.38 spl for self defence? man shot 5 times in face lives

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"But if you know a bad guy is coming though the door and two firearms are on the table next to you, one a .38,9mm,or .380 & the other a .40, .44, or .45, which will you grab?"


I'm doing to grab the one that I shoot the BEST.

What good is a particular gun in a particular chambering to me if I can't hit crap with it?
 
Personally, I already made that decision at the gun store, and i chose 9mm. So to imply that everyone will choose a larger caliber isn't accurate...
 
In 38spl I prefer the Treasury Load, 38spl +P+ 110gr JHP It saved my butt. I have since switched to a Sig 226 in 357Sig.
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When I had .38 revolvers I always used my hand loads with a cast semi-wadcutter. The bullets were sold pre sized and lubed at a local gunshop.
The bags of bullets had a label stating they were 168 gr, but I suspect this was a misprint.
Anyway I used 3 grains even of Bullseye, and accuracy was great.

I need to get another .38 Special one day soon. Friends and former customers have given me their leftover ammo when they sell off a pistol or rifle or trade it in for a different caliber, so I've somehow ended up with several hundred rounds of .38 Special ammo and nothing to shoot it in.
I'd had the same situation with .380 ammo several years ago, several boxes of ammo and no pistol of that caliber, then I lucked onto my FN 1922 which the previous owner thought was busted because it was plainly stamped as a 9mm but 9mm Luger cartridges would not fit. Got that one dirt cheap.

Anyway the .38 Special is inherently accurate if any pistol/ammo combo can really be described as such.
Even el cheapo european made cast frame snub nose .38 specials I've run across from time to time have shown remarkable accuracy.
"But if you know a bad guy is coming though the door and two firearms are on the table next to you, one a .38,9mm,or .380 & the other a .40, .44, or .45, which will you grab?"
Click to expand...
I'd likely grab a revolver before an autoloader, revolvers are simpler to handle in a crsis situation, and for me at least they are better for point shooting.
If I had the choice of a .44 revolver I'd probably take it over the .38 for across a room ranges, but would pick a quality .38 if range was a factor, not due to power or trajectory, but only because a .38 is more likely to display the necessary accuracy in an unfamilar revolver.
Hard kicking revolvers may throw bullets high or to one side, and if sighted for one user may not be sighted properly for another user.
Same applies on a smaller scale with lighter kicking handguns.

Fractions of an inch at close range is no big deal, but if the gun prints several inches off at somewhat longer ranges then a BG with any cover is not as vulnerable to return fire when he exposes very little of his head and one hand/arm when firing.
 
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If I were using a .38 special, I'd be using a heavier .38 load for penetration. Shot placement is always key. I personally use .357 mag.
 
With such little information, it's amazing this thread has lasted this long. Too many unknowns to go farther, say goodnight...
 
My opinion on this is that the gun did its job against the threat, but she would have had some problems had there been more than 1 home invader.

I guess she could pull a dirty harry "did I fire 5 shots or 6? In all the excitement I lost count, but the question is do you feel lucky punk?" but all the same the gun was empty with the one guy.

Georgia being generally pro gun, I haven't heard anything from anyone other than that she is a hero. I hope that her local gun shop gives her a great deal on a .357 magnum.

If she had put a .357 hollow point into his head at point blank range the whole ordeal would have been over with 1 shot and she could have lead her kids out of the house or continued to be backed into the closet in case there was more than one with 5, 6, or 7 rounds left in the revolver.
 
jimherb, in this case, yes... but what if he had not been alone? She was out of ammo.

That is my takeaway. She expended her six at close quarters, and while she stopped the one guy, he probably would have been able to return fire if he had been armed. After all, he was still able to get up, walk to his car, and drive a short distance.

Lesson one: handgun rounds are marginal, but some are even more marginal - such as .38 from a snubbie.

Lesson two: it is never a bad idea to have more ammo, or a second gun.

She was lucky that he was alone and unarmed. (Edit: I think he had a crowbar, so it is more accurate to say he did not have a ranged weapon.)
 
Doesn't surprise me at all. A shot in the face isn't necessarily lethal. Actually a major part of the head would not be all that harmed by a gun shot from a handgun round. The brain itself is a very small target. A shot to the upper part of the neck through the face or esophagus would be very lethal but other than that a handgun wouldn't do much harm if it didn't hit the brain.

In the grand scheme of things handguns are poor stoppers compared to long guns. That's just the way it is. In terms of kinetic energy rounds like 38 spl and even 45 ACP simply pale in comparison to the power of a shotgun or rifle. Handguns basically punch holes in things. The permanent wound cavities produced by them is rather anemic. THe majority of people shot by handguns of all calibers survive. This case is not an indictment of the 38 spl.
 
"It is very easy to kill a man"
"It is very difficult to kill a man"
Both of those statements are true. One person will take a .22 and fall down dead and on other will take numerous 45s and drive to the hospital himself.
 
There will always be amazing stories out there. We went through the same arguments with the 9mm.

I have no problem with 38 special for defense.
 
It all comes down to bullet placement, and to a lesser degree penetration.
A bullet that won't penetrate far enough to reach a vital organ is useless no matter how well the shot is placed, but few cartridges are that weak.

Facial bones and teeth have been known to deflect or even stop a bullet, but thats a rare occurance.

The .38 Special has more than enough penetration to reach vital organs, but even a heart shot with a main battle rifle cartridge is not always fatal. A local man was hit twice in the heart by a 7.62 machinegun while manning a door gun of a helicopter. Both bullets ended up in the same ventrical. long range was a factor there.
 
I just want to know... If I keep my pistol loaded with those "Zombie" loads, will they work on non-zombie targets?


Sgt Lumpy - n0eq
 
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