What is a better ammunition round, a 9mm or .38 caliber?
484626
Any question you can ask in the realm of handgunning will generate a host of opinions -- none of which may be the same.  The 9mm is a fast round but may overpenetrate in the area of self defense but this may happen if you use a + P load in 38 caliber.  I usually carry a 357 revolver (which of course also fires 38's) since I don't have to worry about a safety if I have to use it.  For a long time the 38 was the preferred round by many law enforcement agencies before the 40 and the 45 ACP came into favor.  The drawback for the 38 is it is primarily a revolver round while the 9mm is used mainly in autoloading pistols.  It is also used by the NATO forces.  Many people like the idea of having 10 or more rounds that can cycle through and fire quickly as is the case with the 9mm -- assuming your pistol doesn't jam!  With a 38, you are limited to 5 or 6 rounds from a revolver and your ablity to reload quickly with a speedloader you trust and are proficient in using.  As far as stopping power, both are fine rounds and vary according to what kind you get (higher pressure +P loads, jacketed hollow points, etc.) and where you place the shots.  Both are fine rounds for out on the range.  If either round hits a person, I doubt it will tickle!  Both have been around a long time, since about 1902 and are among the most common cartridges made so finding ammo in either caliber is easy no matter where you go.  I think both are fine rounds, as I have fired both.  The recoil of both is about the same in my opinion.
768766
Assuming you are comparing the .7mm Remington Magnum to the .300 Winchester Magnum, the .300 is more powerful, period.  The .7mm Remington Ultra Magnum is more 'powerful' (faster, harder hitting) than the .300 Winchester Magnum, but not more so than the .300 Weatherby Magnum.  Broadly speaking the bigger the caliber the more powerful the round.  Conversely, when speaking of shotgun calibers the smaller the gauge the bigger the bore, the more powerful the shotgun.  Example: A .12 gauge is bigger than a .20 gauge; a .10 gauge is bigger than a .12 gauge and so on. \n\nBallistically the .7mm Remington compares best to the old .30-06 Springfield.  The .30-06 shoots a 7.62mm diameter bullet and the .7mm shoots a .28 diameter bullet.\n\nThe .30-06 offers more bullet weight variation than the .7mm Mag.  Both are big calibers for Elk/Moose size game.  Even Grizzly bear have been taken with these two rounds.  The person who said the .7mm Mag. was a varmint round must have been kidding.  Although old-timers accustomed to hunting with big-bore rifles (.45-70 & up), did consider the thirty and smaller bore 'varmint rounds.'  \n\nEven though varmints can be taken with most any caliber and I have hunted with a .458 Winchester Mag, I don't consider the .7mm Mag. a varmint rifle.  \n\nH
696448
The standard 158 grain lead .38 Special round leaves a 4" barrel at approx. 900 feet per second.  Slightly faster for longer barrels and slow enough to see it strike the target at 25 yards when fired out of a snub nose 2" barrel.  The 148 grain standard .38 Special wadcutter is even slower.  Plus P ammo and +P+ (provided your revolver is rated for these loads) will exceed 1,000 feet per second out of the standard 4" barrel of a .38 Special.  \n\nH
40694
I don't know the actual conversion rate in my head, but a 9mm is in fact 9mm, and a .45 caliber is .45 inch. I just did the calculation, and a 9mm would be .35 caliber, so the 45 is bigger.
