You stick with your rimfire and get killed; I’ll keep using my legitimate self-defense caliber, thank you. aryfrosty . Compact, reliable and fool-proof, the .38 wheel-gun should be the perfect concealed carry option for new shooters – but it's not. I'm sure if I shot prone (I really didn't want to be in the freezing mud that day) and learned the zero for that load, I could make some miscreant's life a short and merry hell using the Cor-Bon ammo and my snubbie. Revolver vs. Semiauto Pistol: A Ballistic Oddity, Shooting Times Father's Day 2019 Gift Guide, Handloading the .38 Special for Snubnose Revolvers, Tactical Solutions Introduces New X-Ring Takedown SBR Rifle. A short barreled anything is designed as a belly gun for short range engagements. Sign up for our email newsletter to become a Patriot Outdoor News insider. In some circles that's an acceptable tradeoff. He, and I, would never dream of trying to hit someone 15 = 20 feet away with one unless our sole goal were to make as much noise as… Read more ». This is what the folks at Rock Island Armory have to say about their products: You love to hit the target. Well you can’t go wrong with a.38 snub nose revolver. This leads to an intriguing aspect. Its my EDC and its a great gun. Don’t think this is an exercise exclusive to the .38 Special. But, keep in mind, this option is strictly double-action-only handgun. . Your email address will not be published. Another point, that I admit is picking a nit, it is NOT stability that the bullet gains from a longer barrel. Smith & Wesson M&P M2.0 Subcompact Pistol Review, Self-Defense: How to Search for Additional Threats, Compact Carry Pistols Are Effective With Practice, Springfield Armory XD-M Elite Precision Review. We all need more practice and when possible, more realistic practice. Light jackets and generous hollowpoints with augmented expansion design features are the norm. The combination of minimalistic carry sights and ultra-short sight radius stack the odds against the shooter purely from a usability perspective. The trigger is smooth and wide. For a good reason, Ruger’s carry-tailored .38 Special revolver is small, light and easy to keep under wraps. This revolver will stick around for the long haul if you take really good care of it. Part of the rebooted 856 line, the CH features a DAO spurless hammer, cutting down the gun's overall profile. So, don’t expect to pack a thunderclap, especially out of a snubbie .38. Taking A Spin With The Limited Edition Korth Mongoose Silver, What’s New And What Really Matters In Bullet Design, Choosing .38 Special Ammo For Self-Defense, Know Your Cartridge: The Dependable .38 Special, Best Affordable .308 Rifle Options For The Hunt, First Look: CCI Maxi-Mag Clean-22 Segmented Hollow Point 22 WMR, Deals Of The Week: Gun Sales And More (Oct. 22, 2020), 6 On-Target Concealed Carry Insurance Options (2020), 16 Top Picks For Concealed Carry Handguns (2020). One of the technical specifics included for each cartridge is the maximum average pressure (MAP). When he’s not reviewing guns or shooting for fun and competition, Jim can be found hiking and hunting with his wife Kimberly, and their dog Peanut in the South Carolina low country. But all things equal, bigger is better. With the 2 inch, the shooter would have to manually augment the extractor. But all .38 snubbies face the Procrustean bed of ballistics: One size doesn't fit all. Get 12 Issues a year of the country's best firearms writing. The FBI load (a swaged 158-grain SWC with a hollowpoint in it) was all the rage for quite some time, and for good reason. If you are relying on a snubbie you HAVE TO PRACTICE. For my speed test, I fired two rounds in DA mode as fast as I could into an eight-inch paper plate at 15 yards. 1, the +P-rated revolver’s fantastic trigger. MSRP: Starting at $420; charterfirearms.com, Charter Arms Off-Duty starting at $225 Guns.com. Actually, I've learned to simply place the front sight where I want the bullet to hit and squeeze the trigger. Great fiction, fun to read, bad tactical advice, as you point out, tongue in cheek. . However, when first introduced to shooting, they ALL learned on… Read more », We appreciate your insight and effort in sharing your observations about snub-nose, .38 Special revolvers for EDC and self-defense. There are four criteria which we used to choose .38 Special revolvers: Reliability: The guns are well made with a reliable track record. I agree to a point. That said, malfunctions of these magnitudes are exceedingly rare in a fully functional wheelgun shooting good ammunition. Assuming the wheel gun of choice is chambered in something really potent like .44 Magnum or .357 Magnum, the slow reloads are acceptable. Picking up where we left off, there is a downside to the caliber—its terminal ballistics. You know, exactly the sort of conditions someone might need to use a concealed carry weapon. Multiple layers of denim can clog hollowpoints, making them act like solids--or at least the older designs. Grave yard dead effective. Almost every group was centered low and left. I have been active