What Advantages Does a 9mm Revolver Have Compared to a .38?

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Timthinker

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What advantages does a 9mm revolver possess compared to .38 Special handgun? This is the question that pops into my mind whenever I read about 9mm revolvers. Now, I am not opposed to the 9mm cartridge nor the .38 Special. But the 9mm seems best suited to the autopistol role, where it can hold more rounds than any .38 Special revolver can match. So, why are some people attracted to a revolver chambered for this autopistol round?


Timthinker
 
The revolver chambered for a "traditional" autopistol caliber is a winner in my book.

I carry a S&W 22-4 off duty quite often. It's chambered for the 45 ACP cartridge. I get faster reloads than a traditional revolver because of the Moon Clips. I can also use a 45 ACP Magazine to load rounds in to my gun one at a time if I run out of Moon Clips. The only drawback is in ejecting the empties.

The big advantage to the revolver is the power level of the round that the revolver can handle compared to the autoloader. If the case has enough powder to push the bullet out of the end of the barrel it's good enough to shoot. In short, I can shoot very weak loads and not have to worry that the gun will "jam" as long as the bullet gets out of the barrel. I can also shoot loads that are far "hotter" than what you would shoot in an autopistol. Believe it or not, the 45 ACP makes a decent Hog Caliber if you reload. This round would batter an autopistol to death due to the pressure levels and amount of recoil generated.

Another advantage is in having your BUG chambered for the same caliber as your "Primary". You can, like I typed earlier, reload thumbing rounds out of your magazine in to your cylinder. This would be beneficial to an LEO or a civilian that carries a BUG.

Biker
 
Josh pegged the reason for a 9mm and BikerRN has the answer fot the 45 crowd, the 40S&W and 10mm also work very well in a revolver and I wish that S&W would keep the 646 and the 610 in production. An L Frame in 40 with a SS cylinder and fixed sights and a 3" barrel would make for a great BUG/HD gun for many of those who like the 40 and/or are required to carry it while on duty.
 
Maybe...

More power than the .38 with less recoil than the .357. And faster reloads with moon clips.
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1. Some of those who have used the small-frame 9mm revolvers have reported difficulty extracting fired cases with some loads. Perhaps this is not a concern if you expect to solve your problem with five rounds but then faster reloads with moon clips would not be a concern to you.

2. Moon clips in 9mm are fairly flimsy. They are prone to bending while carrying and prone to breakage while inserting and removing the cartridges and fired cases unless you invest in fairly expensive tools for that purpose. Would you then carry those tools with you on trips. etc.?

3. Some of us who carry small-frame .38 or .357 revolvers carry things such as 2+2+2 pouches to facilitate tactical reloads (replacing only the rounds fired). Linking all your rounds together requires that each reload replace the entire moon clip. Are you really going to carry more than one or two spare clips? If so, how? I'm only aware of two holster makers who sell carriers for them and I believe that the carriers from both sources are only for single clips.
 
2. Moon clips in 9mm are fairly flimsy. They are prone to bending while carrying and prone to breakage while inserting and removing the cartridges and fired cases unless you invest in fairly expensive tools for that purpose. Would you then carry those tools with you on trips. etc.?
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I have bent mine but they are still flexible enough to fit into the cylinder and I have never broken one of my 940 clips.

I Have not had much problems with my 9mms not extracting, one needs to keep the charge holes in the cylinder clean and dry and they will have less problems.

Remember that a 9mm J frame is not a gun to fight a war with, it is to deal with a situation that typically over and done with 3 shots at 3 yards in 3 seconds.
 
Moon clips in 9mm are fairly flimsy.
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Some more than others though, the Taurus 9mm clips have a really terrible reputation, the ones for the s&w seem to be much better.
 
I'm kinda skeptical that the difference in reload time is so important but I don't doubt that many people who choose a 9mm revolver over a .38 Special do so for the perceived "extra" power. I think the real value of that "extra" power is probably a pretty "grey" area, but still think it is a major factor in people's choices.
I, personally, am absolutely convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that I would not relish getting shot with either. :eek:


:cool:
 
The best explanation I've heard for the existence of a 9mm revolver is that its an excellent back up gun to a LEO who carries a 9mm pistol.
 
In the same revolver, the .38 Special can equal the 9mm. All you have to do is load it to the same pressure. Typical .38 Special loads are kept to about 10,000 psi below 9mm loads for equivallent bullet weights. If a revolver will safely take a 35,000 psi load with a .355 diameter bullet, it will take the same pressure with a .357 bullet of the same load.

So if you want a 9mm version of a particular model, you can settle for a .38 Special version and load it hot.
 
610 is back!

Josh pegged the reason for a 9mm and BikerRN has the answer fot the 45 crowd, the 40S&W and 10mm also work very well in a revolver and I wish that S&W would keep the 646 and the 610 in production.
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The 610 is back in production, in 4" and 6.5" barrel lengths: S&W 10mm revolvers. Suggested retail is $975.00.
 
