Pocket Gun, What Caliber?

Pocket Gun, What Caliber?

  • .32 ACP

    Votes: 14 20.0%

  • .380

    Votes: 56 80.0%
  • Total voters
    70
Status
Not open for further replies.
G

glockman19

Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2007
Messages
3,700
I'm getting a pocket gun for my wife.

Between the two listed, what do you think would be best for self defense.

Thanks.

Please don't offer other calibers, we already have j-frames and pistols in .38, 9mm and other calibers and .22 or .25 is unacceptable IMHO for SD.
 
Yep, 9mm Kurz. I recommend Hornady 90gr XTP which gives you good penetration with moderate expansion. If not, go with a reliable FMJ load like Speer Lawman or American Eagle to ensure good penetration.
 
The .380 ACP is nothing other than a short 9mm (its German name, in fact, 9mm Kurtz, literally translates as 9mm Short).
 
I've got a 32, but only because it came with a P95 (package deal) and it fits the pocket nicely. I take comfort with it on me but given the choice of those two I'd say 380. I carry a 45 ACP and am a believer in a big hole is a better hole, but sometimes there ain't 'nuff room for all that. There are some good defense ammo options out there for the shorties these days. None of it matters if you can't put 'em where you need 'em tho.
 
380 is one of the oldest auto rounds available and there are plenty of choices out there. I carry a P3AT in my back pocket every day, works out great for me.

My partner at work (LEO) was involved in an off-duty shooting years ago. He shot a knife weilding attacker at close range one time with a 380, center mass. It killed him. Shot placement is everything.

I wouldn't start a fight with one, but I am comfortable finishing one with a 380.
 
"Big hole is a better hole" is one of the best SD phrases I've seen yet. Well said. Today I had only my Kel-Tec 380 with me because I had to go out for a cat scan which involved changing over to lab clothes...too awkward to manage the big gun(XD-45c 4".)
The little kel-tecs are perfect for women because their clothes are very hard to conceal guns in. With the side clips they can be stashed all sorts of ways. Everybody who carries should have at least one.:D
 
I think it depend on what a pocket pistol is to you. I carried a kel tec p32 for awhile since change over to a s&w 642 the wife still carry her p-32. when the .380 came out a friend got one and she tried it but found the recoil in such a small weapon was more then she wanted as it does requier a more secure hold which you might not get in a self defense situration. Which is why I voted .32. Now if we talking ppk size then the .380 hands down.

Be safe
 
Like most of the answers on this forum: it depends.

Small, small gun like a Seecamp, NAA Guardian, Keltec, Tomcat, etc - I'd go with the .32acp.

Larger frame like PPK, Sig 232, CZ 83, Bersa Thunder, etc - without a doubt, the .380.
 
Most .32 ACP pistols are about the same size as the .380 ACP so you really might as well go with the .380 ACP.

This is especially true in the case of the P32 and P3AT, they are almost perfectly the same size. The only difference is the magazine capacity(7 for the .32 and 6 for the .380) and perhaps recoil.
 
32 or 380 ?

The Bersa Thunder 380 has to be the best, low priced pistol I've fired in years. Never a FTF or FTE , and the Fed. Personal Defense 90 gr. Hydra Shok shoots like a target round out to 50 ft.!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top