.38 Special.
1) Accurate. Very accurate. Both the cartridge itself and the guns that shoot it. Size being about equal, your average sixgun will outshoot your average brasschucker, IME. And even among revolvers, the .38 Special has a long-standing reputation for accuracy.
2) Bullet weight. The .38 is at its best with a heavier bullet than the .380 or the 9x18. I think this matters. Some don't. It'll never be answered.
3. Bullet shape. The lack of a need to feed up and out of a magazine allows for bullet shapes to be designed with only terminal performance in mind. A 9x19 sixgun would negate this, except that nobody makes ammo designed to take advantage of that platform/caliber combo.
I guess it's mostly about the platform, but the cartridge itself has some things to recommend it as well.
The .380 isn't even in the running, IMHO.
--Shannon
1) Accurate. Very accurate. Both the cartridge itself and the guns that shoot it. Size being about equal, your average sixgun will outshoot your average brasschucker, IME. And even among revolvers, the .38 Special has a long-standing reputation for accuracy.
2) Bullet weight. The .38 is at its best with a heavier bullet than the .380 or the 9x18. I think this matters. Some don't. It'll never be answered.
3. Bullet shape. The lack of a need to feed up and out of a magazine allows for bullet shapes to be designed with only terminal performance in mind. A 9x19 sixgun would negate this, except that nobody makes ammo designed to take advantage of that platform/caliber combo.
I guess it's mostly about the platform, but the cartridge itself has some things to recommend it as well.
The .380 isn't even in the running, IMHO.
--Shannon