For a home defense situation,

J

JBest

New member
would you feel under-gunned with 5-shot .38 special? or would you rather choose a higher capacity pistol and higher caliber?
 
Five rounds of .38 special will do the job if you do your part.
Howitzer won't do the job if you can't.

Sam
 
When I carried it everyday it felt fine. After getting use to the reassuring feeling of 16 available rounds of 9mm I feel undergunned with the 5 shot 38.

If it is only one bad guy the 5 shot is fine, more bad guys than that and I think it's iffy. Multiple assailants, moving targets, cover, the 5 shots seems to be pushing the envelope.

I know shot placement is important but I like the margin for error. Realistically you may need to shot them more than one time each and the hit ratio even among good shots is going to suffer with the bullets flying.

Also the 5 shot 38 is about the same size and weight of a high capacity gun of equal or larger caliber and the revolver is harder to conceal.

I love my 2" 38 but it doesn't get much use now. :(

JMHO
 
I believe that I could do my part with five rounds of 125
grain +P Federal Hydra-Shok's, delivered from my vintage
Smith & Wesson model 60 Chief's Special.:D :cool: :)

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member
 
As I have posted here before on multiple occasions, I absolutely adore the 5 shot .38, particularly the S&W J-frame Bodyguard series...I have the 638 and the 649. I carry them regularly as CCW and feel reasonably well armed with them. Would they be my first choice if I had prior knowledge that I was going to be involved in a shooting? Hell no! Is there any way for me to have prior knowledge that I will be involved in a shooting? Probably not. Why do I carry them as CCW? They are small and light and easy to conceal and carry comfortably and easy for me to shoot reasonably accurately. But the question is, if I didn't have to conceal it, why would I choose a small low powered gun with a short sight radius and a low capacity? For home defense, I would choose a full size revolver with at least a 3", preferably 4-5" barrel, chambered in .357 Magnum or a full size autoloader with a 4-5" barrel, chambered in .45 ACP. My choices would be a S&W 686 Plus 7-shot 4" .357 magnum or a Kimber Classic Stainless full-size 7+1 shot 5" .45 ACP. Keep the 5 shot .38 snubs for when you have to conceal it. They will do the job, but why make the job any harder than it has to be?
 
J frame Smith .38 is what I carry most of the time. I have shot mine enough to feel confident with any of them. I am comfortable with a .38 J frame, loaded with the right ammo and a few speed loaders, for home defense.
 
>>For a home defense situation,

Yes, I would want a heavier gun in a house gun situation.

For carry, if I had to use it? Yes again. I would be under-gunned. I would carry it anyway, a 5 shot 38 is better than no shots at all.

justinr1
 
I think a 5-shot .38 is just fine for home defense, as long as you are skilled and already have a home defense strategy there should be no problem. A couple of speedloaders wouldn't hurt either.

I've got a .380 Makarov and a .7-shot .357 for home defense. But more importantly, I've got a safe place to retreat to that provides heavy cover and easy view of the stairs. Anybody starts up those stairs and doesn't stop when commanded to do so, is in a world of hurt.
 
I have a 6-shot .38 snubby, loaded with Federal Personal Defense 110-gr JHP, not the +p stuff. But my first choice for home defense is my KP90 Ruger, loaded with Rem 230-Gr Golden Sabre JHP. After those are empty, I wll be fading into the closet to pick up the M-1 Garand, and the Mossberg shotty
 
JBest . . .

I note that your TFL "location" is the Philippines. That may create a significantly different tactical scenario than many of us have in the US.

For example, I live in a relatively crime free part of Fairfax County, Virginia, and therefore feel well armed with five .38 Special +Ps. However, based my experiences on -- and proximate to -- the Subic/Cubi naval complex in the PI suggest that, were I to live there, I would want a good deal more than five .38 +Ps in my "house gun".

To summarize, I agree with those who believe five .38 Specials is adequate for most RELATIVELY BENIGN home-defense scenarios. But, were I to live in a tougher, more dangerous environment -- in the US, the PI, or anywhere else for that matter -- I would certainly upgrade my home-defense battery.
 
Sam is right:

"Five rounds of .38 special will do the job if you do your part.
Howitzer won't do the job if you can't. "

FWIW: My first choice is a 12-Gauge pump action shotgun.

YMMV
 
Heavier gun for home defense? Are your walls made of corten steel plate? If not I say the .38 special is a marvelous choice. I will admit my weapon of choice is a 12 gauge Beretta semi-auto with a 24" barrel and some 6 shot. I love the snub for a coat or bath robe handgun to anwer the door with at night.

That's the thing about the snub, its outright utility outweighs the negative points.
 
5 Shot .38

I frequently carry a J frame (5 round) S&W in .357 Mag. I don't feel under gunned with it (though I always carry a speed strip with six more rounds.)

HOWEVER, for home defense the choice is not a .38... the choice is a Scattergun Technologies Border Patrol Model 12 Ga. Eight rounds of 12 ga. is more comfortable than a .38, 9mm or any other hand gun round.

The .38 isn't useless...but is is at the low end of my personal continium ... right with the 9mm.

FWIW

Chuck
 
I wouldn't want to get out of bed with just a revolver & a flash light. I would want a 9mm w/ a hi-cap mag. When fully dressed a revolver w/ holster & 2 speed loaders/strips fine. But if I have to get up & grab flashlight/gun. I would want a 9mm w/ at least a 10 rd mag. Now if I only had a revolver. I would have a rig set up with 2 speed loaders, holster, & flashlight holder right by my bed. An Uncle Mikes nylon 2" duty belt with a nylon speed loader case, supper belt slide holster, & flashlight holder. This you could put on over your PJs & have everythng you need.
 
I think 5 shots would be adequate--7 better, more even better...
But like other posters have said, it's more important to have some sort of game plan and to be trained.
 
I am curious, to those who seem to be indicating that 5 shots just isnt enough...

Have u ever been in a situation where you fired more than 5 shots in defense?

t'would seem unlikely to me.
 
From what I have been reading lately, the "home invaders" seem to be teaming up in 3's or 4's, not the onesy-twosy's that used to be the norm. You can put down 4 BG's w/5 rounds, but I would be nervous about that.
 
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