Errr... from the 1920's to the early 1990's, the 38 special revolver has been what police departments used as their "standard issue" gun. Until 1956, USAF aircrews were issued 38 special revolvers with tracers to signal rescuers and for self-defense. In other words, this was not a "pea shooter" but a formidable military and police weapon for over 70 years.Excaliber wrote:I carry 1911 .45 ACP pistols....chuckybrown wrote:
So, my question is this: Are you like me? In other words, the self defense pistol choice varies greatly, so I have many different pistols for many different
scenarios? It's clear that a "one size fits all" world isn't realistic, so I try to dress/carry/accommodate accordingly.
My "mouse gun" is a 5 shot .38... I don't leave my "safe" (low frequency of really bad stuff) neighborhood with just that pea shooter.
That laziness is why I don't own a .380. If I did, I'd sometimes carry it. If I needed to use it, I'd kick myself for not carrying something more capable for the rest of my life, which in that situation might well be measured in seconds.
The .380 ACP has roughly the same stopping power as the 38 special +P. I find this odd since .380 has 200 ft-lbs of energy while .38 special has 350 ft-lbs of energy. The stopping power assessment is from those dubious "one shot stop" statistics.
I live in a safe neighborhood and I have security guards at work, so I normally don't carry. I don't even have guns at home. However, when I do carry, it's usually just a .380 Kel-Tec P3AT or a Ruger LCP. I've been wanting to increase my "firepower", so, I'm currently looking for a 38 special revolver as a BUG to the .380. The only time I carry something with more oomph is if I'm out dining on BBQ in South Dallas/Oak Cliff at night. Then, I carry the 9mm Glock 19. I think a 38 special revolver would also make a great BUG for the Glock 19.
So, what you're saying is a "pea shooter", I'm actually going to buy to increase my "firepower".