9mm or .38spl

What is a better home defense round

  • 9mm

    Votes: 78 57.8%

  • 38spl

    Votes: 57 42.2%
  • Total voters
    135
  • Poll closed .
I voted .38 spl since it's a lower pressure round which I believe would make it easier on the ears.

A .45 does nightstand duty for me for that very reason.
 
Last edited:
For me its the 38 special in a 4 inch revolver. I have a S&W model 10 heavy barrel. Easy to use, reliable and the 38 special round will get the job done with the right ammo. One needs to practice with the SD ammo they would use. Practice ammo and SD ammo shoot different.
Regards.
 
Both are effective but I voted 9mm as it has the edge in pretty much every category.

Hey Kraigwy, yea, it's just like Glen said in the second post. :rolleyes:
 
Well, I suppose we could argue 9mm semi-auto carbine over .38 lever carbine, which wouldn't be as far off as shotguns...

But since we are in the handgun forum, I don't suspect the OP wanted "shotguns."

As Glenn said, long guns are good for barricades; for exploring the house, they are more of a challenge. Easier to grab; harder to coordinate with a light (unless weapon mounted, which requires different training); harder to coordinate with switching lights, opening doors, etc.

Note that with training, it's not so hard to turn an attempted grab at a long gun into a takedown of the BG (long gun = leverage against you if you don't know what you are doing, but leverage in your favor if you do). Most people I know have no idea how to do that. If you really want to carry a long gun around, I suggest you find somebody who can teach you long gun retention, in addition to other tactics.

As a general rule, I don't recommend hunting the things that go bump in the night, in the house; but there are people who have fairly compelling reasons, generally other people in other parts of the house, why they can't just barricade all that easily.

I do think, if one decides to investigate, the choice of 9mm or .38 is much less important than the choice to get training in the use of lighting (and darkness), how to open doors and pie the room, weapon retention, etc. I also think the choice to set up proper locks, lighting, and security is a more important choice than 9mm or .38. Ditto the choice to get one or more yappy dogs, intimidating dogs, or a mix of both.

But 9mm or .38? Really just depends on what platform works best for you.
 
But 9mm or .38? Really just depends on what platform works best for you.
Click to expand...

It was an unqualified question. If you start adding in factors like recoil aversion, a desire to have a lower probability of having to do a reload or other things... it obviously affects the answer.

But the the top end SD 9mm rounds do penetrate deeper and expand to a greater diameter, through the standard barrier tests and in bare gelatin, than the 38 specials do.

If one of the qualifications for the question was "I live in Northern Canada and down the street from me is a biker bar and 6'6" 325 lb bikers wearing long underwear, T-shirts, sweaters and ski-jackets over leather vests... make me fear for my life..." Well, that's a qualification that would make me want to get some 9mm +P loading - given the constraints that I have a choice only between a nine and a 38 special.
 
definitely agree with most of the posts on the thread.
9mm or .38 special ?

both , as long as you are adequately trained in handling the firearm & are
comfortable with the recoil you should have no problem making either caliber a great home defense round.

i myself have both and am confident to say either one will save my life when i need it.

but just for kicks, i do keep the 686 2.5in barrel in the night stand ;)
2 chambered with the corbon dpx .38spec & the other 4 in the cylinder are .357mag
 
While it is an interesting debate, debating such similar calibers/cartridges misses the real point.

Which is, with good ammo, and equal shot placement, both will perform. The important difference is the "platform" used. There are no .38 SPL autoloaders made for the self defense market. There are very few 9mm revolver models on the market. Absent those few 9mm wheelguns, it basically comes down to revolver vs auto pistol.

And that is a much bigger thing to some people than others. Both have their pros and cons, and a feature that is vitally important to you might be of no concern to me.

The bottom line is which gun you like best/use best.

For those who are not inclined to take the time to fully learn the semiauto (and that means being able to do everything you might need to do, including failure drills) the revolver is a better choice. And that means .38 Special.
 
Been said before , will be said many more times: Whatever you shoot the most accurately, particularly when shooting in high stress, high speed situations. For me that's the .38, but I wouldn't feel helpless with the 9mm. Caliber is a minimal issue, placement is everything.
 
Strictly on the merits of the caliber I prefer the 9mm however for a revolver I would go for .38 Special. Actually I would buy a revolver in .357 Magnum and shoot one of the midrange , reduced recoil, reduced flash .357 Loads if she could handle it. If not it handles the .38 Special +P as well.
 
9mm vs 38 for defense? i like both rounds, to me it is the platform that makes the difference.
to me the only 38 gun i would be interested in would be a small snub nosed revolver. usually they are limited to 5 or 6 rounds. are 5 or 6 rounds enough to protect you? if you read the stats the answer is yes (probably). i have 3 snub nosed revolvers that i carry. do i feel comfortable with the smaller capacity? yes, but i feel more comfortable with a larger capacity.

the 9mm auto has more options for me. my 9mm handguns range from full sized s&w model 59 and taurus pt-92's to much smaller taurus 709 slim. the 9mm handguns can carry more than 15 rounds for full size and even my taurus 709 slim carries 7+1 rounds. because my little 709 carries 3 more rounds than my 5 round s&w i feel more comfortable with it as my cc handgun.

so to me it isn't a 38 vs 9mm debate to me, it is the type of platforms you can use them in. while i feel comfortable with my little 5 shot snubbie i feel more comfortable with my 8 shot 709 slim.
 
If you handload, both are cheaper!
Click to expand...

That's a lot of shooting to make up for the cost of the press, dies, trimmer(s), dispensers, and your time....not to mention supplies. We're talking 9mm here - that's less than $9.50/box of 50, or $0.19/round. What's your cost per round on 9mm?

I found one person that did this calculation who said: I get my cases free from my range. Powder 2 cents, primer, 2.8 cents, bullet 10 cents. Total cost, 15 cents per round or $7.50 per box.

Figure you have $800 in a decent progressive press, dies, etc. You save $2.00/ box of ammo. That means you would have to reload 20,000 rounds of 9mm just to break even.......EVEN WITH FREE USED BRASS!:eek:
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top