I know there are a lot of people out there that carry a S&W 642, 38+P. I am considering buying one, however, looking at some ballistic data makes me wonder if the 1 7/8" barrel model 642 has enough omph.
I was looking at Speer Gold Dot 38+P GDHP and Speer Gold Dot 9mm+P GDHP and was surprised at how much more power the 9mm had:
Ballistics are from a 4" barrel:
Speer Gold Dot 38+P GDHP 125 gr. 945 fps and 248 fpe
Speer Gold Dot 9mm+P GDHP 124 gr. 1220 fps and 410 fpe
The problem is, I now carry a Walther P99 compact with a 3.5"barrel which would loose about 5% velocity and the 642 about 20% with the 1 7/8" barrel:
Walther P99 3.5" barrel - 1159 fps, 390 fpe vs.
S&W 642 1 7/8" barrel - 756 fps, 198 fpe
Am I missing something ballisticlly here?
The S&W 642 would be a nice carry weight at 17 oz. loaded vs. my P99 at 25 oz. but it appears I would be giving up a lot of power for the 8 oz. less carry weight.
Sigbear
I was looking at Speer Gold Dot 38+P GDHP and Speer Gold Dot 9mm+P GDHP and was surprised at how much more power the 9mm had:
Ballistics are from a 4" barrel:
Speer Gold Dot 38+P GDHP 125 gr. 945 fps and 248 fpe
Speer Gold Dot 9mm+P GDHP 124 gr. 1220 fps and 410 fpe
The problem is, I now carry a Walther P99 compact with a 3.5"barrel which would loose about 5% velocity and the 642 about 20% with the 1 7/8" barrel:
Walther P99 3.5" barrel - 1159 fps, 390 fpe vs.
S&W 642 1 7/8" barrel - 756 fps, 198 fpe
Am I missing something ballisticlly here?
The S&W 642 would be a nice carry weight at 17 oz. loaded vs. my P99 at 25 oz. but it appears I would be giving up a lot of power for the 8 oz. less carry weight.
Sigbear