WHY did you choose to shoot a small caliber?

[SIR WILLIAM]

Inexpensive? Less recoil = less CTS or PAIN?  You tell us why you shoot 38s or even 32s.  Myself?  I have shot 38/357 for years.  I have all the handloading gear and info I needed to start.  I went to 44-40 and my doc said; "No more forty four."

[Doc Shapiro]

Cost for one.  Second was arthritis.  Actually, that was more important.  My wrists and hands don't hurt as much since I switched to 38's.

Doc

[SIR WILLIAM]

I had a LOD injury three years ago.  I went on the street for my last day as a LEO.  I rolled to back up another officer in another lobo car.  We went 11 rounds with a 400 pound drunk.  I have been having issues with my left wrist ever since.  I simply could not handle a Ruger 44 with my left wrist anymore. 

[Cuts Crooked]

Don' know about them "toy calibers" but I went with the .45 Colt because they don' make a .65 Colt!  

[Wymore Wrangler]

I didn't reload cartridges when I started CAS so 38's were more economical to get into the game with, and besides, anyone want to tell Wild Bill Hickok that 38's were wimp loads....

[Blondetta]

 I shoot those litlle bitty .45's.  As Cuts said- cause they didn't make a .65's.  Guess, I wanted to be a cowgirl and shoot what they used.  Can't picture Annie Oakley or Calamity Jane shooting those little .38's, 32's things.

[Noah Mercy]

As you can see by my signature line, I'm an official WartHog. I love big boomers, especially prodigious BP loads with heavy bullets. My favorite hunting loads in my 44 Mag got awarded the moniker "Oh my God-loads" by my friends who witnessed me shooting them one day. Every time I touched one off, the other shooters would step back and say, Oh my God! What's he shooting?"

That being said, I have fybromyalgia, myofascial pain disorder, and arthritis (in my spine and hands) despite being only 35 years old. On bad days, I am forced to lay aside my big bores and reach for a pair of 32 Vaqueritos if I want to shoot at all. Less weight around the waist and in the hands and lighter recoil than my usual stout 45 Colt BP loads. My 32's actually have more power than the mousetoot 38's I've seen at some matches, so they're not exactly anemic...in the lighter guns they recoil like standard 38's in full size guns. The lighter weight revolvers mean less inertia, though, so it's less painful to shoot.

[Bear Rider]

Blondetta,

IIRC, Annie Oakley performed many of her shooting famous shooting feats with a .22 rifle.

For me, the choice was simple. I don't have a place right now to reload, and I can buy a box of .38s for less than $5. A box of .45s is about twice that. Even were I reloading, .38s would still be cheaper than larger calibers.

[Forty Rod]

Didn't.

Won't.

Can't.

[L.G.]

Cause at the all .22 matches you can't shoot the grown up cartridges.

[Marshal Will Wingam]

I've shot .357's forever. I just stayed with it because it was what I knew. Also my wife was getting into CAS and I wanted a caliber I could reload that would fit everything. Yeah, I have .45's too, but my ego doesn't require me to shoot 'em to prove anything. For that matter, I shoot 'em at a match now and then, but only when I feel like it.

[Winston Dawg]

  Howdy cousin,
Got small paws! That a joke for me.True for Daddy!  When Mama & him got Married, he wore size six wedding ring! Now Mama thinks it is six & quarter maybe!
So Blacat got small paws! Hugs WD

[Vin Weasel]

I shoot .38 Special mostly for economic reasons.  I don't reload as of yet, and .38's are a lot cheaper than the larger specimens.  Also, I've got fairly small paws and build, so the lower recoil is a little bit easier for me to handle in the handguns.  I should note that I don't have any SASS-legal .38 pistols yet, and I'm shooting Remington New Army .44 pistolas, so my rifle caliber isn't a big concern.  But, I plan to purchase a brace of .38's of some variety soon, and wanted my rifle to match them when I do.
Vin

[Missouri Marshal]

When I was starting out in CAS I picked .38/.357 because I already had all the equipment to reload them.  I have since aquired a pair of .45 colts and a 73 rifle in .45 that I will use occasionally but the .38s are still cheaper and shooting about 1500 rds per month adds up fast.  I do not ever load anything below 750fps so at least I am not shooting mouse farts but I have no problem with those that do.

[Tricky Trina]

I tried Missouri Marshal's .38s and they seemed a bit much for me.  I think the grips had a lot to do with it also.  I like my birdshead grip .32s he bought me - a little less recoil and total pistol weight goes a long way for me!

[J.D.Cayhill]

Because it's all good. All together I shoot 38 spl. 357, 44-40, 45 Schofield, and 45 Colt in both smokeless and black powder. Each caliber has something going for it and something going against it. Currently this brace of RM Conversions in 38 spl. are a blast to shoot. Next week it might be Schofields with 45 Schofield or SS RV's in 357.

[Singing Bear]

I normally shoot 45 Colt and 44 c&b, but whenever my trigger fingers and CTS acts up or my BP supply is low, I'll take out the Wife's 38's.

[Deadline Doug]

Arthritis, tendonitis, bursitis....and them small bullets is the only ones that fit in the little holes in my guns.

[Bottom Dealin Mike]

I usually shoot .44s and .45s, but I have a pair of lovely, custom-made Richards-Mason '51 Navy conversions in .38 Spl. I like to shoot them in a match a couple of times a year.

[Modoc]

So glad to see that there are so many partially crippled shooters out there!   Gotta chime in with the 38/357's not being as hard on the CTS and arthritis as my 44 Extra Longs (mags).  Of course as fast as I shoot, the "advantage" of the smaller caliber is a moot point .