Why would anybody buy a 38 special

[jeep78]

Out of a snub, some improvement going to 357, but pitiful compared to the drawbacks.

If you are talking 6" barrels, hell yes, the 357 is heads and shoulders better.

Try shooting both over a chrono side by side from your snubbie and tell us about the "huge" difference.

 

[jeep78]

View attachment 1612420
If it was $200 I would agree. Most of the time it’s a little closer.

New Centennials have been $300 this spring from several online sellers.

 

[sparked1]

Another food for thought: Price
A basic .38 is like $200
A basic .357 is like $400
Most people roll their eyes at the idea of paying 2x the price for slightly better performance.

Price is not relative to caliber performance. A .357 must be built a bit tougher than a .38. Hell, many .38s can't even handle +P rounds unless specified by mfg. Either way, if it's twice the price, you might comparing a Tore-ass .38 to a Smith .357.

 

[sparked1]

Out of a snub, some improvement going to 357, but pitiful compared to the drawbacks.

If you are talking 6" barrels, hell yes, the 357 is heads and shoulders better.

Try shooting both over a chrono side by side from your snubbie and tell us about the "huge" difference.

Would you consider 50% more velocity coming out of a 2" bbl "huge"? The +p .38 is a little better but still a few hundred fps less from the same barrel, not to mention lighter bullet.

https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/revolver-ballistics-test/

 

[Glorfindel]

Lol. I meant 38 special

My fault for knowing to much 60's music

 

[jeep78]

Would you consider 50% more velocity coming out of a 2" bbl "huge"? The +p .38 is a little better but still a few hundred fps less from the same barrel, not to mention lighter bullet.

https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/revolver-ballistics-test/

LOL. Maybe 200 FPS, if you are lucky with regular ammo, not that super lightweight boutique ammo.

Look at 158 grain (the design weight for that caliber). I see 150FPS diff in my gunz, and VEEEERRRY slow followup shot times with the blast and smash em rounds.

 

[MRH]

Out of a snub, some improvement going to 357, but pitiful compared to the drawbacks.

If you are talking 6" barrels, hell yes, the 357 is heads and shoulders better.

Try shooting both over a chrono side by side from your snubbie and tell us about the "huge" difference.

Here's exactly what you're looking for, chronograph included. The #'s don't lie, and there is no comparison out of the snubs.

 

[Gunanddoglover]

Two double-action rounds to the torso and one to the neck/head area within 1 - 1.5 seconds and I'm pretty sure the recipient will be personally offended by my old-school S&W Model 60 .38SPL, regardless of load. It just works, and always has.

If you want to carry .357, be my guest. But the noise and muzzle flash won't bring them down. It's all about shot placement... always has been... always will be!

Carry on!

This^^^^^ Nobody has ever complained about the caliber that killed them.

 

[jeep78]

Here's exactly what you're looking for, chronograph included. The #'s don't lie, and there is no comparison out of the snubs.

Very nice, but if you use different guns, the comparison means nada.

I did not see mention of bullet weight

 

[spencer60]

A 357 snubby is a lot of flash and drama. You better have some serious range time to be able to handle this well enough for a follow up shot (assuming you didn;t burn the attacker to death in the fireball.

On the 38, I keep coming back to Jim Cirillo's story about unloading two revolvers worth of 38 into a suspect, and had the guy walking back to the cop car, asking for a hankerchief, then snorting out a round from a headshot.

Or look at the woman in GA just a few years back sho was chased into her attic by a home invader. She shot him 5 times in the face with a snubby 38, hit him 4 of those times, and the guy still had enough in him to tell her to 'stop shooting me', go all the way back downstairs, get in his car and finally die a mile away.

A 38 with top-of-the-line +P defensive ammo that will actually expand is probably as good as anything else, but it sure isn't the right answer for lots of folks, and if you can't put all 5 rounds on a paper plate at 10 feet a snubbie isn't for you at all.