[TheGunMan]

Limited budget yet again. Dang economy anyway. I can pick up a .38 that will accept +P and 5 shots with a 3" barrel for under $100.00. Local stores actually have 125Gr target ammo for it. Sporting goods store has +P JHP's for it. Compact enough for easy concealment.

Would prefer a .357 but can't find one in a stubby and probably couldn't afford it anyway.

The .38 is looking pretty good to me but I am not familiar with the ballistics on the .38

Anyone familiar with it. Shot a .38? Trust your life on it?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

 

[98pointsix]

38+p is going to run about 250ft/lbs at the muzzle
9mm runs about 300-350 at the muzzle
Standard 38spc runs 200 at the muzzle
All are plenty lethal and effective
There have been some nice advances in the 38+p rounds in the last couple years and I think that the populatity of the SW airweight line, matching taurus clones, and the SUPER SEXXY Ruger LCR you will see a resurgence to the 38 special calibre or atleast Im hoping I was always a fan , But maybe its just the old gunslinger in me.

 

[Ron M.]

I sometimes carry a Colt Agent .38. It's very easy to hide and with the Federal 158gr Nyclad loading (AKA the FBI load) I trust it completely.


Ron M.

 

[theqbn]

.38 and .38 +P are very popular carry calibers. Personally I would get a .357 gun if possible and carry with .38 +P. .38 and .38 +P are going to be much easier to control & follow up with than a full .357 Magnum load, but if you had a .357 gun you could keep that option available, even if just for fun. But if you can't get a .357 then I think a .38 +P gun is still good. I personally wouldn't go with a .38 that wasn't rated for +P though.

 

[boyjoe]

my wife has a 38sp s&w airlite +p and I trust her life to it! its a great round with a lot of versatility. remember the 38sp was what police carried for many years, it is time tested and has stopped many BGs with proven results. one of the nice things with a revolver is reliability less moving parts means less to wrong, as with any carry gun shot placement is key so practice until you can hit the 10 ring with out thinking about it. doesn't matter how hard the bullet hit if you miss. get some speed loaders and practice reloading till you can reload with your eyes closed (use dummy rounds and practice when you watch tv)

 

[zaostar2]

The .38 is plenty of stopping power .. My friend is the coroner for the county .. He said the .38 is more devistating than the 9mm in most cases where center mass is not hit.. Also he says there are more deaths caused by the 9mm because its a more common cartrige these days than the .38 ..

 

[TheGunMan]

Thanks for the input. I have two loaded guns in the house condition 1. (no kids)

My baby .357 with 6 1/2" barrel 125 Gr JHPs. and my Taurus PT99 Remington Golden Spears 124Gr +p JHP's. (Replaced my C9. Long story for another time. Actually, story not done yet.)

And trying to also not have to big a spread in ammunition. I can shoot the 38's out of the .357 so leaning heavily toward that. I think based on all your comments, I can't go wrong getting the .38 as a concealed carry gun.
Thank you for your comments. Much appreciated.

 

[Broomhead]

Carry them both. In my CC class the instructor said something that has stuck with me. He said, "Two is one and one is none." Basically, if you carry one gun and it fails, then you are SOL. But if you carry 2 guns and one fails, then you have a backup.

 

[TheGunMan]

Carry them both. In my CC class the instructor said something that has stuck with me. He said, "Two is one and one is none." Basically, if you carry one gun and it fails, then you are SOL. But if you carry 2 guns and one fails, then you have a backup.

Carrying those two guns I would need suspenders to hold my pants up AND wouldn't be very concealed. one is a 5" barrel, the other 6 1/2"
I could carry the 6 1/2" at 12 o'clock, think anyone would notice? LOL

 

[Thunder380]

.38 Special

This is my favorite cc fire arm. Light weight, with some kick.

 

[Silicon Wolverine]

a 9mm will penetrate farther than a 38 and spread its kinentic energy out over a longer wound channel. a 38 will spread more energy over a shorter wound channel. we're talking about thousandths of a second diference so unless youre going up against multiple assailents where you need a hi cap auto, a 38 will get the job done, and they dont jam either.

SW