.38 4" barrel vs. 2" barrel

[Doug.38PR]

How much difference in power does it make to shoot say an Official Police 4 inch over a 2 inch Detective Special in regular .38 special and .38+P? I'm told it is good to carry the 4 inch because you get the full power out of the .38 as opposed to the snubbie which causes you the shooter to lose a lot of power. But to what degree?

 

[Robert Garner]

got the wife a 3" j frame 'couse it hits 50% harder than 2"; how much more for 4" i don't know

 

[Brian Williams]

You gain or lose about 20 to 50 fps for each inch added or removed.

50% harder is bunk, about 750 to 820 fps would be the difference from a 2" to a 4"

 

[michael t]

If you can carry the 4" then by all means do so . Easier to shoot and some increase in power but by no means 50% .

Guns and Ammo test of New Speer 135gr 38+P HP July 2004
2" averagefor 5 shots 878fps
4" " " " 976fps
6" " " " 1,004fps
Winchester 158gr non +P
2" 760
4"850
6"894
Black Hills 125gr.
2" 810
4" 911
6" 929
all taken 12' from muzzle

98fps difference with the SpeerI don't think BG would feel the difference.Remember this is suppose to be the new Hot load for a snub.

 

[cje1980]

It really depends on which weight of bullet used. The heavier bullets maintain a lot of their energy and don't lose much effectiveness with shorter barrels, whereas the light loads, which get their power from the velocity, lose effectiveness with the shorter barrel. I second the 135gr. Speer load. It has proven to perform very well in gelatin testing. Speer in general, makes excellent self-defense loads.

 

[somerled]

Using a chrono is about the only way to figure it out. Some 2" barrels may produce a higher velocity that some 4" barrels using the same load. One will usually see an increase in velocity with a four-inch barrel but not always.

 

[CarbineCaleb]

You will get more power out of the 4", but to me, you should also look at practical accuracy and controllability, not just fps, and ft-lb.