.38 / .357

[elcaBob]

I've got question about self defense and revolver rounds. In the old .38 / .357 debate, I'm not sure I get it. The comparison argument of 9mm vs 45ACP makes sense to me as the .45 makes a clearly bigger hole. .357 doesn't make a bigger hole than .38, but has more power. Is the power difference truly as big a deal as a bigger hole size would be?

Not denying here, just wanting to learn.

 

[Mr.357Sig]

It's a matter of penetration. The higher-powered .357 will do more damage simply because it's flying faster, therefore penetrating deeper into tissue. Think of getting hit with a wooden baseball bat at full speed as opposed to half speed. The full speed swing is going to do a lot more damage compared to the half swing from the same-sized bat.

You're right. Compared to the .38 Spl., the .357 doesn't make a bigger hole. But that's only on a paper target. In the real world, the .357 outclasses the .38 special in every way as a man-stopper. The .38 is a decent SD round. The .357 is awesome.

That's my opinion. YMMV.

 

[grwd]

Shoot data confirms its effectiveness.

 

[ProBusiness]

Not only does the bullet travel deeper and affects more tissue or organs, more tissue around the wound can be damaged or die from loss of blood or shock. This causes a strain on the body. Think of shock waves radiating out from the bullet track damaging tissue.

Also when the bullet enters the body it does not always travel in a straight line. As you know it can go up, down, etc and a more powerful bullet can go further.

if my memory serves me right, the .38 travels at about 850- 1000 fps and the .357 at 1350 fps. A big difference.

So even though the size of the holes are the same, the amount of tissue damaged is not.

 

[druryj]

I think it's safe to say the .357 delivers more ft/lbs of energy to the target since the equation has to do with mass (how big/heavy the boolet is) and speed (how fast it is traveling)...

 

[MoBoost]

357mag and 45ACP are the best cuz they are American!!!! If you say otherwise - you are terrorist!

The fact is, in the same sized 9mm Luger pistol delivers more energy than 357mag revolver, despite half the recoil and half the muzzle blast and half the noise report; but that's very inconvenient and un-American to acknowledge.

To answer OP question - magnum anything is just better, don't question it ...

PS. e=mv²/2

 

[elcaBob]

That's the info I was looking for. Thanks, all.

 

[Shadowrider]

The fact is, in the same sized 9mm Luger pistol delivers more energy than 357mag revolver, despite half the recoil and half the muzzle blast and half the noise report...

Say whut?

 

[Hobbes]

The .357Mag probably will make a bigger hole.

The .38 Special might expand, maybe.
The .357 Mag Will expand, almost explosively.

 

[MoBoost]

Say whut?

You take two 7"Lx6"Hx2"W firearms - something most people consider "concealable".
9mm semi will have 4" barrel, 357 wheel gun will have 2" barrel.
With standard loads, grain per grain bullet weight - 9mm will be faster, thus delivering more energy.

Don't get me wrong - 357 is powerhouse, it blew my mind when loads for my lever gun surpassed 30-30 .... it just needs that long barrel and no cylinder gap to transfer energy to the bullet, not air via muzzle blast.