729938
I prefer a 9mm\n\nCoach
779104
The 357. is great for home defense. If price is a concern, but you want the quality of a Smith & Wesson, like the 686, you can get a Taurus that is ported, great sights and all for $459 or less. A S&W 686 run into the $650's+. Taurus owns S&W machines and that's why their built the very same and both have a lifetime warranty. You can also fire .38 with both guns. Taurus has greatly improved as a company and are building excellent revolvers and semi autos at great prices. You also get a free year of NRA membership with each purchase. Some people talk smack about Taurus, ignore them, great guns. Read the review online. Put a S&W 686 and a Taurus 357. side by side and they're the same guns, made on S&W machines that Taurus bought. minor differences, but both high quality. The ported feature on a Taurus 357. is great, because you'll get less gun flip and you can stay on your target better. Plus, it looks sweet and who doesn't like the flames coming out of the top. Looks rad. Especially in a 44. mag lol.\n\nNow, I am into home protection guns and have 6 quick access safes all over my house and own many handguns. If you're looking for a great semi-automatic handgun that holds 10+ rounds and is great for home protection, then you're talking about Springfield Armory XD 9mm or XD 45.ACP. Great guns, safe guns and both with lifetime warranty. As a Glock owner, don't buy a Glock because the name is cool. The guns are the finest plastic you can buy and the name is better than the gun. The XD's run $500+, but have excellent safety features than Glock do not and that's why people & cops are having accidents. I don't trust mine loaded and honestly don't 100% trust it loaded. It's my range gun, because I demand higher safety for home protection guns. Smith & Wesson make the Sigma, which is basically a Glock 19, but safer and about the same quality. It's $325+/-. They also make M&P (Military & Police) 40.cal. Great home defense gun and that runs $500.  Don't buy Hi Point. Junk.  \n\nRemember there is nothing more important than safety. If something happens, you'll be held for it. Keep the guns away from children, visiting guest and friendly. Buy a quick access safe that is built for guns. It's the best $59 you can spend.  You want to keep the gun locked away, unless you need it right away. Those safes allow you to do both. Best of luck.
932268
Bound's hubby here:\n\nAnd people say creative writing is dead!\n\nFirst ... the .38 Special, .357 Magnum, and 9mm handguns and their respective ammunition are referred to as medium bores. \n\nThe .38 Special, being the oldest, was one of the first "true" medium bore smokeless powder cartridges. While the bullets fired from a .38 Special or .357 Magnum are typically .357 to .358 inches in diameter (9mm being .355 inches in diameter), the inside diameter of the barrel at the grooves is smaller in diameter, and the inside diameter at the lands (rifling) is even smaller in diameter ... this is necessary for the bullet to "fill" the lands and grooves to establish rotation of the bullet in order to achieve any degree of accuracy. \n\nThe earlier blackpowder medium bore cartridge was the .38-40 ... whose bullet was actually .40 cal. (firing a bullet .400 inches in diameter). \n\nThe other "medium bore" handgun prior to this was the .36 Navy, a cap and ball revolver that fired a bullet .351 inches in diameter. \n\nWith the exception of the .357 Magnum, none of the medium bores' names truely reflect the actual diameter of the bullet fired. The reason the .38 Special was named the .38 Special by Smith & Wesson (its developer) was to avoid identification with the .36 Navy ... which WAS a proprietary development of its competitor, "Colt". Performance-wise, the .38 Special was a significant improvement in reliability, performance, and accuracy over the .36 Navy ... and needless to say more modern ... S&W sought a unique identity for its first centerfire medium bore smokeless cartridge.\n\nAs an aside, with the exception of the .22, the .25 ACP, .357 Magnum, the .40 S&W, the .41 Magnum, and the vast variety of .45s, no handgun cartridge name truly reflects the actual diameter of the bullet. The 32 family = .312", the .38 family = .357, the .38-40 = .400", and the .44 family (even the mighty .44 Magnum) = .429".\n\nGood luck!
756015
In resonse to those above to who answered "9mm" and "9mm  Dddddduuuuuhhhhh"  I believe the question was concerning the lenth of the pistol, not the cartridge, and either way, you are both wrong...9mm is not the lenth of the round, nor is it the lenth of the cartridge...the brass is 19mm long, and the projectile is 9mm wide...that is why the cartridge is known as the 9x19...anyway...\n\nIn response to the question...it depends entirely on the manufacturer and the model.  A Glock 17 is 7.32" long, with a 4.49" barrel, the Glock 19 is 6.85" long, with a 4.02" barrel...and the model 26 is 6.29" long, with a 3.46" barrel...\nAnd these are just the different models of one company...so, kinda need to know at least a manufacturer....
149184
yes, when I purchase a handgun for concealed carry I always ask myself, "I know it's not reliable or powerful, but does it at least look like it belongs in an adventure movie?"\n\nThat said, Kel-Tec just introduced a 9mm version of their popular concealable handgun line. Called the PF-9, it weighs 12.7 ounces unloaded and holds 8 rounds of 9mm ammo. Definitely worth checking out.
