country1

I did not say the cylinder gap of a revolver vented ALL the power of a .38 Special. I said the the cylinder gap of a revolver causes the cartridge to lose velocity. It appears you believe a revolver should have more power than a semi-auto.

You were talking how a 9x19 almost always had more velocity and power than a .38 Special. I commented that a round fired from a revolver loses velocity due to the cylinder gap. I then stated if you wanted to compare the potential of the two cartridges (for an apples to apples comparison) fire a 9x19 from a revolver and then fire a .38 Special from a revolver with the same barrel length and bullet weight. I then mentioned the info on BBTI.

It seems many do not understand what started the 9x19 fall from favor. Several LE agencies had moved to the 147 gr in the 9x19 full sized service pistols. The 147 gr was implemented for better penetration against barriers (windshield, car door, etc.) There were several incidents in LE where a perp was shot multiple times (some 10, 15 times or more) yet survived. It was discovered the 147 gr HP bullets used to obtain desired penetration had failed to expand as expected. LE was interested in high cap magazine semi-autos, but felt the 9x19 did not provide the penetration combined with results that were desired. This is what brought about the .40S&W cartridge idea. A high cap mag cartridge that had the potential to pass their penetration tests and perform on the perp as desired.

What I have be informed in the past is that for a federal agent to use a firearm, it was suppose to pass specific tests using approved ammo. It was not easy for a short barrel firearm to pass the required tests. Yes, the .38 Special was the cartridge that was 'suggested' for backup if not the standard.

You seemed to be hung up on the whole energy issue. This is why I mentioned the .45 ACP. Like I stated earlier, there are 9x19 offerings that have higher energy numbers than a .45 ACP. However, it is not just how much energy the cartridge produces but how that energy is used. Some LE agencies realize this and have moved from the .40S&W to the .45 ACP as their issued caliber. A full power standard pressure .40 S&W has more energy than a full power standard pressure .45 ACP when conventional powders are used. The .45 ACP still has better numbers for actual performance.

As to your claim that the farmers and ranchers I mentioned were using better quality ammo for their .38 Specials than the 9x19, the bullets were of the same type. Because a .38 Special is designed to be fired from a non-autoloading firearm, there is not the need to worry how it will feed in an autoloader. IMHO, the design of the .38 Special bullet is better at using its available energy than a 9x19. The 9x19 has to be designed to function well in autoloaders first and then work on performance. The .38 Special can be designed to focus on performance first if not entirely. This allows for the potential of a bullet design that is more efficient at using the available energy.