Agree, considering even small, lightweight 2" 38 Specials can accomplish this with normal power and especially +P loads. From the article:
YEP!! When I have spent time teaching another a common mistake is to buy "too much gun" and too little training. Then when they can't even stay on paper they get frustrated and its gets worse not better. Someone is better off with even a .22 or .32 they can shoot well than a cannon they can't hit anything with and are afraid to practice with. I OFTEN see people at the range put up a target and they can not stay on paper at 20ft. Its because they jumped in with some large caliber, light gun. Worst is when some guy hands something like this to a woman, you can see her flinching and missing, and guy thinks its funny. Not sure what the hell they think this could possibly help.
Before the market started offering the array of small autos we have now I use to regularly see people recommend this to those who wanted to carry. To me it always seemed "odd".
I carry a super light snubby .38 loaded with 110gr +P+ treasury loads. I'm pretty sure it doesn't make the power of a standard 9mm defensive load, let alone a 9mm +P or +P+.
Back when Detonics hit I tried a couple of them. Never could get one to work 100% They would hang up rarely but enough to make me not want to depend on them. So I finally bought a Charter 5 shot .44 with the alloy frame. It was what got me to start rolling my own as .44 sp ammo was rare and only one load was found in stores. So I rolled some nice rounds with lighter slugs in an easy to carry wheel gun. Liked it so much I had 3 of them to play with for a while. When nice compact autos started to hit that actually worked I lost interest in them and sold them off. Now and then I kind of wish I had kept at least one. Wife at that time carried an old 5 shot .38 with a 3 inch tube and alloy frame with 110gr HP's that was fairly easy to handle. I was still using a 5 shot .38 for coat pocket carry until the last girl struck out on her own and with her went the last one I had. When I went to replace it the guy at the shop was showing me a at that time fairly new KT 9mm that held 11 in the same size package. I was VERY skeptical due to the low price. He kept insisting they worked so I bought one. Still have that pistol all these years later and it still impresses me that it works so well for something so damn cheap. Now days there is so many great sub compact pistols that just work.
Yea, you'd definitely want to load your own .44 special. Even the much thought of 180gr Silvertip leaves the barrel at about 700fps. I can piss faster than that.
Back then all I could ever find was the 240gr RNL. They were expensive and lacking. I found I could easily load up stuff that would give me the same those Detonics did. Still slow but still a .45 hole so I liked them. I was using a LSW since I figured with the 3 inch tube I was not going to look for expansion. I REALLY wanted the damn little .45's to work since I have always loved the 1911 but no matter what I tried the damn little pistols would now and then fail for no apparent reason. Just enough to make me worry every time I carried one. I put up with it for a long time because I wanted the design to work so bad but finally gave up. I never have been a wheel gun guy but figured those 5 rounds that I knew would work beat wondering if the damn little .45, that cost as much as 3 of those Charter .44's, would fail right when my butt was on the line
....learned that lesson all too well many years ago. Even with lotsa practice, it still may unexpectedly wander thru the range exercise....er, so I've heard.....
Exactly, a heavy or light SWC out of a .44 Charter is the way to go, especially when loaded with non-lawyer loads. The classic RNL factory load leaves the barrel of a carry gun around 650fps or so.Back then all I could ever find was the 240gr RNL. They were expensive and lacking. I found I could easily load up stuff that would give me the same those Detonics did. Still slow but still a .45 hole so I liked them. I was using a LSW since I figured with the 3 inch tube I was not going to look for expansion. I REALLY wanted the damn little .45's to work since I have always loved the 1911 but no matter what I tried the damn little pistols would now and then fail for no apparent reason. Just enough to make me worry every time I carried one. I put up with it for a long time because I wanted the design to work so bad but finally gave up. I never have been a wheel gun guy but figured those 5 rounds that I knew would work beat wondering if the damn little .45, that cost as much as 3 of those Charter .44's, would fail right when my butt was on the line
The perfect carry .357 is the all steel "3 Model 13 because it is way heavier than any snubby, let alone the scandium ones but it's way lighter than many other normal "duty/carry" .357's.
EXACTLY what I see new hunters do, too, but with rifles.