in a number of shooting competitions throughout the years including IMSA, PSAA, IPSC, and IDPA. Using bullets made of copper, they have no lead (thus are "condor safe") but still expand. For these reasons, I only recommend double action only, snub-nosed revolvers for experienced shooters. I’m fairly proficient in aiming the revolver as well. Mild to shoot and deadly accurate at typical self-defense ranges, there is plenty to like about the .38 Special cartridge in and of itself. Yes, there are ways to partially mitigate this. BTW, do you and/or your wife engage in any tactical pistol competition, e.g., USPSA or IDPA. Mannix used to shoot guys off roofs with his!!! Widthwise, the guns run thicker than the average concealed carry pistol. Additionally, the .38 Special revolver doesn’t have much ammo on tap. The .38 Special was originally sized for a case full of blackpowder under the bullet. Guns are fun, and cheap guns are even more fun. Snubnose revolvers continue to be popular for self-defense. Smith & Wesson MODEL 10 2 INCH WITH STAINLESS CYLINDER AND CHROME BARREL. In most cases, they feature light-for-caliber bullets constructed to expand at minimum velocities. I'm confident that if any future situation warrants firing, I'll be ready. DOA triggers are heavy, making it difficult to hold on target through the break. Most of what you say is both wrong and ignorant. My wife carries a snubby. The rear sight is a large groove milled out of the top of the top strap, and the front sight is milled out of the barrel. One nice thing about a lot of revolvers, is you can manually cock the hammer, which reduces trigger pull length and pressure allowing… Read more ». Countless amateur and professional penetration tests prove with proper ammo penetration is not a problem. Even more impressive was the heavy-clothing portion of the test. With any bullet design, if you have too much velocity you get a sudden decrease in penetration, as the energy goes to expansion, disintegration and loss of bullet integrity. Your email address will not be published. Yep, you’re a yyoungster who probably loves guns made from plastic. The Rock Island Armory M206 2-inch .38 Special is a revolver you can depend on in an EDC carry situation. ElHalcon . More powerful is more reliable at incapacitating an attacker, and expanding ammunition is crucial to maximizing a round's potential. I always throw powder for a tray full of cases and, using a bright light, carefully inspect each one. However, the German gunmaker has a long tradition with revolvers, particularly those aimed at self-defense. You also agree to this site's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Boasting an aluminum-frame and carbon steel 2-inch barrel and cylinder, the revolver tips the scales at a flat 1-pound. Better known for its economical 1911s, Rock Island is also a competent revolver-smith. There's a saying among the firearms cognoscenti: "Friends don't let friends carry mouseguns." i don’t know. However, Armscorp claims you can run a limited amount of the higher pressure ammo through the gun. A bit heftier (24 ounces) than many modern snubbies, its carry position might be a bit more limited for most. Point one; none of us are good enough shots. When humans (or really any animal) are frightened or confronted with a major threat, our bodies dump adrenaline into our bloodstream. If you think that a DA revolver is difficult to shoot due to minimalistic sights and short sight radius, try shooting a small DA only pistol. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. 3 hard cast wadcutters with 2 90 gr. When… Read more ». @mlh, Yes, I think that is better advice than the author gave. Don't miss a thing. Incidentally, these tests (the post 1986 Miami Shootout ballistics testing project) also eliminated the 9mm—which the bureau now carries (go figure). Given the relatively low velocity, I would not be surprised to find the .38 coming up short--but keep in mind here, we're talking about a snubbie. Few of us get to take classes and get realistic training. Tap and rack isn't going to solve a pulled bullet or stuck case in a revolver. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. 4. And the Off-Duty is quick to manipulate with a left-side cylinder release. . Now to a bit of controversy. If needed, have them hit a man size silhouette from 6 feet! Hammers, wire cutters, screwdrivers all have different jobs. Suffice to say, the process is neither as fast nor as simple as with a semi-auto pistol. While a bit over-the-top, the statement holds true. Rims of different thicknesses can cause markedly different lock times. Thousands of rounds, zero malfunctions, zero issues, zero concerns. . Spray and Pray I will not do. Gramps used to carry a 38 snubby in his pocket all the time. Coming from Cor-Bon, you can expect lots of velocity. There is no wiggle in the 856. my 7 inch barrel that can shoot the nuts off a fly at 25 yards does just fine in short hallways and won’t cause any ancillary damage, unlike a spray and pray snubnose 38. 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