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October 26, 2010
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So I took the wife to the range today to learn and familiarize herself with my DW .357 mag. She fired both .357 mag rounds and .38 specials, and of course liked the .38 special better except she absolutely hates revolvers. In spite of having me preach the old adage of "revolvers are easier to clean and jam less frequently" she still wants a pistol/semi-auto.
She fired my buddie's Springfield Armory XD40 and said the kick was more then the .38 special but she liked the grip and felt more comfortable with the semi-auto.
So the question is this, being that she liked the .38 special rounds I fired but like my buddie's semi-auto, what kind of pistol do I need to buy that will have the equivalent round of a .38 special revolver?
Thanks for the help.
Sincerely,
Rod
"The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference – they deserve a place of honor with all that's good" – George Washington
February 11, 2010
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Anything in the 9mm. Glock, S&W m&p or sigma or Sprinfield xd
-Blacktop
October 26, 2010
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Hmm I was told 9mm would make a poor self defense firearm due to its low stopping power, then again Ive heard that a well placed shot really does not matter.
Hmm....maybe a 9mm hollow point? I just dont want to give my wife a poor weapon.
Sincerely,
Rod
"The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference – they deserve a place of honor with all that's good" – George Washington
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January 24, 2009
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From what I can tell, there's plenty of 9MM's out there being used as SD guns, they always seem to be very popular. Get her practiced on the art of double-tap, that may help add to the stopping power.
October 26, 2010
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Ya were looking at some 9mm and some .380s heres what we found online so far:
Again she can handle a .38 special perfectly so I hate to get something below that but....she just hates a revolver.
Sincerely,
Rod
"The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference – they deserve a place of honor with all that's good" – George Washington
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Dans Club
March 27, 2009
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Look at the Makrovs in 9x18 stiff little round hotter than .380. Eastern Block made up some sweet little shooters. P-64 and such.
just adding to the confusion!
May 17, 2010
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Rod0990 said:
Hmm I was told 9mm would make a poor self defense firearm due to its low stopping power, then again Ive heard that a well placed shot really does not matter.
Hmm....maybe a 9mm hollow point? I just dont want to give my wife a poor weapon.
Sincerely,
Rod
I have the heard the same as well. I am glad I like my wheel guns. The 9mm and the .38 are the same caliber, its just that most .38 are using .145- 158 gr while a 9mm is generally ( as I recall) sub 130 ball. But the .38 wheelie is only gonna pus up to 850 fps stock while the 9mm starts at well over 1000fps. So its hard to say that the .38 has much if any over the 9mm.
To me it just changes the how the gun user uses the tool. With a .38 I have as few as 5 shots or as many as 6 ( maybe 8) to encourage an attacker to stop. Its kinda shoot.. wait .. shoot wait..
With the 9mm.. its fire 4 or 5 rounds .. then check to see if the fight is out of him... if not then you still got 2 - 5 more rounds to make up his mind.
Reminds me of a Ron White blurb.. "I dont know how many it would take but I knew how many they were gonna use" ( refering to bouncers throwing him out of a bar) Same with the 9mm.. when you got 10 shots... why bother worring about 1 shot - 1kill.
Soap Box, Ballot Box, Ammo Box
in that order.
4 Monson Model 15's
1 Palmer FB 15
1 Rossi 357 Model 92 (lever)
1 CZ 75B
DWF Supporters
June 20, 2010
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Rod,
Wikipedia is actually a great place to get some veocity and ft-lb enery tables on cartrdiges. Here is one for the 38 special: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.38_Special. It compares a bunch of the "38 calibers". I also goto ammo manufacturer sites to look at their tables. I prefer Buffalo Bore - buffalobore.com - as they also have hotter loads you can compare. Take a look at the 9mm +P and +P+ loads (i am looking at the 44 magnum +P+ load 
). You can potentially start out with "normal 9mm load" and move up slowly in power.
The other thing I have been told, in my Concealed Carry class and by others, is that you first choose the pistol, then choose the caliber. Go into the store and have her try a bunch of different manufacturers and make sure the pistols point naturally for her. Some pistols have backstraps you can swap/add/remove to make them fit better. For my wife, it was clearly a Sig 229, somewhat smaller than the full size P226. However, that got me thinking and I started swapping out different grips on my 15-2 for her to try. Low and behold, when I put a small presentation grip on, it was PERFECT.
Just saved myself a grand 
.
-Andy
October 26, 2010
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Thanks Headmaster, she decided on a 9mm at the range, she said she was good on the .38 but hated the look/feel of a revolver.
Shes held several pistols at the range and I think she settled for the Ruger.
We definately needed something small as she eventually will get her conceal carry.
Thanks for the help and support.
Sincerely,
Rod
"The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference – they deserve a place of honor with all that's good" – George Washington
January 22, 2008
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I have always heard that the best self defense gun is one that you will actually carry. So if she is comfortable with an XD9 I would go with it. Just my 2 cents...
My wife and I went out and she liked the feel of the CZ75-P01 so we picked it up. Well turns out the slide is hard to rack so she's not as comfortable with it. She has shot Glocks before and really likes them so I guess there will be a plastic gun in our home in the near future (as much as it pains me to say that!).
Dans Club
March 2, 2008
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Many shooters find the autoloader more comfortable to shoot because the bore axis is lower (closer to the grip) resulting in recoil that is more of a straight push back, rather than a flip up.
I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman "Were is the Self Help Section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.
George Carlin
October 26, 2010
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Jody said:
I have always heard that the best self defense gun is one that you will actually carry. So if she is comfortable with an XD9 I would go with it. Just my 2 cents...
My wife and I went out and she liked the feel of the CZ75-P01 so we picked it up. Well turns out the slide is hard to rack so she's not as comfortable with it. She has shot Glocks before and really likes them so I guess there will be a plastic gun in our home in the near future (as much as it pains me to say that!).
Ya shes hard set on a pistol / semi-auto. I found her some really nice revolvers, even a pink one which I thought she might like. She said it shoots great and all but she hates the look. Go figure. I on the other hand am a fan of the revolver. Simple easy to use and all steel (yes I know the grip is wooden...
) but oh well, so long as she takes it to the range regularly and with her once she gets that CCW.
Sincerely,
Rod
"The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference – they deserve a place of honor with all that's good" – George Washington
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