]

New member. I just purchased a Charter Arms Bulldog Pug .44 Special for my wife. I was looking for a snubby .357 for her but the local gunshop only had .38 specials on hand. The clerk which I have dealt with for years kept pushing the .38 thinking that the .357 would be too much recoil for the little lady, who by the way is 5'2 and 120lbs. I knew better because i broke her in on .45 Colt's and .44 mags. We looked at a Rossi .38, the cylinder lock up was terrible, next we looked at a Taurus model 85. I was surprised that the cylinder lock up on the Taurus was equally bad. The next gun we looked at was a S&W 642 LS, nice gun , but still a .38. When I asked to see the Bulldog .44 special the clerk thought that I was nuts and told my wife so. i passed the gun to her after an initial inspection for functionality and she bought it. We went out to our range and i showed her how to load it and reviewed D/A VS S/A, I instructed her to hold it with both hands, which she did for the first five rounds, then she shot the rest of her ammo with a one handed grip. I did get to crack off one cylinder full and found the recoil to be mild. The finish on the Bulldog does leave a bit ot be desired ie. some machine marks visible, but the gun functions flawlesly and I feel the .44 special is a much better choice for protection tha the .38

 

[357wheelgunner]

If you can't solve a problem with 5 rounds of .38, you probably can't solve it with 5 rounds of .44 special. The only reason I'd ever pay the extra cost for ammo and shoot a substandard gun (not many S&W or Rugers around in .44, just charger arms which IMO aren't quality guns) is if I had a nice .44 carbine to go with it.

Why pay extra money for ammo and shoot a low quality gun just for the small amount of extra oomph of the .44? People have been defending themselves, successfully, for a looooong time with the .38. Just learn how to shoot better....

 

[Walkalong]

My opinion. Bigger bullet, bigger hole, more punch.

Yep, great round. .45 ACP or .44 Spl. in a snub is hard to beat.

 

[tipoc]

A snub .38 will of course be smaller and lighter to carry. The Charter Arms guns have a decent reputation but do some research before buying. I'd buy one in a minute simply to test it out.

In my experience the .44 Spl is a very good round in a carry gun. Superior to the .38 of course for defensive purposes and beats the .357 for many folks. i.e. it's easier to shoot in a snubby for many. The trade off is the size of the gun.

Below are two snubbys and M 624 in .44 Spl. and a 629 in .44Spl/44mag.



At 15 yards.



Different ammo 15 yards.



Yes more expensive to shoot than the .38. Not more expensive than the .357. Ammo is readily available online. Easy to handload.

tipoc

 

[coelacanth]

the law of unintended consequences...

always bites you. Modern bullets and powders make a concealable and controllable .38 special a very viable self defense weapon. I like the .44 special, it is a wonderful round in larger framed handguns but it will always be harder to control in a smaller 5 shot weapon and it will always be more expensive to shoot than the .38 special. I can't argue with the bigger bullet = bigger hole theory as I subscribe to it myself but I have never felt poorly armed with my .38 snubbies. British commandos were inordinately fond of the .38 cal with heavier bullet weights ( 180 -200 grains) as they found them to be deadly killers. Winchester got wealthy loading these in both .38 S&W and .38 special back in the 50's and 60's and shipped the majority overseas. I have experimented with some of those loads and IMHO the Brits were on to something. You would be well served with either weapon you decide on as long as you make the commitment to practice diligently. Good luck and good hunting.

 

[Sundles]

You cant get a 44 in a tiny J frame.

 

[SoCalShooter]

shot a lot of both

.38spec with premium ammo and some well placed shots ought to be able to take out your average human being. Whilst a .44 staring back at someone is a formidible weapon and could have the possibility of deterring an attack, you have to be worried if you may go all dirty harry on someone. I keep a bedside .45acp, go the parents a .38spec the 38 is very controlleble and with some decent range time you should do well with what you have. Stick with what you got is what I say, if you want a pretty .44 get a smith if you want a rugged *beat the bad guy over the head when your out of ammo* gun get a ruger.