Anyone here believe a .380 is inadequate?

[ColeK]

I saw this posted on another site and though I would ask here. I personally don't like anything with a bore diameter smaller .357.

 

[Ironicaintit]

lots and lots of people think its wholly inadequate. a lot of people think its barely acceptable. and some people think itll do just fine, given proper placement.

im in the, "it should work okay, given a properly zippy load, and as long as i keep my head....but id still rather have my 9mm" camp.

 

[drband]

I don’t know anyone who would volunteer to be shot by a .380acp!

 

[jstert]

whatever caliber a civilian ccw permit holder can consistently use to hit a center mass size target, at legitimate self protection distances, facing one’s likely threats, and enjoy both carry and practice, is an adequate defense caliber. i wouldn’t feel inadequately armed if i could reply to a deadly threat from a feral biped or rabid quadraped with an accurate and fast series of double tapped cci 22lr stingers from a ruger sr22 as i wander about my usual locations.

as to 380acp, indeed absolutely adequate, whether the 380acp is in a bersa thunder, makarov ij70, sig p238...

 

[badkarmamib]

I feel like .380 tends to be justified, "if you use premium bullets (half say HP for energy transfer, half insist on FMJ for penetration), AND have good shot placement, AND put multiple rounds on target...". While I believe all of these are important, I feel like .380 needs too much justification as to why it is an acceptable SD choice.

Sure, any gun is better than no gun, a Kel-Tec P3AT in the pocket is more useful than a Desert Eagle 50AE in the safe, and so on. But, with today's handgun choices, I feel like you could find a good 9mm that would suit your needs, 9mm has more firearm, accessory, and ammunition options available, and 9mm has more attack - stopping capability.

Of course, I carry .40 S&W. I wouldn't advocate a person who has trained with their .380 and knows it well, to sell it just to get something bigger. I wouldn't ridicule someone who was confident in their .380. I simply believe that, if you are shopping for a CCW, I would look at .380 only AFTER I had looked at everything bigger.

 

[jmr40]

There are a lot of 9mm pistols out there now that are small enough that it makes choosing a 380 a little harder. But if I were in a situation where even the small 9mm's were too big it would be the minimum I'd want to use.

 

[John Joseph]

If you can scare the perp away with it, it'll be adequate.
If you can neutralize the perp's boiler room or Command and Control with it, it'll be adequate.
The same as with most any other caliber.
Of course there can be exceptions,
The same as with most any other caliber.

 

[Armored farmer]

Sure, i would rather carry my .45acp, or .357, but i dont want to pack them around everyday. I can roll around on the concrete at work and not notice my lcp iwb.
One thing is for sure. I have my lcp with me every single day.
All day.
Including right now as a matter of fact.

 

[Browning]

You'll always have someone say something to the effect of ... "There's no one who would volunteer to be shot with a .380 ACP". Yes that's true, but I wouldn't volunteer to be shot with a pellet gun either and that doesn't mean that I believe a pellet gun to be adequate for defense.

I carried a Glock 42 around for awhile and I personally didn't feel all that well armed. Replaced it with a single stack 9mm. So I guess my dividing line for defensive pistol calibers is 9mm or a .38 Special.

If someone puts in the time training with a .380 and feels comfortable toting one around then more power to them. Just didn't give me a warm and fuzzy feeling.

So for me the answer would be no.

 

[Valkman]

Back when I didn't have much choice I carried a .380 Makarov that held 12rds in the mag. I'd rather have a bigger caliber and have carried .45 acp for many years now but with that capacity I thought it was ok.

 

[JONWILL]

I have no problem with the 380. It gives adequate penetration at the typical range self defense situations occur
In my opinion, handguns poke holes. They cause people to bleed out. The better the shot placement the faster they bleed out. Of course CNS shots are stoppers.
Would I rather carry a 9mm, yes. It will penetrate cover better than 380 and does better with expanding ammo
Rifles on the other hand cause massive tissue damage and trauma but that’s another discussion

 

[Dibbs]

I don’t know anyone who would volunteer to be shot by a .380acp!

I use 32ACP. You hear a lot of crow and blather about insufficient rounds. Unless you live in Beirut, I
wouldn't worry about it. .380 is popular for a reason.

And, the reason I'm carrying a 32 is because I've yet to find a 9MM in a convenient size, with a hammer and a heavy DA trigger.

 

[ColeK]

Ladies and gentleman, I carry a S&W 637 in my left front pocket and a S&W 60 .357 Mag w/3” barrel on my right hip. The 637 is loaded with BB low flash powder/158gr soft lead HP's and the 60 is loaded 1 full house .357 Mag w/158gr jacketed HP's and 4 +P+ .38 Spls w/158gr jacketed HP's.

 

[fxvr5]

I saw this posted on another site and though I would ask here. I personally don't like anything with a bore diameter smaller .357.