In the same revolver, the .38 Special can equal the 9mm. All you have to do is load it to the same pressure. Typical .38 Special loads are kept to about 10,000 psi below 9mm loads for equivallent bullet weights. If a revolver will safely take a 35,000 psi load with a .355 diameter bullet, it will take the same pressure with a .357 bullet of the same load.
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What .38 special revolver is rated for 9mm/.357 mag (both 35k) pressure though?
 
and is .38 SPL brass thick enough for 35k pressures? I thought 9mm had thicker brass to handle the higher pressures?
 
and is .38 SPL brass thick enough for 35k pressures? I thought 9mm had thicker brass to handle the higher pressures?
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It's normally the hardness of the brass, rather than the thickness, that is common in higher pressure cartridges.

But let me point out that .45 Colt brass -- designed for 14K CUP -- is routinely used for 32K CUP in Ruger Blackhawks and similar revolvers, with no negative consequences.
 
I was under the impression that the whole "9x19 revolver" thing originated with the contract specs that certain European police agencies drew up several years back for bids on general issue replacement weapons. IIRC, they wanted to be able to use the same cartridges and ammo as their military sidearms but didn't think a semiauto was 'appropriate' for civilian police use.

At about the same time many of our own LEAs were switching from revolvers to 9mm semiautos as general issue sidearms. While many of them allowed or even issued a "back-up" or secondary weapon, there were vanishingly few semiauto models compact enough for the job being made. In most cases, regulations also dictated that all issued sidearms (and usually any personal weapons approved for duty use) be chambered for the issue caliber ammunition. This caused something of a dilemma: the only viable alternative was a small revolver but nobody made one of those in 9mm either.

S&W and Ruger had already made the service sized models for those European contracts and most probably done the R&D for the J-frame and SP-101. While civilian and police sales here didn't exactly set any records, the concept had enough going for it to get some made and keep them around for a bit.

Personally, I don't see much real advantage (other than cheaper practice ammo) in a 9x19 vs a +P 125 gr. .38 Spl. and little other than less noise and muzzle flash vs a 125 or 110 gr. .357 Mag from a snubbie. Being a geezer of sorts, I have to admit a bias for more projectile mass, especially if I'm gonna lose velocity. If I had to do it, and had to use a snubbie (and I'd much rather that both questions remained academic!) I'd much rather defend my Personal Favorite Behind with +P 158 gr. LSWC or Nyclad .38 Spl. than about any commonly available 9x19 ammo from the same type weapon.
 
Vern Humphrey said:
So if you want a 9mm version of a particular model, you can settle for a .38 Special version and load it hot.
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+1, except for LEOs that face caliber restrictions and can't use handloads either. If you don't reload, 9mm is always going to be cheaper.

I find it interesting that moon clip durability was a major issue raised; I didn't realize they were that popular. It is something to think about.
 
I began this thread with the assumptions voiced by Mainmech. The answers to my inquiry have been interesting. I did realize that "standard" .38 Special rounds were more lightly loaded than their 9mm counterparts, but I assumed +P .38s narrowed, if not eliminated, that gap. In this regard, I share Vern Humphrey's viewpoint. I suppose my thinking about 9mm revolvers is too traditional, meaning that I consider the 9 as an autopistol round. Time for a mental adjustment.


Timthinker
 
What they're rated for doesn't matter -- if you have identical revolvers, one in 9mm and one in .38 Special, they can take identical pressures.
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What revolvers are clones in the two calibers?
 
When Charter introduced their ill fated revolver and its rimmed 9mm I imagined some revolvers designed around that cartridge that obviously none of the builders wanted to try to produce.
The only thing wrong with the 38 spl IMHO is it uses a very lonnnng case for its performance level.
I hoped charter or somebody else would introduce a revolver with the short frame window that the 9mmR would have allowed. A resurrection of the breaktop of 75-100 years ago or perhaps a spur trigger. A slightly enlarged NAA or Freedom Arms mini-revolver crossed my mind.
Instead it was introduced in a revolver that already fit the 38 spl, so what was the point?
 
Okay But...

It's an option for their "Monarch" holster
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The moon clips depicted hold six rounds. I would assume that they're .45 ACP. I'm not aware of anyone having manufactured a six-round, clip-fed 9mm revolver. (The six-round S&W M-547 was specifically designed to extract the rimless cases without a clip.)

The Andrews rig pictured is an intriguing concept, for those who are willing to use a shoulder holster and can do so with an N-frame revolver (S&W M-625) or, arguably, an L-frame revolver (S&W M-610). However, most of us who carry small-frame revolvers, of the size of those that have been offered as clip-fed 9mm's, are generally looking for something more concealable.

Personally the only time I ever handled 9mm moon clips they were S&W clips for a M-940 and it was rather embarrassing to have one snap in my hands as I tried to show my student how to insert a new cartridge into it.

As to extraction difficulties with 9mm cases in clip-fed revolvers, try a search over on Evan Marshall's forum. I didn't dream this up and I doubt that the folks who reported it failed to clean their guns.
 
The only reason I would buy a 9mm revolver is so I could share my Glock ammo with it.
 
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