A P-38 as a CCW gun?

[Adam Helmer]

I did a swap of surplus gear and and ended up with a P-38 dated "1945" that shoots WW 115 grain Silvertips to point of aim at 25 yards. The gun is a WWII capture arm and shoots very tight groups and it appears new. While I like the Colt M1911, this P-38 has become my CCW gun. Does anyone else have a P-38 as their CCW arm?

Adam

[gregarat]

Why did you decide to carry the P38? If I had a real nice vintage gun like that, I would be afraid of damaging it. If I were to use it as a carry piece. Especaly if it was a tack driver.

[Adam Helmer]

gregarat,

I have a few other earlier dated P-38s, so taking the "1945" with me in the truck seemed like a good idea. I do carry the M1911 now and then and also a M65 S&W.

Adam

[gregarat]

I see now.

I'm thinking of carrying my 1911 when cold weather hits (hopefully Springfield will do a good job fixing it up). A 1911 will be more easy to conceal, pulse a .45 will do a better job of getting good penetration through winter jackets. My other carry is a Rossi snubby. Not quite like your old FBI special. My main carry is a G19 No night sights, just the Harries technique for me.

You do have nice taste in handguns.

[Jack]

I've worked with a few P-38's, but never carried one for CCW.
If I carry a 9, it's likely to be my Browning P-35- also a WW2 pistol.
The P-38 is a really nice design- I believe the first double action service pistol.
The P-38's I've handloaded for have shot rather well, although they sometimes bobbled with HP or soft point ammo.

[gold40]

The P-38 is surely an acceptable CCW weapon.

The design is 67 years old, and there are newer/better variations. Most of our current law enforcement guns were derived from this first double-action 9mm. The newer guns have bigger magazines, better triggers, and a different balance - but are not necessarily any BETTER!

The WWII guns are sought by collectors if in excellent condition, but the average ones with worn finish are just shooters. There are also a bunch of 1960's aluminum-framed variants, usually marked P-1. Its pretty much the same gun, but less pricey.

I would feel well protected with a good P-38.

[Adam Helmer]

gold40,

Good post. I have several P-38s and like the design and handling of the pistol. My few problems with my pistols were isolated to two magazines that I tossed out. My P-38s like an assortment of loads I tried out on the backyard bench.

Adam

[Mr. 16 gauge]

I can think of a couple of reasons why a P-38 would not be a desirable carry gun. A.) the front sight and hammer are such that they could concievably snag on clothing during a draw. B) the magazine requires two hands to remove by the nature of its design. One would have to lower the pistol and fiddle with it in order to replace a mag. Other than that, have at it...........

[Adam Helmer]

Mr. 16 gauge,

Points well taken about the P-38. I do not carry a P-38 in a trench coat or jacket pocket, so I do not have a problem with snagging. My Colt M1911 also requires two hands to change magazines: strong hand holds the Colt while strong thumb presses the mag catch and weak hand feeds in the new mag. I do the P-38 by holding the grip in my strong hand and pressing the mag catch with the weak hand thumb and inserting the new mag. I hope I keep my "fiddling" to a minimum and after 8 rounds of Silvertips, I may not need the second mag. LOL.

Adam

[Mr. 16 gauge]

Adam;
I usually carry concealed under a large T-shirt or Sweatshirt, and even the standard hammer on a 1911 snags from time to time. I would also imagine that finding a good holster for concealed carry with a P-38 might be a bit of a problem as well, unless one was willing to go with a custom holster maker or use one of the many "one-size-fits-all" type of holsters on the market (which usually don't fit anything very well )
As far as reloading the magazine well of a P-38 while keeping the sights on the target, your a better man than me....you'll have to show me that trick some day.
As far as the silvertips go, my P-38 fed those without a hiccup as well, and several other HPs to boot.....the only ones I remember it having trouble with were some 100 grain S&W HPs that I bought at a gun show (shows you how old I am!)....I think the bullets were loaded too short for this particular gun.
Take care...........

[gold40]

In my opinion, the business about a civilian CCW replacing magazines in a gunfight is way overdone and unrealistic.

Most CCW shootings involve 1 or 2 shots; supposedly the average is 2.1 shots, including LEO's.

It hard to imagine using nine 9mm slugs, and then needing more. I haven't been able to find a single published incident of a CCW holder running out of ammo in a real confrontation. There was one Texas situation where the bad guy had a Kevlar vest, but more ammo wouldn't have made a difference.

For most of us civilians, a P-38 would be just fine!

[Lycanthrope]

If you shoot it well, carry it. Your comfort level with the weapon will matter more than any possibility of snagging on clothing.

The 9mm actually penetrates better than a .45 through winter clothing due to smaller frontal area.

[Adam Helmer]

Lycanthrope,

All savvy agents put a few "Ball" rounds on top of the 15-round stack in the magazine for "guaranteed" penetration of winter clothes, doors and other obstacles on the way to get the Bad Guys.

Adam

[Lycanthrope]

Savvy? Who is to say what round you need first?

[Adam Helmer]

Lycanthrope,

If one applies the "Double Tap" properly, one will give the bad guy one of each round: a JHP round and a Ball round. I always carried a magazline loaded alternately Ball and JHP and figued the bad guy can keep "score." Savvy?

Adam