huntsman
Member
I'm not a reloader so going to the store and buying cheap ammo is easier with .380acp
....and you completely missed the point......
no matter how good you shoot at the range......when you are afraid, being threatened, shot at, tired, or fighting with an assailant......you suck at shooting.
assuming your average Carrier is about on par with your average Officer......you are going to hit the target ~30% of the time.......hell, lets say you have some advanced training and you are shooting at a 50%.....that means your 5 round revolver only has 2-3 effective rounds......where as your 9 shot pistol has 4-5 effective rounds.
if there was a significant benefit to the .38spl round over the .380, you could have an strong argument.........but where the 2 calibers are incredibly similar, there really isnt any benefit to choosing the 5 rounds of .38 over the 9 rounds of .380.......
true, revolvers are inherently more reliable than semi autos.......and thats something you need to take into consideration.......and you completely missed the point !!!!!
The .38 Special is a REVOLVER ammo round. (Reliable!!!)
The .380 ACP is a SEMI-AUTOMATIC ammo round. (Potentially a jammer!!!)
I ain't an 'average carrier' either.....and you completely missed the point......
no matter how good you shoot at the range......when you are afraid, being threatened, shot at, tired, or fighting with an assailant......you suck at shooting.
assuming your average Carrier is about on par with your average Officer......you are going to hit the target ~30% of the time.......hell, lets say you have some advanced training and you are shooting at a 50%.....that means your 5 round revolver only has 2-3 effective rounds......where as your 9 shot pistol has 4-5 effective rounds.
if there was a significant benefit to the .38spl round over the .380, you could have an strong argument.........but where the 2 calibers are incredibly similar, there really isnt any benefit to choosing the 5 rounds of .38 over the 9 rounds of .380.......
If that's your worry then I suggest you should get a bigger gun than a .380.@ Deaf Smith
To an extent. We can prepare for a gunfight through training and gear selection (in that order) but with most of us carrying for SD we don't get to choreograph the timing, distance, duration, or number of shots required to end it.
I'd want the one I could into action faster and shoot better
If that's your worry then I suggest you should get a bigger gun than a .380.
Now in winter I do carry a Glock 26, but summer the Centinnial reigns supreme.
Deaf
when you take into account that police officer shots on target under stress is only around 34%.
How often do "most" civilian carriers practice shooting under realistic defensive conditions (no warning, fast draw, and fast moving target at close range, necessitating very rapid fire)?And most [police officers] never fire their gun until qualification time.
Reality is a cruel Mistress, aint she?How often do "most" civilian carriers practice shooting under realistic defensive conditions (no warning, fast draw, and fast moving target at close range, necessitating very rapid fire)?
If you have to ask; then go with a 9 round .380 if you have one that is reliable.Hey all!
Well I've got a Bersa Thunder which takes 8 round magazines, plus one in the chamber equals 9 rounds of .380 ACP. The gun has been 100% reliable so far.
I've also got a S&W 642 snub nose revolver, which has 5 rounds of .38 special on board. It too, has been very reliable.
So reliability aside, which would you rather have on tap: 9 rounds of .380 or 5 rounds of .38 special?
I've heard that with modern ammo, these rounds are close in performance. Tom Gresham from Gun Talk radio likes the .380 and thinks it is very capable with today's ammo. But, there are many who really like the .38 special too. What do you think on this? I plan to make one of these guns my EDC, so am just wondering your guys feeling on this.
Thanks!
What? Posts?As the old saying goes "5 for sure!"
How often do "most" civilian carriers practice shooting under realistic defensive conditions (no warning, fast draw, and fast moving target at close range, necessitating very rapid fire)?
Try post # 11 for starters.Five .38 Special for sure, beats one, maybe nine .380, all the time.
Of course reliability is a huge part of the equation of CC.
5 rounds are gone in a heartbeat. I have no expectation, nor training, or even a hope that under real stress (i.e. threat of death) I'll fire slowly and deliberately to make a handful of rounds stretch to meet all potential threats. At the VERY least, I've trained for my whole shooting life to fire in controlled pairs or triples, and to fire for effect. That is to say, fire until I get the hits I wanted and/or the threat falls. So a 5-shot gun has enough capacity for a maximum of 2.5 target engagements, and quite possibly fewer, considering how everyone's accuracy degrades under stress.
I dread that lull in the firing that means I'm out of ammo, and I'll choose to put that off longer if I can. That doesn't mean I have to have 20 rounds in the gun, but 5?
Five rounds is, in my thinking, a very last ditch backup plan. The ultimate "last chance" gun.
But again, I ain't 'most'. And the poll was over what WE preferred, not 'most'.Posted by onounceload:How often do "most" civilian carriers practice shooting under realistic defensive conditions (no warning, fast draw, and fast moving target at close range, necessitating very rapid fire)?