38 Special vs. 9mm: Is It Even Worth Debating?

Thanks to their bullets, the 9mm Luger and 38 Special might seem similar to new shooters, but the two rounds have differing capabilities. The 9mm is often the best choice for self-defense for several reasons, which we shall discuss in our 38 Special vs. 9mm battle below.

Let’s get started!

38 Special vs. 9mm

The 38 Special was designed for use in revolvers over 100 years ago. It’s still a favorite of many shooters for various shooting applications.

I’ve fired my grandpa’s 38 Spl snub-nosed revolver many times at the range. I always found it very enjoyable, and preferable to his 357 Magnum revolver.

The 9x19mm Parabellum (aka 9x19mm NATO, 9mm Luger, or 9mm) was also designed over 100 years ago by Georg Luger. However, it didn’t take off in the U.S. until the 1980s and 1990s, when reliable semi-automatic pistols used by law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI, were developed.

I own multiple 9mm handguns. One is a revolver that uses moon clips. The rest are semi-auto pistols, any of which I would trust for personal protection and home defense.

After briefly comparing the cartridges’ specifications, we will see how these rounds fare in terms of recoil, trajectory, accuracy, stopping power, and several other factors. Upon tallying the winners in each section, we’ll decide which is best for your situation.

Cartridge Specs: 38 Special vs. 9mm

The 38 Spl and the 9mm appear to have similar characteristics to the untrained eye. As you can see from the chart, however, they have a few key identifying factors to distinguish the two. One giveaway for the 9mm cartridge is that it’s rimless, which helps it cycle better through semi-auto handguns. This also means you need moon clips to use it in a revolver.

The two most significant differences between these cartridges are the case length and maximum pressure. The 38 Spl’s case is 0.401” longer than the 9mm’s and has a larger capacity by 10.1 grains. However, 9mm rounds have double the maximum pressure of 38 Special rounds according to SAAMI specs.

These rounds also have similar bullet weights. The most common for a 9mm is a 115 grain bullet, but it generally ranges from 53 grains to 165 grains. The 38 Special typically ranges from 90 to 158 grains, with 158 grains being one of the most popular bullet weights.

Since both of these cartridges were designed for handguns, one might assume they perform identically in the real world. Let’s find out if that assumption is correct.

Recoil

Recoil is always a touchy topic because it’s never equal when comparing two cartridges. Recoil is determined by many factors, including the firearm’s weight, bullet weight, and muzzle velocity.

A snub-nose revolver will typically have more felt recoil than a semi-auto pistol because snubbies don’t have all the recoil-absorbing mechanisms that semi-auto pistols typically do, such as the spring and slide, which help to “absorb” some of the felt recoil.

All things considered as equal as possible, the 38 Special will have less recoil than the 9mm because of its lower pressure (therefore lower velocity). You can expect 2.6 to 3 pounds of felt recoil from the 38 Spl, whereas the 9mm has 4 to 8 pounds of recoil.

The 38 Special is off to a great start. But can it maintain its lead?

Trajectory

If you’re using these cartridges for concealed carry, you won’t notice enough difference in their trajectory to affect your choice since most self-defense situations happen within 25 yards. However, it’s important to remember that barrel length significantly contributes to trajectory. When firing the same round, a short barrel will produce a worse trajectory than a longer one.

Bullet design also plays a significant role in trajectory, although it’s less evident at short ranges than when shooting long range. But for the sake of the argument, the 9mm will generally have a slightly flatter trajectory than the 38 Spl due to the higher velocities of its similarly weighted projectiles.

Continue reading 38 Special vs. 9mm: Is It Even Worth Debating? on Ammo.com

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wow you guys picked a rough looking gun for the photo, must be trying to push people towards the 9mm with subliminal messages :grin:

image

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9mm has better ammo options other than that I like them equally. The fact that you can use .357 mag and .38 in the same gun is cool though. Wonder 9s sort of rule the roost for platform and aftermarket options though. I prefer the .38 slightly probably just because I am getting old (not really)

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That is an interesting choice of photo, no denying it. Maybe our web designer recovered it while scuba diving in the East River.

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All other arguments aside, I too prefer the superior reliability of a revolver. There’s just something trustier about a cylinder.

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I like both cartridges!

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This “comparison” was cheating.

The cartridges compared were the 9X21 vs the .38 Special. That is not the fair comparison. There are darn few real 0X21’s around. It’s a bit like comparing a .38 Spl to a .38 Super. Both are .38’s but the Super is a LOT faster, has higher pressure SAMMI specs, can be overloaded to shoot basically .357 Mag ballistics and so uses a compensator FAR MORE EFFICIENTLY. 9mm is not in that league. You have to step up to Brian Enos’ creation 9mm JLE (or Just Long Enough) to circumvent the IPSC restrictions (now they’ve wimped out and lowered the ballistic requirement to make major so 9’s can be included). Enos’ 9mm JLE was a 9X21 case.

If you think that 2 mm isn’t improtant, consider the different ballistics between 9X19 and 9X17 or 9m Sturm (or in America .380 ACP). THOSE TWO cartridges are not considered “equal” and neither should this comparison be.

The .38 Long Colt case is also not a fair comparison, as the .38 Spl developed FROM the inadequacies of the .38 Long Colt, a fairly weak round. .38 Spl today can be had in +P and +P+ loadings, a whole lot different from the run-of-the-mill .38 Spl one finds on shelves.

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I shot a CZ in 9x21 in uspsa for a couple of years.
Just got tired of reloading EVERY round i shot.

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not quite
if it is chambered in .357 yes but if it is chambered in .38 special then only .38 special.

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Fair point

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Unless revolvers is your thing then 9mm is the only way to go.

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LOL, that is a raggedy ass gun, i found one almost as good magnet fishing. except mine was a lot older.

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You got that from the parent case image?

image

Or was there more I missed?

Whether ammo.com has fun with readers or readers have fun with ammo.com there always seems to be some fun’n going on :hugs:

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The 7.62 x 21mm was the parent case for the 9 x 19 mm. The SAAMI figures were correct for the 9 x 19mm.

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Hmm. I thought the parent case was 7.65X25. it was the cartridge used in the Borchardt pistol. It was one reason that puppy had that big spring box on the back. George Luger cut it down to 7.65X19 so it would fit into a mag that the grip held, a la 1911 & 1906 Colts (Browning designs). George was assistant engineer to Borchardt when he developed his pistol and tried to sell it to the Swiss and Germans. They both rejected it, and Borchardt went back to America ticked off. George then took some of the principles of the C-93 and created the Luger pistol, initially with a cut down version of the Borchardt cartridge.The military then asked for a more powerful cartridge so George invented the 9mm Parabellum, or what we know today as the 9X19. At least that’s how I know the story. My Luger is the 7.65 version that Germany made after WWI, mostly for export. Their industry had been totally trashed so they needed foreign currency and got it through exports - like Lugers.

I just looked it up. It WAS 7.65X25.

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Generations. The 7.65 x 25mm was the father to the 7.62 x21mm that sired the 9 x 19mm. “Parent” only refers to one generation. Not the base ancestry.

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Or this

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Cool but not size practical IMO

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I looked at one of them desert eagles at the gun show saturday, don’t even know what caliber it was. picked it up and thought, good lord This thing would make a great trotline weight.

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Fine then this

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