.38+P vs. .44 Special question?

MikeJ

New member
What do you feel is more effective for self defense?

Given the choice of a 6 shot 2.5" snub loaded with your favorite .38+P load or a 5 shot 3" .44 special with your favorite load which would you choose and why?
 
As far as current production goes, that's not really the choices we have.

There's 7 shots of smallbore (from both S&W and Taurus) versus 5 of big. And the smallbore is generally .357, versus .38.

The only close comparo I'm aware of exactly like your parameters is a six-shot Colt Dick Special versus a 5-shot Charter Bulldog. But in that case, the Charter will shake loose too soon to be a real contender.

In 7 shots of .38Spl, hypothetically, that wins hands down over 5 .44Spls. In 6 shots of .38, damn, that's a tough one. The sixgun will be smaller than any 5-shot .44 except for the Charter 44, which is a gun I'd never own.

In any case, it's not all about the caliber, the quality of gun and it's "shootability" matters too. Center of mass with a .38 beats a wingshot with a .44 every time.
 
i find my smith m-696 (5 shot .44) as accurate and just as controlable as a 2.5" m-66, and surely more controlable than any j-frame with +p rounds.

but it comes down to a matter of size of the carry package. i can't think of anywhere i could carry a K-frame and not carry the L-frame. but there are lots of places a J-frame can go that a L-frame would be just too heavy.

the proper comparison WOULD be the 2 L-frames (686 vs 696) and 7 vs. 5 shots

between a 6 shot K-frame and the 5 shot L-frame, i think the .44 (L-frame) wins
 
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