So .356 is too small? The 9X23 Winchester has the same power as a 357 Magnum, and it shoots mere .355 bullets. The 38 Special has a .357 bore, and it doesn't stack up well against 9mm (.355) and 38 Super (.356) loads. Lets not forget the 357 SIG and 9X25 Dillon.

 

[Sistema1927]

A good article that has bearing on this discussion:

https://gundigest.com/gear-ammo/ammunition/the-mystery-of-stopping-power

 

[drband]

.380acp is deadly enough at close range for self defense. Add to that better recoil control (in some guns) than 9mm and it makes sense for some folks. Again, you must practice with what you carry to know if it is workable for you.

I carry a 9mm P938 for what it’s worth.

 

[Livin_Cincy]

The 380 ACP started WW1... It worked. The 380 was designed to not thru penetrate like its full sized 9mm brother. Europe used the 380 for police (urban work) and the 9mm as military round for many years. A Beretta 84/85 is a very accurate gun. Much more accurate and pleasant to shoot than a fixed barrel Walther or Bersa. I think S&W understood this with their new 380 M&P.

I cannot find the link to the study. But it was long term and showed results that were interesting When all shootings were tallied up there were few differences in caliber. Every caliber to more than 1 shot to stop an attacker. I can't shoot 1.3 bullets... So double tap. Accuracy is critical & shot placement rules. So shoot the caliber you shoot best and double tap.

Legally, bullets passing thru can sign your death warrant in some climates. So the venerable 380 & 38 special are still a good choice. Dirty Harry did not deal with this problem... air density changes due to climate change ?

I don't see how a .002" difference in diameter makes any significance in comparing 380 to 38/357.

We usually see a relationship between bullet weight & diameter in hand guns. We get better penetration with a bigger bullet typically. But we do not really want that in an urban environment. The SA Colt users did not worry about over penetration & secondary targets with their heavy 45 caliber lead bullets. They never knew how many legs a varmit was going to have. We only deal with 2 legged types in an urban environment.

 

[fxvr5]

A Beretta 84/85 is a very accurate gun. Much more accurate and pleasant to shoot than a fixed barrel Walther or Bersa. I think S&W understood this with their new 380 M&P.

The Berettas are also blowback pistols. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beretta_Cheetah

 

[JohnKSa]

As far as terminal performance goes, the .380 ACP is similar in performance to light bullet .38 Special standard pressure loadings. It's a good compromise between shootability and terminal performance in a subcompact carry pistol.

 

[Charlie98]

A .380 in your hand beats a .45 on the night stand or in the truck console all to Hell.

 

[Odd Job]

A .380 can be a nice pocket gun. The best I have tried so far is the SIG Sauer P238, which was very accurate and also pleasant to shoot.
If it was me, I would be carrying that with FMJs.

 

[shoobe01]

You'll always have someone say something to the effect of ... "There's no one who would volunteer to be shot with a .380 ACP". Yes that's true, but I wouldn't volunteer to be shot with a pellet gun either and that doesn't mean that I believe a pellet gun to be adequate for defense.

I carried a Glock 42 around for awhile and I personally didn't feel all that well armed. Replaced it with a single stack 9mm. So I guess my dividing line for defensive pistol calibers is 9mm or a .38 Special.

If someone puts in the time training with a .380 and feels comfortable toting one around then more power to them. Just didn't give me a warm and fuzzy feeling.

So for me the answer would be no.

I have actually been shot with a BB gun. Pellet still inside me (hard to get to) 38 years later. It sucked, a lot, and I was assured by the Police Surgeon that with different placement would have been bowel resection, death, etc.

I will not volunteer to be shot with one again but I also would in no way shoot at a person deliberately with a BB gun if I needed to stop them in a self-defense situation.

I would likewise continue to not carry anything smaller than 9mm Luger/Parabellum with decent bullets and preferably +P. The .380s are just going too slow and cannot throw heavy enough bullets. There's some solid testing by reputable folks that put the .380 below their thresholds for an adequate defensive cartridge no matter how loaded.

My small carry is a Kahr P9. It's small enough for almost any situation. I have put it in the waistband of drawstring running shorts, then done yard work. I only very rarely wish for anything smaller. I am not carrying it now, because I am in Poland and no one will let me carry my gun on a plane and into random other counties, or I'd have just done a presentation on stage to a room full of people, on video, with a gun invisibly on my body.

 

[bikerdoc]

I usually carry a 1911. BUT in some situations the 380 is a perfect CCW.
Like many above SAID shot placement and bullet selection plus practice make it a viable choice for me in some situations.

 

[WrongHanded]

Marginal. And marginal is a maybe, and maybe is inadequate. So yes.

But that doesn't mean I don't have one for times when I simply cannot carry anything physically larger.

 

[bikerdoc]

Just another tool in tool box gentlemen.