357 vs 44 Magnum: Same Pressure, Different Bullet
Both are loaded to almost the same pressure — 35,000 psi against 36,000. The .44’s advantage is bullet weight, not intensity. Published figures throughout.
Handgun Calibers
44 Magnum Ammo: Ballistics and Barrel Length
One 44 Magnum load runs 1,466 fps from a 4-inch revolver and 1,935 from a 20-inch carbine. Published ballistics, barrel lengths and firearm restrictions.
Read the articleHandgun Calibers
Handgun cartridges compared on pressure, bullet diameter and published velocity, with the SAAMI figure and the test barrel named for every number on the page.
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38 Special vs 9mm: Nearly the Same Bullet, Double the Pressure
The bullets are two thousandths of an inch apart. The pressure ceilings are more than double. One maker’s line loaded in both settles the energy question.
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38 Special vs 357 Magnum: Same Bullet, Twice the Pressure
Identical bullet, identical rim, 0.135 inches of case length apart — and one is loaded to twice the pressure. Why the interchangeability runs one way.
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10mm vs 45 ACP: 37,500 psi Against 21,000
Same test barrel, same rifling, nearly double the pressure. Federal’s HST in both is 567 ft-lb against 404 — and the 10mm spans 600 fps across the catalog.
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9mm vs 40 S&W: Same Pressure, Different Bullet
Both are loaded to 35,000 psi and tested in the same 4-inch barrel. Hornady publishes both at 1,010 fps — which makes the comparison unusually clean.
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9mm vs 45 ACP: The Two FBI Papers Everyone Cites Disagree With Each Other
Buy the 9mm — more rounds, far less recoil, cheaper practice. But the popular reason why is a misreading of the document everyone cites, and the FBI’s own earlier paper says the opposite. We quote both, because they disagree.
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380 vs 9mm: The Comparison Is Rigged Before Anyone Writes a Word
9mm wins on the numbers — 1.63 times the pressure ceiling, roughly 1.8 times the energy once barrel length is controlled. But the comparison is measured dishonestly at the source, including by SAAMI and by the ammunition makers, and almost nobody says so.
