I carry a 38spl Taurus Mdl 85 as backup to a glock 23. It also works when I can't carry the Glock.
I load it with Federal +p 158gr Gold Dots semiwadcutter hollow points with the Nyclad coating. Didn't see this load in the table, but would think it would be closer to the magic 50.
The snubby fills a special niche. In very close quarters, the snubby can be jammed into an adversary's torso, delivering a devastating wound, literally pumping clothing, powder, etc. into a torso. Automatics are not suited for this maneuver, since they could be pushed out of battery.
Visit the range, try em out, carry as much gun as you can.
For about the same amount of money and a lot more stopping power why not go with a .45 ACP such as a Springfield XD 45 or maybe a Glock Model 21? You don’t want to have to depend on a smaller piece of lead when it really counts. Not only does the .45 make bigger holes, it also hits like Mark McGuire with a baseball bat. It’s hard for the bad guy to shoot back even if he’s not quite out yet when he’s been knocked backwards and is completely dissoriented by the impact. If you hit him in the torso he’s most likely going to be knocked completely of his feet by the .45. Smaller faster rounds can go right through and not do a whole lot of immediate dammage. Even though he might be dead he might not know it yet with the smaller faster round.
For about the same amount of money and a lot more stopping power why not go with a .45 ACP such as a Springfield XD 45 or maybe a Glock Model 21? You don’t want to have to depend on a smaller piece of lead when it really counts. Not only does the .45 make bigger holes, it also hits like Mark McGuire with a baseball bat. It’s hard for the bad guy to shoot back even if he’s not quite out yet when he’s been knocked backwards and is completely dissoriented by the impact. If you hit him in the torso he’s most likely going to be knocked completely of his feet by the .45. Smaller faster rounds can go right through and not do a whole lot of immediate dammage. Even though he might be dead he might not know it yet with the smaller faster round. Of course none of this matters if you can’t shoot and it would probably be good to shoot first.
NOW you’re using your head.