I would go with a 6 inch barrel; longer burn time on the powder will give you more power. It’s also a bit heaver so it will not kick as bad. And if you ever decide to sell it, 6 inch barrel guns sell for more then 4 inch ones.

Also they don’t make 7 or 8 shot 38 cal cylinders, only 6 shot and smaller.

The burn time of powder has nothing at all to do with the length of the barrel of the gun, but rather the amount and type of powder in the case.(ball, flake, etc) Ideally, the "all burnt" point of the propellant is achieved prior to the bullet exiting the muzzle. In short barreled weapons, any unburnt powder still remaining after the bullet exits results in excessive muzzle flash. A 6 inch barrel offers greater accuracy due to the extra rifling inside, causing more spin to the projectile. If recoil is a concern (it shouldn't be with anything under a .357) consider getting the barrel ported.

The Colt Mustang Plus II (a 380 with an extended grip and extended magazine) holds seven rounds. A standard Colt Mustang only holds six. I don't know about other brands. Are there 380's with double stacked magazines like you see on many 9mm guns, or possibly larger 380's that hold more rounds? I always associated 380's with "small in size". Easy to carry, but limited in both firepower and stopping power.

<whoooosh> goes the fire extinguisher <grin>

See, that's why this thread is getting so long - it's about firearms.

I will agree to disagree with you for this situation. I own single and double barrel shotguns, pump shotguns, and self-loading shotguns, for whatever that is worth.

I honestly do not recall ever seeing a pump gun jam, though it surely must be possible and no doubt someone here has had such an experience. Perhaps more likely with a cheapo that uses a single action bar? Mechanical things can fail. I have a side-by-side that has to be fixed once in a while - when it fires both barrels at once. Seen that happen with 4 other double barrels over the years - two elderly US side-by-sides, one expensive Japanese stack barrel, and one really nice Berreta stack barrel.

Anyway, it appears he may choose either, as both CBC and Boito make pumps and at least Boito makes a double barrel.

Actually, I own one of those doubles (Boito), re-branded for US market. I have some opinions about it, but it's one of only two I have ever seen or fired, and I've put only 2+ cases of ammo thru it (one case of factory ammo and the rest reloads) so my sample size is too small to draw meaningful conclusions.

<salute> from one soldier to another.

Tom

US Army (Retired), amongst other things.

Actually, Taurus does make at least one 38 Spl model with a 7 round cylinder, although it's a 2" snubbie. That was just a quick glance; there may be others (I skipped over the 357 guns)

In the FWIW/useless facts category: Semi-auto barrel length is measured from the breech face to the muzzle - it includes the chamber. Revolver barrel length is from forcing cone to muzzle - does not include the chamber. Even allowing for the barrel-cylinder gap (which is not really as big a gas loser as some seem to think), in a 38 spl class revolver, add about an inch to the barrel length to compare to a similar semi for effective barrel length and about 1 1/2 inches to the barrel length for effective sight radius.

In any event, the 4" - 6" revolver barrel length range is very useful and not any practical difference in velocity, so... whatever trips his trigger (or yours) - that range works well.

Regards,

Tom

+1 on the .38 revolver/12 ga pump bandwagon.

The only meaningful thing I can hope to add (so far everyone's advice has been excellent) is that addition to the racking of the slide, the barrel of a 12 ga is pretty intimidating in and of itself.

Also, realize that a gun is useless if you don't know how to use it (train with your tool), is useless if it isn't handy (make it accessible to you), and deadly to YOU if you don't secure it properly (take proper precautions to secure your weapons so if you walk in on a burglary in progress the criminals aren't armed with YOUR weapons).

My knee-jerk was to disagree with your statement, but... turns out that it depends. Considering that both are the same diameter for all practical purposes:

Most 380 ammo runs around 200 ft-lbs me, with the hottest stuff around 220 ft-lbs me.

38 Special ammo is available (in the USA, NA) in a huge array of loads ranging from 130 ft-lbs to over 380 ft-lbs. The rough average, at a glance, is around 250 ft-lbs -- the old standard police loads (158gr LRN) mostly run a bit over that - say 280 ft-lbs, IIRC.

Math is left as an exercise to the reader, but in general a 7+1 shot 380 adds up to more or less the same as 6 shot 38. I can stack the deck in favor of the 38 by using the "good" stuff, but it's not all that much.

Depends on what ammo he can readily get. I would greatly prefer standard or better 38 over FMJ 380, but I am guessing based on experiences with other calibers.

I have nothing against 380. Many years ago, gave DW a Llama 380 (like a Colt clone). It shot great and never had any problem with it. Except... she didn't like it for several reasons, even though she shot it well. She picked out the replacement and has been very happy with it. A lightweight 4" 44 Spl 5 shot revolver with adjustable sights. I find it nasty to shoot with defensive loads, but she likes it, is good with it, and that makes it pretty effective in my book.

Wish I had kept that 380. Even though I can get a 9mm x 19 in that size package nowadays.

Regards,

Tom

One other thing to consider in the revolver vs. semi-auto debate. I think many, if not most, people agree that handguns should be loaded with hollowpoints to be effective. Roundnose is not a good choice for defensive purposes, with the possible (debatable) exception of the larger calibers (45ACP, 44Special, 44Magnum). Revolvers don't really care what kind of ammo you feed them, but semi-autos can be quite sensitive to non-roundnose ammo. You need to do a bunch of shooting with your specific semi-auto and hollowpoint ammo choice to make sure the combination feeds reliably. A gunsmith can improve feed reliability, but it's still something you need to be aware of in semi-autos with hollowpoints.

Last weekend :p

For those who need a reliable hollow point for stopping power, but need a round nose bullet for feeding reliability go for powerball ammo.....it is essentially a hollow point bullet with a plastic ball in the cavity giving it a smooth, roundnose profile. FWIW me and all of my friends, yes all of us, have also had ZERO feed issues using remmington golden sabres. It also is one of the premium hollow points with excellent "stopping" power and good reliable expansion. Fabio, you may have problems getting good hollow point ammo over there seeing as how ammo is a concern. I would humbly suggest getting a bullet with a soft lead nose, they mushroom better than full metal jacketed ammo resulting in better "stopping" power.

-Bill Liptak