.38+P vs .357 snub ENDING the ARGUMENT

[sixoclockhold]

For so long we've had to hear the stories how a .38sp+p out of a snub self defense weapon was same same as the mighty .357 magnum. How you lose very little in velocity compared to the MAGNUM and the .357 won't expand. Might as well just carry a .38 special.

All of us who actually shoot and carry a .357 MAGNUM know better, just from the wow factor. Yes we're bringing the A game, how the wannabe .38's say oh were just as effective.

No Ladies and Gents, you're not, and this home town video, once and for all shows you in depth, how you have been fooled into such foolishness.

This guy deserves a round of applause !

[stormvet]

All sounds pretty obvious to me, but then I've never heard the .38 is as good as a 357 out of a snub before. Just the 38 snub comes in a smaller easier to handle package. As much as I enjoy shooting it in my med to large size S&W wheel guns, I really don't want one in a snub nose.

[elSquid]

https://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?13700-357-mag-ammo-help&p=261055&viewfull=1#post261055

reported significantly better results in their officer involved shootings after switching to .40 S&W 180 gr JHP loadings, based on officer perception, objective crime scene measurements, as well as the physiological damage described in the relevant autopsy studies. The CHP used a variety of .357 Mag loads, depending upon what was available via the state contract. According to the published CHP test data from 1989-90, the .357 Magnum load used immediately prior to the CHP transition to .40 S&W was the Remington 125 gr JHP with an ave. MV of 1450 f/s from their 4" duty revolvers. I first saw the data when it was presented during a wound ballistic conference I attended at the CHP Academy in the early 1990's; I heard it discussed again at a CHP Officer Involved Shootings Investigation Team meeting in November of 1997 at Vallejo, CA. The information reviewed the differences in ammunition terminal performance such as penetration depth, recovered bullet characteristics, tissue damage, as well as other physiological measurements and physical evidence detailed during forensic analysis.

-- Michael

[sixoclockhold]

https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....l=1#post261055

reported significantly better results in their officer involved shootings after switching to .40 S&W 180 gr JHP loadings, based on officer perception, objective crime scene measurements, as well as the physiological damage described in the relevant autopsy studies. The CHP used a variety of .357 Mag loads, depending upon what was available via the state contract. According to the published CHP test data from 1989-90, the .357 Magnum load used immediately prior to the CHP transition to .40 S&W was the Remington 125 gr JHP with an ave. MV of 1450 f/s from their 4" duty revolvers. I first saw the data when it was presented during a wound ballistic conference I attended at the CHP Academy in the early 1990's; I heard it discussed again at a CHP Officer Involved Shootings Investigation Team meeting in November of 1997 at Vallejo, CA. The information reviewed the differences in ammunition terminal performance such as penetration depth, recovered bullet characteristics, tissue damage, as well as other physiological measurements and physical evidence detailed during forensic analysis.

-- Michael

While the .40 is being replaced by the 9mm

From the same thread :

What he determined was there was an additional factor involved that is not really duplicatable in gel and lab testing. The effects of flash and blast on those on the receiving end. If you have ever seen a full house 125 gr. 357 mag go off in a dark indoor range from a short barreled revolver, it is truly impressive. We were seeing 20 yard balls of flame from our SP101's with full house loads. Now imagine being a few feet in front of one. The thought was (which I agree with) was that the grenade going off in the face of bad guys was what was putting them on the ground (and likely in a fetal position) where they would realize that they had also been shot. Not one to go off a single source.....

[nothingextra]

3-4 boxes of 357 in 158gr out of my 2.5" 66-3 and I feel the concussion.
38's I can burn a 500rd brick in a day and be ok.

Btw, 357sig is my nuisance Rd in the rare times I shoot indoor.
It's fun to make the 9mm guys flinch a couple bays away.

[Bill Steele]

I think maybe OP misunderstood, "the argument", perhaps an Emily Latella kind of thing?

"What is all this fuss I hear about Natural Racehorses?"

[Mute]

Better result most likely because of better hits. The recoil from a .357 magnum in a snub probably affected accuracy for most of shooters that didn't get the desired end result. Hits are more important than "stopping power" in a handgun. However, all things being equal, I'd take the magnum.