38sp vs 44sp carry

[Jim n Iowa]

For years I have carried in my vehicle a 38 snub nose, loaded with 110 grn super vels that a fed. ag. gave me after the shelf life had expired. I thought this was the deal until the Miami massacre. So I have wondered about this carry. In the truck side panel shelf is its home. Now I think a Taurus 445 would be the deal in 44sp which I can reload for with hard cast bullets (have lost faith in close in defensive results of jhp). I like the Taurus as I have 2 now, not the greatest finish but a stand up weapon. Whats this boards take on a Taurus 2" in ss ported hammerless in 44 sp?
Jim

[williamlayton]

now these are thoughts AND questions as this subject has been broached on many of these forums and oppenions seem to vary-and i might add all persons seem to be very hardened to their thoughts.  wow, this is one of my better run-on sentences.
i get the drift and agree with most concerning the stopping power of the .38. still, i can say with some degree of confidence, a .38 is not a bad round and can be used. in an encounter that most of us might be faced with in this urban setting we live in, i think the main thing is to be sure we hit what we are shooting at. if this happens, taking into account how fast all of this is happening and how short the duration of the encounter, the primary concern is that the first round find the target. if this happens this puts the odds seriously on the side of the person making first contact.
are there exceptions--yes there are--as always--and i'm sure there are those that disagree with this thought.
a .38 is a pretty easily handeled weapon--i carry one very frequently-pretty easy to get back on target after a first firing-and if it is a revolver, pretty easy to get off a quick second firing.
blessings
ps--in a combat situation i prefer a full automatic. seems fla. was pretty close to a full combat situation.

[Jim n Iowa]

William
My 38 snub is a colt det sp which has no tx bar so load 5. The Taurus is exactly like my wifes Taurus 32 mag and shoots good , feels good. My thinking in a vehicle carry ( no car jacking) gun is heavy wide face bullets. I would consider a 45 acp short barrel/ported as me wrists are getting worse, but have not encountered any. I could load the colt with 160grn lead but it may be difficult for me to hang on to.
Jim

[Savage]

Jim,
Given the choice between a 38spl and a 44spl, I'll take the 44spl everytime, thank you! The bigger the hole, the better!
Stay Safe,
Savage

[williamlayton]

oh you-you you savage-you.
blessings

[Savage]

William,
Ain't it the truth!!!!!
Stay Safe,
Savage

[Jim n Iowa]

I took the 44 sp Taurus out for a test drive and was impressed. It is a little heavier than the Colt det sp, which I was shooting 110 grn hp loaded near max( 30+yr hand loads). I was shooting 246grn win rd nose cowboy loads. Then went to 200 grn win lead hp, a tad more ummph, but easy to come back on target. Local dealer stated he has seen a lot more interest in the 44sp. I do miss the old Colt, but the Queen can count pistols, rifles she has yet to master.
Jim

[TravisM.]

I would think any of the larger bore NON MAGNUM handguns would be great for defensive use. The bigger the hole, the better. To be frank, for defensive use, you generally want to stop rather than mortally wound. The non mags have two advantages in this area. They are more controlable than their magnum counterpart in the same gun, and they don't have the penetration issues magnums do. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the specials, the 45 ACP and the 45LC will do the same job as the magnum handguns without overdoing it in terms of muzzle blast, recoil and penetration.
Besides that, if you do indeed need the gun for the most serious kind of defense, those judging you will be more inclined to believe that you were only looking to defend yourself effectively, rather than thinking you were some nutcase with a magnum looking for trouble.

