[bosco24]

Actualy the 9mm and 38 special shoot the same caliber round. the .38 just has alot more powder (velocity) behind it. Same with the 357 mag. More powder than the .38 but same caliber round.

You can think of the 9mm, .38 special, and 357 mag as the .22 short, .22 long, and .22 long rifle of their caliber.

[yarddog]

Actually the typical 9mm loading is hotter than the typical .38 special. There used to be a .38 special load which was really hot but it was restricted to only a couple of .38 revolvers.

[Yo-Yo]

Actualy the 9mm and 38 special shoot the same caliber round. the .38 just has alot more powder (velocity) behind it.

Ballistics 101: 9mm vs .38 Special

(Spoiler alert: 9mm has almost double the muzzle energy of the .38 Special. The .38 Special cartridge is much longer because it was first designed to use black power. 9mm was designed from the start to use smokless powder.)

[Oztrich Boy]

Actualy the 9mm and 38 special shoot the same caliber round. the .38 just has alot more powder (velocity) behind it.

Other way round. The .38Sp has c.200lbf ME, the 9mm para has double that.

[Goldsborough]

Actualy the 9mm and 38 special shoot the same caliber round. the .38 just has alot more powder (velocity) behind it. Same with the 357 mag. More powder than the .38 but same caliber round.

That's a huge misconception. The 9mm was developed in the era of smokeless powder and as such it fires at a much higher pressure than does the .38 Special, which was developed from a black powder cartridge round.

The .38 Special cartridge generates 17,000 psi. The typical 9mm puts out 35,000 psi. A 9mm+p generates 38,500. A 357 Magnum also generates 35,000, but by not being dependent upon its bullet shape or weight range to feed the next round without jamming, has developed a better reputation as a man stopper since it can throw a wider variety of projectiles down range. Also, the .357 Mag, with its long case and revolvers all developed in the era of smokeless powder, can be loaded "hotter" with slower burning powders that generate more speed for the projectile than the fast burning powders used in the relatively short 9mm case can achieve.

The real hierarchy is .38 Special>>>>>>9mm>>9mm+p>>9mm+p+>>>.357 Magnum.