About 8 or 9 years ago I was doing some chronographing and playing around with different options. I'm missing some data, but test vehicles were: a S&W 360 1 7/8" (.357), S&W 360 3" (.357), Rossi 462 2" (.357), a S&W 637 (.38), and a Kahr P9 (9mm), I got the following readings.
I wanted a comfortable shooting load for just
playing around with my scandium .357s so I experimented down until it was fun and, using lead bullets out of them got...
125 grain RNFP and 4.0 grains of Unique, 2" 560 fps
125 grain RNFP and 4.0 grains of Unique, 3" 705 fps
148 grain DEWC and 4.0 grains of Unique, 2" 638 fps
148 grain DEWC and 4.0 grains of Unique, 3" 715 fps
And using
factory loads (didn't note exact load) in my Kahr P9, Rossi, and S&W 360 got...
.38 special Winchester
125 grain JHP, 2" 860 fps
9mm Federal
115 grain FMC, 3" 1050 fps
.357 magnum Remington
125 grain JSP, 1 7/8" 1100 fps
Subjectively, and using factory loads, the revolvers had some annoying blast, mostly the barrel/cylinder gap even when using .38's, whereas the 9mm was pretty pleasant. The full-power .357 out of the Rossi... well, I'd hate to have to shoot it at night with no hearing protection in close quarters, but in the scandium guns, the recoil was unreal! (I still regret selling them though.)
I'd always been a revolver guy, but when I objectively looked at the almost 200 fps edge the 9mm got over the .38, albeit with 115 grains vs 125 grains, with seemingly less recoil, while holding a couple more rounds in a flatter package with an easier reload available (swap magazines)... for me, the 9mm made more sense.
Don't get me wrong, I still get nostalgic over snubby revolvers, both in 2 and 3" barrels, and could easily see myself carrying one, but only in a lightweight package. I just can't see the practicality of concealed carrying a 6 shot revolver that weighs in the mid-20 ounce range. If it floats your boat, I'm all for it. Now as a trail gun on the other hand..
