Snubbies get a bit snappy, which is partially why a lot of people believe the round-butt medium frame is the better pick for a fighting pistol. 357 Magnum (though not by much) and is a very mild cartridge to shoot from a service pistol. It can be effective for personal defense but ammunition selection (and placement!) is important, especially if your gun has a shorter barrel length. 38 Special is that it's a medium bullet at medium velocity. The New York load is a 135-grain JHP with a +P loading at 860 fps from a 2-inch barrel. However, the 158-grain load was known for being less reliable in snubnose revolvers, leading to the development of the 'New York load' by Speer in the 1990s. Service loads would be refined in the 1950s and 1960s, culminating in the classic FBI/Metro/Chicago load, a 158-grain lead semiwadcutter hollow point loaded to 20,000 psi with a +P designation which first saw use in the early 1970s. 357 Magnum revolvers were the default police sidearm from the 50s onward. While easy to shoot, the original police load was long considered little better than adequate, which is why. The original load was a 158-grain roundnose lead bullet at somewhere between 800 and 900 feet per second (depending) and 310 ft-lbs of energy out of a 6-inch barrel. 38 Special was the hot load of its day, using a touch more smokeless powder than. 38 Smith & Wesson Special were essentially continuations on the theme. 36 caliber percussion pistols into the cartridge era.36 caliber guns were some of the most popular for personal protection and police use, so cartridges like. 38 Smith & Wesson Special, was one of the first pistol cartridges to be made with smokeless powder, as it came at the end of the black powder era.

So which is 'better'? It kind of depends on how you mean that… 38 Special. Both have been used and are useful for defensive purposes, both have been used and are useful for competition as well. There are fans of both, and both have been used (and used a lot) for every possible purpose you can use a handgun for.īoth have been in use in police and military service pistols since the dawn of the 20th century. Of the medium bore calibers, these are the two most common chamberings. 38 Special, who knows what they're doing, is necessarily at a serious disadvantage But it's also true that it doesn't mean that a person armed with a. The question of 38 vs 9mm is really 'is 38 Special so good that I should have a revolver instead of a semi-auto in 9mm.' Is it?īasically no.

.38 calibre revolver long