LCR 9mm v. 38 Special snub
Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 8:05 pm
I found this very interesting and quite surprising.
Chas.
Chas.
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Thanks Charles!Charles L. Cotton wrote: ↑Thu Oct 11, 2018 8:05 pm I found this very interesting and quite surprising.
Chas.
Right now, my back up gun is a Ruger LCR .38 with Crimson Trace. My wife used to carry it, but found it painful when practicing. She now carries a Walther PPS M2 LE. So, my answer is I would not carry a snub but rather a small, single stack 9mm such as the Walther PPS M2 or the S&W M&P M2.0 Shield 9mm. My wife's LCR was getting lonely, so I'm giving it some love until I can afford another real pistol.Charles L. Cotton wrote: ↑Fri Oct 12, 2018 11:21 am Using the SIG ammo, the 9mm LCR had an average velocity of about 1150 fps for a 125 gr. JHP. That's on the order of 300 fps more than the 38 Special! That makes the 9mm LCR an attractive BUG.
However, I remembered the video Paul did comparing 38 Special and .357 Mag. snub guns and the difference in velocity was huge (over 400 fps). So the question as I see it is this. When carrying a snub BUG, do you want to go with an atypical revolver caliber (9mm) that requires moon clips, or a traditional revolver caliber (.357 Mag.) that pushes the 125 gr. JHP about 100 fps faster?
Chas.
Here's Paul's video comparing 38 Special and .357 Mag. snub revolvers.
I thought about getting a 9mm revolver, because my primary carry pistols are 9mms, and commonality of ammo is a good thing. But.... I ended up buying a Scandium .357 magnum because it gave me 3 options: .38 Special, .38 Special +P, and .357 magnum. Since I already owned a stainless revolver in .357 and an Airweight in .38(+P), I still had the benefit of commonality of ammo; but in a 13oz revolver I could carry in all 3 chamberings.Charles L. Cotton wrote: ↑Fri Oct 12, 2018 11:21 am Using the SIG ammo, the 9mm LCR had an average velocity of about 1150 fps for a 125 gr. JHP. That's on the order of 300 fps more than the 38 Special! That makes the 9mm LCR an attractive BUG.
However, I remembered the video Paul did comparing 38 Special and .357 Mag. snub guns and the difference in velocity was huge (over 400 fps). So the question as I see it is this. When carrying a snub BUG, do you want to go with an atypical revolver caliber (9mm) that requires moon clips, or a traditional revolver caliber (.357 Mag.) that pushes the 125 gr. JHP about 100 fps faster?
Chas.
Here's Paul's video comparing 38 Special and .357 Mag. snub revolvers.
I also prefer carrying extra ammo in a speed strip instead of a speed loader. I don't have any experience with moon clips, but if anybody is considering carrying them they should probably read about bent moon clips first.mrvmax wrote: ↑Fri Oct 12, 2018 8:31 pm I could never see myself carrying my spare ammo on moon clips, at least with the 38 you can use speed strips. I carry spare ammo with me about 90% of the time and I know I couldn’t get used to the thickness of the spare ammo on moon clips. There’s probably not a large difference in the thickness of some mags I’ve carried before vs loaded moon clips but I still didn’t like them. I’ve carried 38 spare ammo once on speed loaders and I couldn’t get used to carrying them so I went to speed strips. I never did practice enough to feel competent reloading a revolver so I stopped carrying one. I guess I’m just not a revolver guy for EDC.
I've been using moon clips for over a half century but never ran into a bent moon clip. In fact I hope I never run into someone who can bend moon clips.Boxerrider wrote: ↑Fri Oct 12, 2018 9:43 pmI also prefer carrying extra ammo in a speed strip instead of a speed loader. I don't have any experience with moon clips, but if anybody is considering carrying them they should probably read about bent moon clips first.mrvmax wrote: ↑Fri Oct 12, 2018 8:31 pm I could never see myself carrying my spare ammo on moon clips, at least with the 38 you can use speed strips. I carry spare ammo with me about 90% of the time and I know I couldn’t get used to the thickness of the spare ammo on moon clips. There’s probably not a large difference in the thickness of some mags I’ve carried before vs loaded moon clips but I still didn’t like them. I’ve carried 38 spare ammo once on speed loaders and I couldn’t get used to carrying them so I went to speed strips. I never did practice enough to feel competent reloading a revolver so I stopped carrying one. I guess I’m just not a revolver guy for EDC.
Enjoy!
Jeff