380 vs 9mm question

[Dentite]

I agree with what others have said.

Factors influencing felt recoil:

Weight of the gun
Length and width of the grip
Length of the barrel
Bore axis
Design of the action - a locked breech will have less felt recoil than a blowback
Presence or absence of sharp edges on the frame, design and material of the grips, etc.

My own experience is that the .380 Beretta 84 with it's blowback action and alloy frame has just as much felt recoil as a 9mm BHP with all steel constuction.

 

[Hunter2011]

Will she EDC it or is it just for protection in and around the house? If she will not be carrying it then I suggest a large and heavy 9mmP. It will kick less than a small and light 380 auto and she will be more accurate with it. The last part is very important. Just make sure the ergonomics of the bigger pistol fits her.
I've seen small girls shoot .357 Magnum revolvers with ease. Just because the revolver was big and heavy. The .357 has got a lot of power and would have kicked like a mule if shot out of something like a LCP, but is very manageable in a heavy platform.

 

[M1key]

For self defense, your wife should shoot the most powerful round she can effectively handle.

M

 

[horsemen61]

Also she might want to go to the www.corneredcat.com some good info there

 

[wmtrp]

I would suggest going to a range that rents guns and try shooting a 380 and a 9mm. Your wife can decide for her self which one she likes. After all she is the one that has to carry it.

 

[labhound]

My wife has a Beretta Cheetah model 85FS .380 which fits her hand perfectly. She says to her the recoil of her Cheetah is less than my Beretta 92FS 9mm. A lot of things contribute to felt recoil other than caliber of the round.

 

[Tomac]

My wife has a Kahr P380 for CCW. The slide is stiff (as is recoil) but she can manage.
However, her nightstand/range gun is a SIG P250sc .380. The trigger is DAO (like the Kahr, the slide is very easy to rack and the recoil is downright mild.
Tomac

 

[ku4hx]

I would suggest going to a range that rents guns and try shooting a 380 and a 9mm. Your wife can decide for her self which one she likes. After all she is the one that has to carry it.

+1 ... Shoot many; buy one. Make her part of the process and let it be her decision.

 

[smkummer]

Does it have to be a semi auto?

While the Colt govt. feels really good to me, I don't own one right now but would prefer the alloy frame for carry. How about a 38 special revolver? 2 in Colt detective special steel for shooting pleasure or alloy Cobra/Agent for carry. If your a reloader, then you decide what to load for comfort. If not a reloader, the mid-range wadcutters are lower recoil. A 5 shot S&W also works. And yes, 380 kicks less than 9mm in similar weight guns.

 

[C0untZer0]

Beretta 86 is a mild shooting 380 ACP with a tip-up-barrel option for loading:

 

[oneounceload]

Let her decide what works for her

Yep, surprised it took to post number 29 for TheCorneredCat.com to get mentioned.

OP, both you AND your wife need to read Pax's site and then SHE needs to decide what will work best for her - not you, not me, nor anyone else on the internet

She'll need to rent, borrow, whatever, as many as she can to make her determination

 

[snooperman]

" She will need to rent, borrow, whatever, as many as she can to make her determination". Best advice I have read yet. Snoop

 

[littlebluevette]

Thanks for all the suggestions and advice. I appreciate all the input. My wife isn't keen on the idea of her carrying. But she goes on daily walks with the dog and even though we live in the country things aren't the way they used to be.

I am intent on getting her to get carry along with professional instruction and know she will want a smaller cc weapon because she isn't one to walk around thinking look at me I'm a big stuff because I got a weapon.

 

[javjacob]

the 380 is wimpy imo. the 9mm is still rather wimpy but is a great gun and has cheap ammo (once the ammo shortage ends) ...even the 9mm has very very mild recoil, I honestly cant imagine someone thinking a 380 or 9mm has too much recoil. maybe those people just need a taser/mace/baseball bat ...ect. most these people are the ones who never want to touch a gun until they need it. your best bet is to make her get out and shoot the gun occasionally. Its all in practice and technique. there are techniques on how to reduce felt recoil and to keep yourself from flinching ect. flinching is something only inexperienced shooters do. get past all that and she will be saying the 9mm is nothing

 

[bdickens]

Thanks for all the suggestions and advice. I appreciate all the input. My wife isn't keen on the idea of her carrying. But she goes on daily walks with the dog and even though we live in the country things aren't the way they used to be.

I am intent on getting her to get carry along with professional instruction and know she will want a smaller cc weapon because she isn't one to walk around thinking look at me I'm a big stuff because I got a weapon.

No, what you're keen on is pushing her into something she doesn't want to do. What's going to happen is that a whole lot of resentment will be built up that will ultimately damage your relationship.

She needs to make the decision on her own, without being coerced and pushed into it against her will by someone who supposedly loves her.

If she ever makes that decision, then she needs to decide for herself what she's going to carry. How would you feel if someone put a gun in your hand that you weren't comfortable shooting and that you hated and pressured you into carrying it?

