Moonfish
01-12-2008, 12:09
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BTT/is_149_24/ai_65910638
Is A .38 Snub Enough
American Handgunner, Nov, 2000 by Massad Ayoob
A student asked me recently, "If you tell us we can get by with a .38 Special snubby as a minimum carry gun, how come you're always carrying a full-size service pistol on your hip and just use the .38 for backup?"
He had a point. I was due for a two-week training tour in places where the dress code was such that I couldn't be visibly armed, nor could I wear "concealing garments" while lecturing or supervising classroom training. I decided to put my money where my mouth was and pack a couple of .38 snubs.
These are good guns, and accurate. If you do your part, they pass the litmus test of five consecutive headshots at 25 yards. You just have to work a little harder.
Needing maximum concealment, I chose a couple of S&W "hammerless" Centennials. The shape of this model lets the hand get higher on the backstrap for maximum recoil control with hot loads. A Model 640 in stainless was my "main gun," backed by the Airweight Model 442.
I chose to leave the titanium Model 342 AirLite Ti at home: it won't work reliably with my favorite .38 carry load, the +P lead semiwadcutter hollowpoint, because the violent recoil in its 11 oz. structure pulls lead bullets loose from their casings while still in the chambers. This doesn't happen with the Airweight or all-steel models.
A lot of perps have been shot with that all-lead .38 hollowpoint, many from snubbies, and it's the odds-on choice for "best defense load" in the caliber. Hell, even Dr. Martin Fackler and Evan Marshall, who can disagree on whether it's partly cloudy or partly sunny, agree on that.
The all-lead hollowpoint delivers roughly the stopping likelihood of a .45 ball round in the same spot, with less chance of over-penetration. The reason is the soft lead bullet, which starts to deform as soon as it hits, even with heavy clothing involved. There's no tough copper jacket to peel back before it can start to mushroom.
The recoil is snappy, but nothing a trained person can't handle. Police departments that used this round before the coming of the auto pistols-- Chicago, Miami, St. Louis, FBI, RCMP-- never *****ed about its effectiveness. They only switched to autos because they wanted more shots.
Firepower Factor
A J-frame S&W carries only five rounds. You'd want more than that if you were shooting it Out with an armed robbery gang. Individual self-defense, however, generally requires less firepower.
When in doubt, the second .38 takes the worry out. You can get 10 rounds out of two 5-shot .38s almost as fast as from one 10-shot auto. And with the two little revolvers, you can always have one gun in reach of either hand. This can be a tactical lifesaver.
During that trip, I fired a 120 round point-shooting class with Ed Lovette. I was the only wheelgunner on the line, and the course called for 10-shot sequences. I was at no disadvantage with two J-frames, backed up by HKS speed loaders and Bianchi Speed Strips, and kept up with the autos well enough.
Discretion Factor
Folks carry .38 snubs when concealment is really important. I was in that boat. I packed a wardrobe of half a dozen holsters: left and right hand inside-the-waistband, same for the outside-the-belt scabbards, and one ankle and one pocket rig. On the rare occasions when I could wear a jacket, it was the belt rigs; if I could wear an untucked polo, it was the IWBs; and, most of the time, the 640 was in the side trouser pocket and the Airweight on the ankle.
The guns went undetected, worn daily in public for the two weeks. I had a sense of "taking off shoes and putting on slippers," in that I appreciated not having to wear the usual concealing garments. There was no sense of a "ballistic inferiority complex." I knew either gun would do the job if I needed it.
My opinion was reinforced: when discretion is critical, the properly loaded snubnose .38 Special revolver is an acceptable minimum. I will admit, however, that as soon as I got home, I strapped on a .45.
By definition, "adequate" is enough. But, by the same definition, "more than adequate" is better.
COPYRIGHT 2000 Publishers' Development Corporation
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group
Is A .38 Snub Enough
American Handgunner, Nov, 2000 by Massad Ayoob
A student asked me recently, "If you tell us we can get by with a .38 Special snubby as a minimum carry gun, how come you're always carrying a full-size service pistol on your hip and just use the .38 for backup?"
He had a point. I was due for a two-week training tour in places where the dress code was such that I couldn't be visibly armed, nor could I wear "concealing garments" while lecturing or supervising classroom training. I decided to put my money where my mouth was and pack a couple of .38 snubs.
These are good guns, and accurate. If you do your part, they pass the litmus test of five consecutive headshots at 25 yards. You just have to work a little harder.
Needing maximum concealment, I chose a couple of S&W "hammerless" Centennials. The shape of this model lets the hand get higher on the backstrap for maximum recoil control with hot loads. A Model 640 in stainless was my "main gun," backed by the Airweight Model 442.
I chose to leave the titanium Model 342 AirLite Ti at home: it won't work reliably with my favorite .38 carry load, the +P lead semiwadcutter hollowpoint, because the violent recoil in its 11 oz. structure pulls lead bullets loose from their casings while still in the chambers. This doesn't happen with the Airweight or all-steel models.
A lot of perps have been shot with that all-lead .38 hollowpoint, many from snubbies, and it's the odds-on choice for "best defense load" in the caliber. Hell, even Dr. Martin Fackler and Evan Marshall, who can disagree on whether it's partly cloudy or partly sunny, agree on that.
The all-lead hollowpoint delivers roughly the stopping likelihood of a .45 ball round in the same spot, with less chance of over-penetration. The reason is the soft lead bullet, which starts to deform as soon as it hits, even with heavy clothing involved. There's no tough copper jacket to peel back before it can start to mushroom.
The recoil is snappy, but nothing a trained person can't handle. Police departments that used this round before the coming of the auto pistols-- Chicago, Miami, St. Louis, FBI, RCMP-- never *****ed about its effectiveness. They only switched to autos because they wanted more shots.
Firepower Factor
A J-frame S&W carries only five rounds. You'd want more than that if you were shooting it Out with an armed robbery gang. Individual self-defense, however, generally requires less firepower.
When in doubt, the second .38 takes the worry out. You can get 10 rounds out of two 5-shot .38s almost as fast as from one 10-shot auto. And with the two little revolvers, you can always have one gun in reach of either hand. This can be a tactical lifesaver.
During that trip, I fired a 120 round point-shooting class with Ed Lovette. I was the only wheelgunner on the line, and the course called for 10-shot sequences. I was at no disadvantage with two J-frames, backed up by HKS speed loaders and Bianchi Speed Strips, and kept up with the autos well enough.
Discretion Factor
Folks carry .38 snubs when concealment is really important. I was in that boat. I packed a wardrobe of half a dozen holsters: left and right hand inside-the-waistband, same for the outside-the-belt scabbards, and one ankle and one pocket rig. On the rare occasions when I could wear a jacket, it was the belt rigs; if I could wear an untucked polo, it was the IWBs; and, most of the time, the 640 was in the side trouser pocket and the Airweight on the ankle.
The guns went undetected, worn daily in public for the two weeks. I had a sense of "taking off shoes and putting on slippers," in that I appreciated not having to wear the usual concealing garments. There was no sense of a "ballistic inferiority complex." I knew either gun would do the job if I needed it.
My opinion was reinforced: when discretion is critical, the properly loaded snubnose .38 Special revolver is an acceptable minimum. I will admit, however, that as soon as I got home, I strapped on a .45.
By definition, "adequate" is enough. But, by the same definition, "more than adequate" is better.
COPYRIGHT 2000 Publishers' Development Corporation
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group
