OldSchooler
Member
Ive been doing alot of research into "the snubbie thing" and have two of my own - a 'Dick Special'-sized Charter Arms and a Taurus 85. Both +P rated
For armed carry by civilians, off-duty police and backup use, there seems to be a general concensus that the snub wheelgun is hard to beat. I know it "fits" me better than an equally powered auto loader with it's angles and edges.
Also, the power is adequate to the task. We're led to believe that today's perps are supermen, who have been bred to withstand all gunshots and keep on terrorizing the innocent, like Godzilla in downtown Tokyo. Not so, apparently.
Stats show that merely brandishing a weapon ends most encounters about 90% of the time. Even your average "dumb criminal" will recognize the .38 snub for the threat it is. If it comes to a shoot, the .38 +P offers around 75% one shot stops in some of the new, fast/light ammo developments. Even the old "FBI" load (158 gr SWCHP +P) is said by most to be as good a stopper as .45 ball when it hits the spots that matter. If you dont hit these spots, it doesnt matter what you use. I like the slower, heavier bullet idea, myself.
Can it be better? In some ways - but it's a trade off. A comparably sized auto in a comparative caliber, like the 9MM, gives only a little more oomph in real shootings from short barrels. Anything bigger is going to be proportionally harder to conceal and concealment is the primary goal of these guns. Otherwise you'd just strap on a full size service auto.
Too, the auto loader is a powered mechanism, where a wheel gun is merely mechanical - it depends only on the power of a finger to operate. The auto gun does offer fast reloads, which means better tactics are in order with the revolver. Will it matter in the world of "hit em hard, NOW," close encounters, where the incident is decided in just a few shots? I dont know... I try not to find out. Most knowledgeable experts say no.
But, lets face it, the majority of us travel in fairly tame orbits. Our goal should be the practice of better tactics: Avoidance, Ancillary and Awareness.
Oh, and to remember the First Rule Of Gunfighting: Bring a Gun. The snub is "easy to have on hand, all the time."
For us, the snub is going to be "enough," on all counts.
For armed carry by civilians, off-duty police and backup use, there seems to be a general concensus that the snub wheelgun is hard to beat. I know it "fits" me better than an equally powered auto loader with it's angles and edges.
Also, the power is adequate to the task. We're led to believe that today's perps are supermen, who have been bred to withstand all gunshots and keep on terrorizing the innocent, like Godzilla in downtown Tokyo. Not so, apparently.
Stats show that merely brandishing a weapon ends most encounters about 90% of the time. Even your average "dumb criminal" will recognize the .38 snub for the threat it is. If it comes to a shoot, the .38 +P offers around 75% one shot stops in some of the new, fast/light ammo developments. Even the old "FBI" load (158 gr SWCHP +P) is said by most to be as good a stopper as .45 ball when it hits the spots that matter. If you dont hit these spots, it doesnt matter what you use. I like the slower, heavier bullet idea, myself.
Can it be better? In some ways - but it's a trade off. A comparably sized auto in a comparative caliber, like the 9MM, gives only a little more oomph in real shootings from short barrels. Anything bigger is going to be proportionally harder to conceal and concealment is the primary goal of these guns. Otherwise you'd just strap on a full size service auto.
Too, the auto loader is a powered mechanism, where a wheel gun is merely mechanical - it depends only on the power of a finger to operate. The auto gun does offer fast reloads, which means better tactics are in order with the revolver. Will it matter in the world of "hit em hard, NOW," close encounters, where the incident is decided in just a few shots? I dont know... I try not to find out. Most knowledgeable experts say no.
But, lets face it, the majority of us travel in fairly tame orbits. Our goal should be the practice of better tactics: Avoidance, Ancillary and Awareness.
Oh, and to remember the First Rule Of Gunfighting: Bring a Gun. The snub is "easy to have on hand, all the time."
For us, the snub is going to be "enough," on all counts.