Recoil Comparison...

If you really want a good "scientific" factor for determining recoil look at the ft/lbs of energy at muzzle velocity when comparing two types of ammunition.

Recoil is affected by two factors: mass of projectile (or ejecta) and velocity of projectile (or ejecta). PERIOD. Now that being said the floodgates will open telling us that brand "x" kicks harder than brand "y" and so on.

Felt recoil is another subject alltogether. The overall mass of the gun, along with the fit and balance of the gun, action of the gun (revolver vs semi auto) burn rate of the powder, addition of compensators, squishy grips, recoil pads, etc all affect "felt" recoil.

I have a Glock 19 that doesn't kick very hard at all. My brother has a Kimber 1911 that seems to kick even less. Math tells me that the .45 produces more recoil and should "kick" harder but the added mass of the full sized Kimber "soaks" up a lot of the extra bounce.

To answer your question yes the .45 (typically)produces more recoil than a .38 Special but you're going to have to try both to see for yourself which "kicks" harder for you. Neither are what I would consider punishing rounds and both are very managable. If you try a .38 with a two inch snub barrel compared to a full sized .45 in a 1911 frame you'll swear that the .38 kicks harder. If you compare a subcompact .45 auto (like a Glock 36) to a Colt Python shooting .38 specials you'll swear on a stack of Bibles that the .45 kicks ten times harder than a .38.

lilfeucht23 said:

How does the recoil of a .38 special compare to a .45 ACP? Is there a lot more recoil to the .45 over the .38?

Click to expand...

Recoil is very much subjective, the particular firearm, barrel length. grips and the experience of the shooter are all important, for instance I find the 10 mm auto round a jarring (damn near rattled out my filing)s)
in the Colt Delta elite and yet my former Glock 10 mm was
entirely controllable fairly comfortable experience even with the
hottest hand loads and the Norma solids loading.

In a light, short barreled revolver some of the 158 gr. loads
can get definitely your attention, in my 6" S&W L frame .357
the hottest +P+ .38 loads are fairly mellow.

I'd recommend starting out with a decent quality 4" .357
revolver S&W, Ruger or Taurus, the .38 mid range wad cutter
target loads are extremely mellow and very economical
and with a serious tactical load like the .357 Federal hydra-shock are entirely controllable and pretty much the standard of comparison for handgun effectiveness.
You can also load up with shot loads for stream fishing
where there are Water moccasins.

The above is versatile in the extreme

Remember handgun stopping power is in actuality pure unadulterated bullshit, it's entirely a matter of shot placement

If you're looking for stopping power, you're looking at a shotgun, or better yet an M 79 40 mm Flechette round ;-)

I believe the late great Bill Jordon once said " a solid hit from a .22 is a good bit more convincing than a loud miss with a .44 Mag "

.22's will definitely do the job and with the ability to buy a brick of .500 .22's for $15 will definitely encourage getting the practice and experience actually needed to be a serious Pistolero instead of a Willie Whippin Couch Commando.

Kind regards J. T. Hut

I am a relative newbie in the pistol world. I currently only own a S&W 1975 vintage K22.

I did, however get the opertunity to shoot an alloy framed with titanium cylinder S&W .357 with about a 2" barrel. I believe it was the 340PD revolver. It had 38+P loads in it. Even with the rubber grips, it was difficult to hang on to and after 5 rounds, I was more then ready to give it back to the owner. I have also hand the pleasure of shooting varous other full sized .357 revolvers as well as someone's 1911 .45ACP.

The owner of that tiny .357 was a woman who stood about 5' tall and had been previously assulted. She was determined to never let that happen again. From watching her practice with it, I certainly pity the next person to try! :twisted:

If I had to choose right now for a CCW, I wouldn't hesitate on that little Smith. It would take a bit of practice, but it would be difficult to beat for size and weight to carry around all the time.

If its for HDW or just plain higher volume range shooting, I'd most likely go with a 6" barrelled .357 DA of some sort. I've learned from shooting my K22 (at bowling pins) that I can shoot 6 shots from a wheel gun just as fast as (or faster) than many people can shoot an auto loader.