![]() ![]() Double-action revolvers are among the easiest and most reliable handguns around - simply aim, pull the trigger and they go bang. The cartridge’s saving grace was the concealed carry movement of the past few decades. From Cartridges of the World, 15th Edition. Furthermore, almost exclusively a revolver round (yes, there are a few exceptions), the 5- and 6-round guns chambered for it paled in capacity to the double-stack pistols that started to dominate in the last quarter of the century. Generally pushing bullets around 700 to 1,000 fps, the cartridge was quickly overshadowed by magnum and high-pressure semi-automatic pistol cartridges as years wore on. Early on, the typical defensive load was a 158-grain lead semi-wadcutter hollowpoint, though later a 200-grain soft-cast lead round nose “Super Police” load became common, offering officers a bullet that yawed upon impact and created a larger wound canal. 38 Special became the primary service revolver caliber of most American law-enforcement agencies over the decades. Given the respectable velocities for its time and the fact it was a kitten to shoot, the. Proving extremely popular shot from the Smith & Wesson K-frame Military & Police revolver, the cartridge was soon switched over to the modern marvel of the day - smokeless powder.įind Out More: Does The. 38 Special generated greater velocities as well as shot heavier bullets, which added up to greater penetration potential - an asset sorely lacking in the. ![]() 38 Long Colt that offered greater case capacity. Starting life in 1899 as a black powder cartridge, the. Military, but also spurred the development of what would become one of the most prolific cartridges of the 20th Century - the. Its poor showing against Moro Rebels in the 1900s not only led to the eventual adoption of the. 38 Long Colt had a particularly large influence on firearms and ammunition development. But as is so often the case, each shines a bit more than the other for certain shooters.38 Special: The Persistent Revolver Cartridgeįor a rather notorious cartridge, the. Both are proven and excel at similar applications. Like so many aspects of the gun world, the answer isn’t as clear-cut as picking one or the other. So, everything laid bare, does it really matter who comes out on top in. Heck, only two-thousandths of an inch separate their diameters. And each is economical, plentiful and just plain fun to shoot.įrom that perspective, they almost seem echoes of each other, maybe even a bit redundant. Both have more than proven their worth as self-defense options. Shot out of the right gun, they’re accurate and mild recoiling. ![]() To start, both are relatively versatile for medium-bore handgun cartridges. 38 Special and 9mm’s virtues, you’ll end up with nearly identical lists. That said, if you sit down and rattle off the. Their countries of origin are disparate, there’s plenty that separates them ballistically and, even as most novice shooters know, they are generally shot from different styles of handgun. Put your pitchforks down and quit lighting your torches, the implication isn’t the time-tested cartridges are carbon copies of each other. Dig deeper and you'll find the cartridges both shine, but for much different reasons. Updated At first blush, there doesn't seem much to the. ![]()
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