I just can't carry a little 38. Seen it used to little effect too many times. Better than nothing though.
So how many shoot outs have you seen then?
The .38 is fine. I still carry a 9mm, even though the macho types at the range and gun store want everyone to think that if it ain't a 45 then it ain't nothing. It is all about shot placement. You can have the deadliest bullet in the world and it is totally useless if you can't hit what you are aiming at or you hit someone in the arm, leg, ect.
The key word is shot placement, if you hit the CT with a 125 gr 38 + P JHP of just about any brand you are going to get results. Same goes for 9mm. I like the lighter rounds, I can pop quick follow up shots without having to look though a giant fireball and huge muzzle rise throwing my site picture off.
No matter what you use, you need to train with it, then train some more and when you have done that, train some more still. The motto is; "Train to fight, fight to live". Bad training methods have more to do with being killed in a gun fight then the caliber chosen.
After the 1986 Miami shoot out everyone was quick to dismiss the 9mm and 38 calibers as obsolete and under powered. When in reality it was poor training that had more to do with the failure than anything else. One thing that stuck out in my mind after reading the AAR from that shooting where the empty shell casings found in the pocket and in the hand of one of the agents killed. This points to a bad range habit. At a lot of police ranges and most any range you go to you have to "police" your own brass. A lot of guys who shoot wheel guns have the habit of dumping the empty brass into their hand so that they do not have to pick it up later.
Fast forward to the shooting and here is this habit popping up on the street. Now you have an agent unloading his spent brass into one hand and dropping it into his pocket mixed in with good rounds. This is a mistake that can easily get you killed. I am not saying that it did, but it points to a "software" problem and not a "hardware" issue.
Most people who have been in a shooting say that everything shuts down for them. Everything becomes muscle memory. They operate on a sort of auto pilot if you will. Things become automatic and habits of training pop up. That can be a plus or a negtive depending on luck and how well you have trained to fight for your life.
So when it comes to questing calibers I have none. I question weapon reliability, function and performance. I will leave my survival up to me to decide, not the caliber I choose. Better software, not hardware wins the day.
A great read about the 1986 Miami shoot out.
http://www.firearmstactical.com/briefs7.htm As for this tiny gun. It is neat, but there is no way that thing would ever be practical. It would make a neat piece of jewelry though..