I picked up a Taurus .38 Special snubbie today, and started researching loads for concealed carry. What I found stunned me.
I have a Bulgarian Makarov in 9X18. Its my usual CCW gun. The popular opinion is that the 9X18 cartridge is a little more powerful that the .380 auto. But guess what? In terms of muzzle energy, the 9X18 is equal or superior to the .38 Special +P when fired form a 2" barrell!
Golden Loki's excellent site shows muzzle energies up to 272 fpe for the 9X18 fired form a Makarov.
http://goldenloki.com/ammo/gel/9x18/gel9x18.htm
Using the data from this article on the .38 Special +P when fired from a 2" snubbie, the best load in terms of muzzle energy is the Winchester +P 158-grain LSWCHP. I did the math, its 249 fpe.
http://www.handgunsmag.com/ammunition/pocket_dynomite/
The formula, for those interested, is energy= bullet weight X velocity squared/450400. Energy is in fpe, bullet weight is in grains, velocity is in fps.
I'm amazed. Am I the only one who didn't know the 9X18 is more powerful than the .38 Special +P?
I have a Bulgarian Makarov in 9X18. Its my usual CCW gun. The popular opinion is that the 9X18 cartridge is a little more powerful that the .380 auto. But guess what? In terms of muzzle energy, the 9X18 is equal or superior to the .38 Special +P when fired form a 2" barrell!
Golden Loki's excellent site shows muzzle energies up to 272 fpe for the 9X18 fired form a Makarov.
http://goldenloki.com/ammo/gel/9x18/gel9x18.htm
Using the data from this article on the .38 Special +P when fired from a 2" snubbie, the best load in terms of muzzle energy is the Winchester +P 158-grain LSWCHP. I did the math, its 249 fpe.
http://www.handgunsmag.com/ammunition/pocket_dynomite/
The formula, for those interested, is energy= bullet weight X velocity squared/450400. Energy is in fpe, bullet weight is in grains, velocity is in fps.
I'm amazed. Am I the only one who didn't know the 9X18 is more powerful than the .38 Special +P?