# another barrel length thread



## mercury (Dec 5, 2012)

How would you rate the difference in performance of a 9mm revolver out of 2", 4", and 6" barrels?

If you were to carry a 2" to 2.5" revolver, how would a 9mm perform? How about compared to a .38?


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## Bob Wright (May 10, 2006)

Perfromance? In what way?

The 9mm is an auto pistol cartridge, and as such is in its own field in such a firearm. Its a hot cartridge but loaded with a fairly light weight bullets, going, as I recall with a 124 gr. FMJ bullet, often with a 115 gr. bullet.

The .38 Special, on the other hand has a much less impressive muzzle velocity, but usually is loaded with bullets of 140 ~ 158 gr. in weight. And usually with a lead bullet of JHP.

If you're asking for a defensive round, I'd go with the .38 Special with a lead Semi-Wadcutter bullet.

All of the foregoing regardless of barrel length. The powders used for the 9mm aren't going to be affected too much by length, and some .38 Specials are specificially loaded for the shorter barrels.

Between the two, I'd go with the .38 Special, hands down, regardless of barel length.

Bob Wright


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## mercury (Dec 5, 2012)

I saw the .357/.38 Blackhawk has an interchangeable cylinder for 9mm, and I wondered how the 9mm would perform in that revolver with the 4" and 6" barrel lengths, compared to the .38 (I know there's no comparison to .357!) 

No special reason; just curious. I don't see myself using it for SD, for mainly for plinking and varmint shooting.

I see snub-nose revolvers (2") chambered for 9mm, and I wondered if there was any performance reasons why it would be chosen over a .38. I can see the cylinder and gun could be shorter and therefore lighter compared to .38....

Why 9mm in revolver? Because I have three 9's. Thought a revolver would be easier for my wife to shoot, since the slide is hard for her to pull back.


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## 1911crazy (Jul 16, 2015)

I'd go with the Blackhawk convertible in 357/38 & 9mm this is on my want list too.


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## OldManMontgomery (Nov 2, 2013)

Mercury, Mr. Wright did an excellent job of explaining most of the factors of your question. He did leave one thing out.

The 9x19 cartridge operates at about 35,000 psi while the .38 Special (normal range) is about 15,000 and the +p around 20,000 psi. Therefore, with the same bullet weight and the same length of barrel (and about the same loss in pressure due to blow-by and chamber gap loss) the 9x19 will be faster. For the same reasons, the muzzle blast will be more uncomfortable and the muzzle flash more pronounced. 

How much more? I dunno. I am not aware of any calculation to compare one with the other. 

The higher operating pressure also means the 9x19 round will be harder on the gun. The operating pressure of the 9x19 is close to that of the 9x23R; or as it is commonly known, the .357 Magnum. Essentially, a revolver (or semi-auto or single shot) that is made to handle the pressure of the 9x19 cartridge must also handle a .357 Magnum round. Except of course, one cannot load a 158 grain anything bullet into a 9x19 case with satisfactory results. 

The smaller case capacity of the 9x19 cartridge also rules out using slower powders in greater quantities (like the .357 Magnum). So your powder choices are limited to fast and medium burning pistol powers; this in turn makes the recoil impulse sharper and harder on the mechanism. Makes the recoil feel sharper as well.

I'm with Mr. Wright. I'd stick with a .38 Special with heavy bullets and moderate loads of slow powder.

I'll point out the Ruger Blackhawk convertible as noted is a good rig, but a bit big for a concealed carry sidearm.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

mercury said:


> ...Why 9mm in revolver?...Thought *a revolver would be easier for my wife to shoot*, since the slide is hard for her to pull back. [emphasis added]


My wife, Jean, is a good pistol shot. She has, at her disposal, several different pistols, among which are two .38 Special, short-barrel revolvers and a very compact .380 ACP semi-auto.

She decided against the two short-barrel revolvers because their recoil tends to twist either gun in her hands. This seems to be a normal component of small-revolver recoil.
The "twist" not only makes recoil recovery more difficult than necessary, but, of course, also makes these guns somewhat painful to shoot during practice sessions. They began to promote a flinch in someone who was, otherwise, quite good with pistols.

Instead, Jean counter-intuitively chose to use the very small .380 ACP semi-auto. Its recoil, in the hands of a practiced pistol shooter, was a strictly straight-back affair, which remains easier for her to handle effectively and comfortably.
She has great difficulty racking its slide, but there are strategies that she employs that make the job acceptable. Click on: Rack the Slide | Cornered Cat

_I am not advising your wife to shoot a small .380 semi-auto._ Such weapons are experts' guns, not suitable at all for a beginning shooter.
Instead, what I'm suggesting is that _a short-barrel revolver is a very bad choice_, for a new, female shooter.

A better choice, I suggest, is that she learn to shoot well using the heaviest of your 9mm semi-auto pistols (to reduce recoil), and that she follow the instructions in the website to which I've referred you, which will teach her how to rack a pistol's slide with reasonable ease and comfort.
Another possibility might be for her to learn to shoot using a .38 Special (or 9mm) revolver with a fairly heavy, 4"-long barrel. Such a pistol will not "twist" appreciably, given good shooting instruction.

Once she has developed some proficiency, then you might well let her try a few different guns, and let her choose her own from among them. There are stores and ranges which rent time on various pistols, and she would best try as many of them as she can.


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