Please read post #24 entirely for my views on this - I do not agree. Even I struggle to get accurate and fast hits with a .38 Special out of a 2" barrel revolver in .38 Special. My Wife cannot shoot a .38 revolver unless it is a full size all steel S&W model 19 (which is a .357 mag!!) or bigger. It beats the snot out of her.
My point is that by the time I dumbed the .38 down to the point she could get rapid and accurate hits with it, it was a pale comparison to using a .380.
If you take recoil and controllability out of the equation the .38 wins a brute force comparison over a .380. If we take practicality into account in the group that I train with and compare notes with no one chooses a .38 over a .380 for CCL. They can't manage the recoil until the guns get too big to carry. Some of us larger and more experienced males can choose a .38 special with full house +P's but the majority (in the group I hang with) are far better off with a .380 because they give up a little in brute force but gain 2 -3 extra rounds and the ability to place rapid and accurate follow ups and train for a sufficient length of time without shooting fatigue like numb hands from the recoil.
VooDoo