[papajohn428]

First off, forget the ported barrel.  The blast coming up out of those holes is enough to blind or seriously injure you, and firing from inside a vehicle almost guarantees the gun will be close to you.  I like the Taurus 3-inch 44 Spl, with fixed sights.  Good shooter, easy on the hands/wrists, and no magnum blast and flash to contend with.  I would absolutely avoid the Cowboy Ammo, you need a bullet with a wide meplat (big flat nose) or a good hollow point.  W-W Silvertips and Speer Gold Dots are the only loads I've gotten to expand out of a short barrel, and I've tested a bunch.  
On the other hand, I carry a 38 on duty (stupid local ordinances!) with Hydra-shoks in it, and don't feel undergunned.  Of course, mine is a four incher, and I practice a LOT with it.  My reflexes and visual acuity are a far cry from what they were in my 20's!   :shock:
PJ

[Mohawk]

Probably a .44 Spl. But the .38 ain't half bad for getting you out of trouble. Don't let the Miami incident concern you. Don't fight rifles with handguns.

[Lawdog]

Personally I don't think the .38 sp. is good enough to stop a pissed off Jack Rabbit so my vote goes for the .44 sp..  I played pall bearer for two good officers because they tried to match .38 against better rounds(.38 Super and .357 mag.).  Of course a better handgun choice would be preferable.  Lawdog
 

[Jim n Iowa]

I have been working out with my 2" Taurus using white box win 200 hps. A really easy load to work with. I plan on loading some 240 hard cast for this gun, and some 240 jsp as I not real sold on hp's. My wife has a Taurus 2" 32mag that looks to be very close to a 38sp on paper, poor fact bullet selection.
Jim

[Mohawk]

Now Lawdog, the .38+P LHP works just fine on angry Jackrabbits :-D Well........at least on cottontails they do. My wife is from Fall River Mills so I can't disagree with you too much.........

[dawei]

For years I have carried in my vehicle a 38 snub nose, loaded with 110 grn super vels that a fed. ag. gave me after the shelf life had expired. I thought this was the deal until the Miami massacre. So I have wondered about this carry. In the truck side panel shelf is its home. Now I think a Taurus 445 would be the deal in 44sp which I can reload for with hard cast bullets (have lost faith in close in defensive results of jhp). I like the Taurus as I have 2 now, not the greatest finish but a stand up weapon. Whats this boards take on a Taurus 2" in ss ported hammerless in 44 sp?
Jim

I think it's a case of how you shoot vs what you shoot; ONLY HITS COUNT! My ALWAYS GUN is a S&W® Mdl 37, in 38 Special, loaded with Federal Premium® 125gr Nyclad® HP's. I don't feel undergunned. YMMV.

I've "seen the Elephant"; NYCLADS work.

[Lawdog]

dawei,

I think it's a case of how you shoot vs what you shoot; ONLY HITS COUNT!

I have to disagree with you here.  Both of the officers that came out second best using .38 sp against better armed felons.  The officers scored first hit and multiple hits in both cases(both scored two hits, center chest at a distance of less than 20 feet so there was nothing wrong with their shooting).  In both cases the felons lived to stand trial while the officers died from their wounds.  I know of one officer that was attacked by a guard dog and he shot the dog 5 times(4 shots thru the chest and the 5th and last shot was into the dogs head) before the attack was over.  Said officer was forced to retire due to the arm damage that was done by the dog.  It is situations like these that help me come to the decision that the .38 sp isn’t any good.  That is the reason I issue .45’s to all my officers because I do not want to have to go to a funeral due to one of my officers coming out second best in an altercation due to inaction’s on my behalf.  Lawdog
 

[Mohawk]

From a patrol standpoint I will always choose the .357 Magnum 158gr. SWC load since I do many suspicious vehicle approaches. They hit much harder than a .38, the tougher the frame of the person the harder the load hits. They DO make .35 caliber holes through and through. Overpenetration, maybe, but the thickest person in the world won't stop the penetration either, as many .38 hp's do. LRN will accomplish more.

 I remember a Virgina LEO nailed a hostage taker who was holding a civilian at bay with a shotgun. When one of the SWAT officers nailed the guy with an AR-15 the bullet penetrated the spine, severed the aorta, and proceeded through the liver before passing through, and the thug still managed to kill one SWAT officer and wound another before expiring. Do heavier calibers work better......sure.....but concrete walls defeat them both. IMHO the "Practical Pisto Course" of old is responsible for more cops being killed than any caliber. "Remove yourself from cover and empty a handgun".......c'mon, please.