Originally Posted by
MPN11
The .38/200 round has the distinctive characteristic of enabling you to see the black trace as it makes it's leisurely way down-range. Who ever though that was a suitable personal defence weapon?
When tested the .38/200 was assessed by the British as being the equivalent of the .455 in terms of terminal ballistics. It was introduced in the belief that recruits were unable to handle the recoil impulse of the .455 Webley and required excessive training, even though the recoil impulse of that round is lower than its contemporary the .45ACP, and quite honestly the Colt round is a pussycat to shoot in anything other than a +p loading. Concerns over the lead being too soft and therefore a potential Hague issue resulted in a lighter 178 grain jacketed bullet that was far less effective than the original.
I have always thought that giving aircrew anything other than revolvers is a bad idea. A good 3" .38 Special would be my choice, double action only with a concealed hammer. If it absolutely had to be a semi-auto I would go for a traditional DA/SA in Condition 3, with caliber of choice.