89209
The baby glock or any saturday night special. Also the Beretta Cricket packs a punch. Pricey though. Check out www.gunbroker.com
10519
My first handgun was a PPK, but I've always liked the Glock 17 (The 19 is just a mini 17). The 19 is considered the best for home defense. If you want something for sport, I love the PPK. The new PPK is really nice. A major difference is magazine size: 7 rounds for the PPK/S, and 15 for the Glock 19. \n\nBut then again, you can always buy it just to show off.
98085
James's PPK was a .380 parrabellum.  While it is a very small round (useful for a small handgun), it certainly lacks power.  Even a 9mm is stronger, and that's considered a medium sized round.  I'd rather be shot with a .380 than with a .22.
1084547
Go with a glock, you can't go wrong with a Glock.  (Assuming that you are of a legal age to own a handgun where you live.  If not, you should really give all the guns to your pops so that he can keep them somewhere safe.)      \n\nGlock is reliable, affordable, and easy to maintain.  I put hundreds of rounds of various manufacturers through my glock and it never misfired of jammed on me.  Although my Beretta never misfired or jammed, it is a bit of a hassle to clean.  \n\nI've never heard of a glock 16... is there a such thing? \n\nAs you know, there are two schools of thought regarding bullet performance, stopping power and its effectiveness:\n\nFirst is, "The bigger is better crowd" which argue that the bigger the hole(s) the better terminal performance of the bullet. Indications of bigger is better are the caliber and the size of the wounds the bullet makes - entrance and exit wounds. This crowd general prefer a .45 caliber pistol.\n\nThe other school of thought argues that lighter faster bullets are better because they produce more energy. Energy is a by product of velocity, that is the speed at which the bullet travels. This crowd generally prefers a 9mm, .40 caliber or a .357.\n\nMy personal advice to you is that once the bullet gets bigger than a 9mm, One shot Stopping power exceeds 90%.  Beyond 90% Stopping power, couple more percentage advantage bigger calibar gives are really meaningless.\n\nI would say that Shot Placement - hitting a vital area - is more important than any other consideration when it comes to stopping an attack. For this reason, try out m9 and a Glcok 16 (If such thing exists) at a shooting range and choose the gun and caliber that you can shoot most effectively.  \n\nI hope this helps.
683022
Found you a very informative site that goes into all performance categories with all bullet weights\n\nThe following article assumes the reader is familiar with the new .45GAP (Glock Auto Pistol) cartridge and the Glock 37 pistol which fires it.  There isn't room in this article to lay out the background, but it shouldn't take much effort on the reader's part to get up to speed on this new cartridge and the controversy between it and the .45ACP round that the gunzines are trying to create to beef up magazine sales.\nhttp://www.outdoors.net/site/features/feature.aspx+Forum+Firearms+ArticleCode+1117\n\nHope that helps.
619329
None.  They are too obvious and make too much noise, and there's no telling where the round will stop.\nA .22 handgun is concealable, quiet and the round stops where you want it too.
801057
Bound's hubby here:\n\nThe 9mm pistol (or .380 which is a 9mm Short) fires a bullet that is .355" in diameter. The .38 Special and .357 Magnum fire a bullet that is nominally .357" to .358" in diameter.\n\nRifle cartridges that fire bullets whose diameter is close to the 9mm would include:\n.35 Remington (.358" diameter)\n.350 Remington Magnum (.358" diameter)\n.35 Whelen (.358" diameter)\nnot to mention rifles specifically chambered for either the 9mm or .38/.357 cartridges.\n\nNOTE: Most of the bullets used for the actual rifle cartridges can not be safely loaded into a 9mm or .38/.357 cartridge!\n\nMany shooters would load .358 pistol bullets in these larger rifles for very short-range, low velocity practice.
173496
Mini 14 is a good all around rifle and it being a .223 caliber, ammo won't be super expensive. The AKM, a variant of the AK47 is also a good shooter with cheap, powerful ammo. (both weapons are military caliber) 22. rifles such as the 10/22 are fun plinkers and dirt cheap to shoot. It just depends on how big of a boom you want at the range. A .357 is a dependable weapon and as the gentleman above mentioned you can shoot .38 rounds with no modification. Another route you can take is to buy a handgun such as a 1911 style .45 and get the .22 conversion kit with it so that you can shoot .22 at tin cans and still have a .45 for home protection etc. etc.