For that matter, how would you feel if someone tried to pressure your into oh, I don't know, knitting or square dancing?

 

[littlebluevette]

No, what you're keen on is pushing her into something she doesn't want to do. What's going to happen is that a whole lot of resentment will be built up that will ultimately damage your relationship.

She needs to make the decision on her own, without being coerced and pushed into it against her will by someone who supposedly loves her.

If she ever makes that decision, then she needs to decide for herself what she's going to carry. How would you feel if someone put a gun in your hand that you weren't comfortable shooting and that you hated and pressured you into carrying it?

For that matter, how would you feel if someone tried to pressure your into oh, I don't know, knitting or square dancing?

I asked for advice between a 380 and 9m for my wife to carry...We've been married for 42 years. I am pushing her to carry for her own safety. If I needed marital advice advise I would have called Dr. Phil.

 

[Torian]

42 years? I think you've got this under control buddy. I would do the same thing.

 

[littlebluevette]

42 years? I think you've got this under control buddy. I would do the same thing.

Yep. She's my best friend. Married 42 years. 3 Kids, 6 grand children and 1 great great grandchild a dog and a few hand guns later.

 

[weblance]

LittleBlueVette...consider Rugers new LC380. My wife has limited strength in her hands, and cant tolerate heavy recoil, or rack a stiff slide. I bought her an LC9, and she hated it. I recently bought her the LC380 and she can rack, and handle that pistol. I also have a Sig P238 and while it is a very soft shooter, she didnt like the Single Action 1911 style operation. She has a lot of experience shooting 22 revolvers, and feels comfortable with the DAO style of the LC380.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

I asked for advice between a 380 and 9m for my wife to carry...We've been married for 42 years. I am pushing her to carry for her own safety. If I needed marital advice advise I would have called Dr. Phil.

I'm not sure he was giving you MARITAL advice, as observing that an awful lot of men buys guns for their wives or girl friends, with the best of intentions, but often have limited success. They are often quite experienced themselves, and ask for the advice of others -- but unless the OTHERS have been through the process, it becomes a crap shoot. The whole process often seems to go better when the woman involved plays an active part in the selection process; it can get expensive, otherwise. Ranges with rental guns can speed the process; while rentals can be costly, it's not as bad as trying to sell a gun you wish you hadn't bought.

I've been going through this with my wife -- we've been married 43 years -- and just finding a semi-auto that she can rack and use comfortably (and, yes, I've tried teaching her OTHER ways of racking the slide) has been a challenge. We've even tried revolvers.

We're still looking and trying. I'm to the point that I suspect I'm going to end up with a Kel-Tec PMR-30, if I can ever find one that doesn't require me to mortgage my home...

As for Dr. Phil -- I wouldn't seek his advice about much of anything except how to make money by exploiting unhappy people and their problems on TV. I think he has THAT figured out pretty well.

 

[zeke4351]

Take her someplace and find a Sig P250 sub compact in .380. I don't know of anything that would be softer shooting in a modern .380. It's about the size of a Glock 27.

 

[Deer_Freak]

Gentlemen, for the sake of clarity, please don't confuse the measurable recoil with the perceived recoil; and the (cheaper) round nose 380 FMJ with the defensive, much harder kicking hollowpoints.

If the bullet is the same weight and the velocity is the same the perceived recoil will be the same fired from the same gun. Most 380 FMJ are loaded at the same velocity as boutique ammo. The only difference might be 5 grains of bullet weight.

In fact, the majority of 380 owners shoot FMJ ammo for SD. Most 380 pistols function better with FMJ ammo and the 9mm kurtz is a rather anemic cartridge.

 

[Deer_Freak]

I tried to buy a gun for my wife. We went to several gun shops and I borrowed every pistol in the county for her to try, none of them pleased her. One day she came home with a Ruger SP101 chambered in 357. She went out into the field and shot the best part of a box of 357 ammo. She chose the SP101 because it fit her hand and she really likes shooting my Ruger Blackhawk chambered in 357.

A few years later she learned to focus her strength so she could pull the slide back on a semi auto. She took my Kel Tec P11 after that epiphany. She got a flashbang holster, so I bought a 9mm derringer for it. After a few months she ditched the derringer and started carrying my Kel Tec P-3AT in the flashbang holster.

Gun ownership for women is the same as men. We want different guns for different reasons.

 

[TarDevil]

I honestly cant imagine someone thinking a 380 or 9mm has too much recoil. maybe those people just need a taser/mace/baseball bat ...ect.

There are quite a few .380 & 9mm pistols that are a handful. The laws of physics cannot be denied.

flinching is something only inexperienced shooters do. get past all that and she will be saying the 9mm is nothing

See above. There are many very experienced shooters who develop a flinch from shooting high powered guns.

 

[Deer_Freak]

No Kidding! I need 22 LR therapy after shooting a big bore a little too much. I just as well bring the 22 LR out when I check the scope on my slug gun. The Mossberg is very accurate with slugs. Sometimes I get carried away trying to shoot golf balls and shotgun hulls with a 12 ga slug.