switched from 38 spl to 9mm

[Crayfish]

I have carried a snub 5 shot 38 for years (mostly warm weather). A Rossi M88 that was bought new in 1995 for $218. I carry it with the original skinny wood grips as it is very fast to pull and put on target. That and a speed strip have been my daily carry. I shoot very well with it especially one handed (no idea why).
I also carried from time to time a full size 45 acp if the weather allowed a good cover garment.
Now, I have run enough ammo through my new Sig P290 that it has become my EDC gun. It gives me a few more rounds than the snub and is even more comfortable to carry without the cylinder bulge. The biggest reason I finally switched and (I hate to admit it) is cost of practice ammo. I don't think I shoot a lot, maybe 100/150 rounds a month through my carry gun, but the cost difference is huge. 9mm FMJ is $13 here for American eagle or Magtech, 40 S&W is $19, 38 spl is $22 and 45acp is $25. I don't mind paying a premium for SD ammo but, practice ammo? I know it may be a lousy reason to choose a caliber but, I have a lot more confidence in the 9mm than I used to have. Biggest downfall to the switch is my wife will not shoot an auto so won't even try the Sig (Old slide bite memories) so now I carry a gun that she won't know how to use if need be and she has no desire to carry her own. Her house gun is my GP 100.

 

[gazpacho]

If it really came down to it, your wife could pick up the P290 and have no problem using it at least thru the capacity of the magazine. Load it up with snap caps, and run her thru the manual of arms. Give her some familiarity with it, WITHOUT live ammunition.

Then, get her to carry your Rossi.

 

[rswartsell]

Perfectly understandable from where I sit.

True luddite here though. Even with breaking down to buy tupperwear "wonder-nines" (in my case SA XD9), I still pack the Colt DS. No reason not to that I have seen.

If I did finally break down it would probably be for a .45 ACP XDs.

 

[Phaedrus/69]

If you were to say you were switching from 9mm to .38 I would also say that's fine. There are plenty of good reasons to choose a 9mm or a .38, a wheelgun or an auto. As long as you're comfortable with it.

Generally I carry a 9mm auto. Most of the time it's an HK (P30S or P2000). When it's cold out I might carry my P30L in .40 cal, just because I can. And if it's hot I might carry my Beretta Nano for the same reason you chose the P290.

But sometimes I still carry my Ruger LCR. It's easy to conceal and easy to shoot well.

If you order ammo online SGAmmo has Geco .38 Special for $13/50. There is some shipping but it's very reasonable, and I like to spread it out over a good sized order. I buy most of my carry ammo from SGAmmo because they have stuff I can't get locally and the price is better. For instance, if I ever manage to find Federal HST locally it's the 20 round boxes for $25 each but SG sells the 50 round boxes for about the same price. So I'll get a few boxes of carry ammo and add a bit of practice ammo while I'm at it.

 

[bannockburn]

Crayfish

Nothing wrong with that. Years ago I went from having several different .38 Special revolvers (mainly S&W J and K frames), to using more .380 and 9mm. pistols (Walther PPKs and S&W Model 469). Just liked the compact size and faster reloading capability of the autoloaders.

 

[King_Hugh]

It seems that availability of practice ammo and the comfort of the gun for carry are as good a reason as any to choose a caliber. I think with very few exceptions with today's quality in ammo there really isn't a "bad" caliber for self defense. Having the gun, being confident and putting the shot where it needs to go is what is critical...what does it matter if the hole you make is .38 or 9mm in size?

 

[oneounceload]

Learn reloading and you might change your mind...........

 

[golden]

Same here

Crayfish,

I used to carry the ubiquitous 5 shot, either a S&W, a TAURUS for a short time (too heavy) or a CHARTER ARMS in .38 Special.

In the end, I went with a semi-auto. I carry one at work, so it made more sense. More rounds, quicker reloading and easier to conceal. It is hard to argue against it as a carry gun.

Still, when I go to the range, I like a nice mid-size revolver. All the empty brass dumps into the same place.

Jim

 

[TRX]

Sounds reasonable to me. The choice of off-the-shelf ammunition for 9mm is quite broad now, from cheap to fancy. In the last few years I've seen a few shops that didn't even have any .38 on hand...

Back years ago I was firmly on the .38 side in the ".38 vs. 9mm" wars, but if I ever have to replace my .38 snub, I might give a 9mm snub the nod.

 

[Confederate]

I have an old Rossi M88 (stainless) .38 and I wish I still had my old grips. My Pacmayrs are too heavy and cumbersome. I have the 3-inch model and I paid only a couple of hundred bucks for it. I also have an old S&W 60 that belonged to my dad and I remember back in the 70s how they were almost impossible to get. Had these stainless Rossis been available back then they also probably would have been snapped up by the law enforcement community. I remember reading of one guy who had to wait a long time to get a S&W 60, and when he got it he was in some sort of a robbery and subsequently he realized it just wasn't enough. So he put it in his safe and began carrying a 9mm.

I was very annoyed when Ruger put out its .38 LCR with a 1.82-inch barrel. Under no circumstances should a revolver ever go below two inches, in my view, and optimally should be at least 2.5 inches. To go under two inches just robs too much power from a cartridge that needs all the help it can get.

 

[Crayfish]

Nice looking guns. I also have the Pachmyer grip for my M88 but, the stock wood is so much faster for me to draw and conceals a little better. Funny you talk about LE backups. I bought mine from my sister when she retired as a patrol sergeant, it was her backup for years. I think the Rossi is a very good gun,at least back when Interarms imported them. Even though the manual says not recommended for +P she always trained with +P and the gun is tight as ever. That 3" version is sweet. I agree on a 2.5 being perfect CC length and was hoping Ruger would at least go 2.25 like they did on the SP101.

 

[Zendude]

If the lower cost of 9mm allows you to practice more, then it is a good move.
My concern about semiautos is whether it might jam if i use my weak hand or if i have to shoot from an awkward position. On the range i can use a textbook grip and stance to prevent limpwrist jams, but i might not have that opportunity in an actual fight. But semiautos have other advantages, so its whatever you are comfortable with.

 

[Crayfish]

Yea, ZENDUDE it has taken a lot of rounds to get comfortable carrying the Sig. Lots of left hand shooting and awkward positions as well as shooting it where I can't see the gun. I use the laser around trees where I shoot in the woods just to see if I can get it to not cycle correctly, so far, not one hiccup. I have carried a revolver at work for almost 30 years (I have worked mostly solo in the woods) so it is a big change and I still carry the snub on some days. Maybe I should look at a 9mm revolver but, never learned what moonclips were all about.

 

[owlhoot]

Confederate, I believe I have a like new set of original Rossi grips. If I can find them, you can have them.