.38 special vs. 9mm?

Question

Which do you prefer? I am not asking or interested in any other caliber. I don't wanna hear about .357 magnum or .44 magnum. or .45acp or .40 S&W. If you had to pick between ONLY 9mm or .38 special for self-defense which would you pick and why? Which is a better man-stopper?

Answer 1

Anything you can do with a 9x19 can be duplicated in a 38 Special. That doesn't work the other way around. And if you haven't stopped a fight in five rounds, you aren't the rest of the day either--it's time to run.

Answer 2

You are actually asking three questions:

1. .38 Special vs. .9mm: You are comparing apples & oranges, as the first is a revolver cartridge and the other is a pistol cartridge.

2. Which would I pick for self-defense? Depends. In the country I would pick the .38 Special because I can also load snake shot in a revolver and especially the heavier .38 Special ammo will have a slight advantage over four-legged predators even though the .38 is NOT a hunting round, it is slightly superior in this regard to the .9mm. Also, the .38 shoots a slightly wider bullet. However, in the inner city I would definetly go with the .9mm for the added ammo capacity & rapid fire capability.

3. Which is the better man-stopper? Depends on the load: A .38 Special +P or +P+ semi-jacketed hollow point round is a better man-stopper than ball .9mm ammo. A semi-jacketed hollowpoint 115 to 127 grain .9mm is a superior man-stopper to the .38 Special 158 grain lead ball ammo.

Conclusion: In the country during peace time if I could only have one gun and my only choices were the .38 or the .9mm, I would have to pick the .38 Special. In the inner city I would pick the .9mm. During a time of war or civil unrest I would pick the .9mm EVERY time because of additional ammo capacity and rapid fire capabilities.

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Answer 3

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RE:
.38 special vs. 9mm?
Which do you prefer? I am not asking or interested in any other caliber. I don't wanna hear about .357 magnum or .44 magnum. or .45acp or .40 S&W. If you had to pick between ONLY 9mm or .38 special for self-defense which would you pick and why? Which is a better man-stopper?

Answer 4

9mm because you can use +P ammo and it holds more rounds. Yeah, 6 *should* be plenty, but you also *should* not even get in a gunfight in the first place, according to probability. So if you get in the unfortunate situation of a gunfight, who's to tell what's gonna happen next? All these ppl saying that 6 rounds will be adequate, maybe, but how do you know what specific situation you will get into? Prepare for the worst so you're not screwed when sh|t hits the fan and you end up in an extended gunfight. Yea, unlikely, but what if it does happen?

I'd say they have pretty much equal stopping power - but remember, shot placement means the most. Who cares what the stopping power is if you don't even hit the target? And stopping power is for 1 shot, who only fires 1 shot and then just stops shooting? Usually people fire 2 or 3 at least. So stopping power is BS. As long as you hit your target, you will be fine.

P.S. if this is for self-defense, buy a very small and concealable gun and practice with it often. If your gun is on the big side and hard to conceal and you never carry it around with you in the first place, why buy it? The first rule in a gunfight is that you have to have a gun.

Answer 5

I use a 9mm. I feel it has more stopping power. I've taken both calibers to the range, and a 9mm just feels more powerful. Also you can get 13 to 18 shots out of a 9mm, and usually 6 out of .38 special.
Police officers usually carry a 9mm sidearm; there's a reason for that.

Answer 6

I have a 9mm Browning and prefer that, as I have a total of 14 rounds (and actually 30 in my extra large clip) versus the 6 rounds in a .38 special revolver. ~
With hollow points you don't have to worry about them going through a wall to hit someone you don't want to hit.

Answer 7

If your going to a gunfight, take the 9mm for better ammo capacity. If you want something for the nightstand, go with the .38 special. It can sit in a drawer for 20 years and you can count on it to work when you need it.

Answer 8

I prefer the .38 revolver because loading 9mm magazines make my fingers sore. Yes. I know I will probably get crap for this.

Answer 9

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Answer 10

I prefer a 38--you put a hollow point in there and one shot and it's over. A 9mm shoots with such velocity that it goes thru with little damage. Source, my x shot his stereo 9 times with his 9mm, thru the wall shot the cord off of my vacuum, went into a trunk I had---the stereo still worked.

Answer 11

.38 special is a better man stopper but it has one disadvantage. It only comes in revolvers. The advantage the 9 mm has is that you can have 17 in a mag to shoot instead of 6.

1 on 1, the .38 special has better stopping power. Comparing the overall picture, I think the 9 mm has the edge.