Most popular revolver caliber for carry

Most popular revolver caliber for carry use

  • .22

    Votes: 1 0.5%

  • .38spl

    Votes: 132 62.0%

  • .357mag

    Votes: 65 30.5%

  • .44mag

    Votes: 5 2.3%

  • other please specify

    Votes: 10 4.7%
  • Total voters
    213
R

rclark

New member
Mine would be .44 Special.

Don't know what the most 'popular' would be :) . That would be just guessing!
 
S

spacecoast

New member
.38 special by far. Not a suggestion, just a reality. It's kinda like asking the most popular PC operating system (not necessarily the best).
 
B

BarbieZ

New member
38 spl is my choice 8 out of 10 times, 45 when going where the threat level may be higher, now if they made a 45 in a J frame.... I'm there!
 
1

18DAI

New member
I voted 38's.

IIRC there use to be a member here who's signature was something like; "Most talk 45's, shoot 9's and carry 38's."

True that. :) Regards 18DAI
 
A

Auto426

New member
The most popular revolver caliber for carry has got to be .38 Special by far. Even if a gun is chambered for .357, most will carry some type of .38 load in it.

Likewise, the snub nosed revolver is probably the most carried type of handgun. Very few other guns can compare when it comes to a balance of size, weight, power, and reliability.
 
O

orionengnr

New member
Are you asking what the most popular is?
Or are you asking each of us what our favorite is?

"Most popular" is without a doubt the .38 SPL. Although you really don't need a poll to answer that.

From the responses you got, I think it is clear that "your favorite" might be somewhat different.

Mine is .41 Mag, followed by .45 LC, followed by .357. Two of my favorite three don't even rate a spot in your poll.
 
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E

EdInk

New member
The j-frame or simlar is the most popular ccw revolvers. The majority of those are in .38 that is your answer. Second place will be .357 with a distant third place going to .22lr.
 
J

jglsprings

New member
I'm a bit confused. Did you want what I carry?

Then this one.........

Mine would be .44spcl. NOT in a large frame .44mag revolver. In a smaller frame.
Click to expand...

This one is next...

357 shooting 38s
Click to expand...

But if I was to hazard a guess on which of the choices was the most popular I would have picked the 38.

I'm sure its already been done, but I wonder how the revolver to auto maps out.
 
W

Webleymkv

New member
since I'm not all too familiar with revolver calibers, whats the difference between a .44spl and .44 mag?
Click to expand...

They're two different cartridges. The .44 Special is a much older cartridge and is the parent of the .44 Magnum. The .44 Special was introduced by S&W in 1908 for their then-new First Model Hand Ejector New Century revolver which is affectionately known by collectors as the "Triple Lock" as a lengthened version of the older .44 Russian cartridge. The .44 Special uses an inside lubricated bullet of .429" diameter in a straight-walled, rimmed cartridge case that is 1.16" long. .44 Special has a maximum SAAMI pressure of 15,500psi and the standard loading is a 246grn bullet at 750-800fps from a 6-6 1/2" barrel though the cartridge is often loaded to higher pressures and velocities for use in certain stronger guns.

.44 Magnum, on the other hand, was introduced in 1956 in both the S&W .44 Magnum revolver (re-designated the Model 29 in 1958) and the Ruger Blackhawk the same year. The .44 Magnum can be attributed greatly to the handloading experiments of Elmer Kieth throughout the early 20th century. Using strong guns like S&W N-Frames and Colt SAA's which could handle the increased pressure, Kieth was able to achieve much higher velocity and energy than available from any factory loaded .44 Special cartridge at the time. Kieth eventually convinced S&W and Remington to collaborate and bring out a factory-produced gun and ammunition version of his handloads. In order to prevent the newer, higher pressure ammunition from being fired in guns that could not handle it, the cartridge case was lengthened to 1.285". The .44 Magnum has a maximum SAAMI pressure of 36,000psi and a standard loading will drive a 240grn bullet at 1150-1200fps from a 4" barrel.

.44 Special cartridges can be safely fired from any .44 Magnum revolver, but the reverse is not true. It is fairly common and popular practice to use .44 Special ammunition in a .44 Magnum revolver for purposes such as target practice and self-defense because the .44 Special has a great deal less recoil than the .44 Magnum does but still retains good ballistics which compare favorably to the .45 ACP. .44 Special is also chambered in smaller, five-shot revolvers such as the Charter Arms Bulldog, Taurus 431, 441, and 445 and the S&W 696, 296, and 396 which are too small to be able to handle the pressures associated with the .44 Magnum cartridge.
 
K

Kreyzhorse

New member
I'd guess by far the most popular carry cartridge is the .38 S&W Special. I'm sure that the .357 is fairly popular but I'd guess that a lot of those guns are stoked with .38s too.
 
B

bamaranger

New member
J & D frame snubs

Yeah the snubbies in .38 will win this contest.

LOTS of guys own 4" .357's double and single action. Plenty own big bore .44/.45's.

But the snubbies get carried, when the others do not or can't be.
 
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