What do you like better?

What do you like better?

  • 9mm

    Votes: 156 95.1%

  • .380a.c.p.

    Votes: 8 4.9%
  • Total voters
    164
  • Poll closed .
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pablo45

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Apr 28, 2006
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I have heard alot of debates lately in my little circles and can not seem to understand why. The question is what do you like better, 9mm or .380a.c.p.? I myself prefer the 9mm. I just wanted to start a discussion and see what everyone else likes and why. My reasoning is because the 9mm is more available and cheaper every were I look. Also the Glock 25 .380 is not available in america.
 
if you can handle the recoil of the 9mm with ease, stick with it. 9mm got better stopping power than .380 acp and there's plenty of compact pistols from various manufacturers.plus 9mm ammo is cheap. :)
 
Many factors go into it Pablo.

The little NAA and Kel-Tec pistols in .380 make fine pocket guns. Larger .380s like the CZ-83, Beretta 84, 85, and 86, etc. are very nice for pleasant shooting with mild muzzle blast, flash, and recoil. Many folks with arthritis or other hand/wrist/arm injuries & ailments MUST have this milder recoil.

There are also many relatively soft shooting 9mms though. As you note ammo and gun availability, both often at low prices are strong points for the 9mm. The 9mm's wide selection of strong defensive loadings is another major plus.

As with all of these caliber vs. caliber debates each one has it's own strengths and weaknesses. In the end one must evaluate his or her own needs in the pistol desired.
 
I shoot both. I love both. They serve different functions for me. Its the same with EVERY other caliber out there - different calibers because people have different uses & needs. Use what you want! Both are better than nothing & both will do what they need to do.
 
I voted 9mm. My KT P11 is about the size as a PPK with 6 more shots and a better performing round.

I wouldn't mind getting a full sized .380 though. Is there much improvement of the .380 out of a 4 inch barrel?
 
You can hardly beat a P3AT for sliding in a back pocket in a slip holster. But I prefer a 9mm either in a 6" Luger or my favorite 9 of all the 9x32R.

On of these day I might get a keltec PF-9 and give it a whirl. That would be about he limit of small size fo a 9 for me. I like the p-11, just not my cuppa.
 
I voted 9mm

But with one exception. The Colt Gov't 380. This was the best little pocket gun that I ever had. I wish that I never traded it away. I will get another one but the prices are insane now. I see them on gunbroker.com for 600-800 all the time, and they are selling. I kick mysely every time when I think: I bought mine almost NIB from the original owner for $225, and I sold it for $475, I thought i did good on that but now I want another one and will have to pay dearly.

All that said, I would rather hav a 9mm over any 380, except where only a pocket gun will do.
 
Funny you should ask. I was just at the range last weekend, and took husband's Sig 230 (.380) and my BHP (9mm) along with my S&W m37 (.38 spl). The purpose of the range trip, besides having fun and making holes in paper, was to decide whether I'd rather carry the Sig in the summer than the 37; and to simply compare my shooting of the three guns. I didn't bring targets home, I rarely do; but I realized that the caliber was really not relevant; it is ithe gun that matters. The BHP in 9 is more accurate than the Sign 230 in .380 in my hands. Husband does equally well with both of them when he shoots them. The little snubbie, though, is still my summer carry gun, because my first shot with it was a smack-in-the-middle-of-the-bullseye bullseye (SA) and even the DA's were all in the 9 ring.

Upshot of this: the .380 is a fine round, it is carried in some VERY nice guns (I told husband he'd just lost his Sig and he opined that I was, um, mistaken on that :rolleyes: ) and most of those guns are VERY concealable.

It's the gun, and the shot placement, that really matters.

Springmom
 
Easily 9mm.

Cheaper ammo, more power, more fun and definitely more accurate (although the platform and size usually is what determines it, so we can't fault the cartridge on this issue).
 
The only .380 I'd feel comfortable with is a M-11, since it can belch out 1200 rpm :D
I have a AMT backup in .380 but only having 5+1 of .380 isn't the greatest feeling. The G26 gets in a lot more hip time.
 
Depends on the platform its being used out of, what the temperature is outside, and what I would feel like packing that day. For concealability purposes, there's some svelte .380s; for range use/HD, 9mm wins.
 
9mm is a more powerful cartridge in comparison, so that's why it gets my vote. Now, I am not saying I have no interest in the .380. The Kel-Tec is interesting to me, and I recently shot a Beretta in .380 that I couldn't seem to miss with. It's certainly a fun enough cartridge to shoot, it's just that in comparison to the 9mm, I find it lacking.
 
.45 is still the king...
Click to expand...

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

45truth.jpg
 
Don't imagine the five guys that said .380 are going to 'fess up. I have a little Beretta in .380 and it is pretty snappy and not much fun to shoot. Today's 9mms are low recoil, relatively inexpensive to shoot and packs more punch than the .380 (AKA 9mm short).
 
9mm for me. Better performance and there are plenty of small guns nearly the same size as .380s anyway. The drawback is recoil in those small guns. I own 3 .380s but I would never carry one since I can carry a Kel-Tec P-11 easily enough in hot weather.
 
I've never shot a .380 but I have three 9mm's and really enjoy them.
Same as Flashman70's experience, I've got a friend who has a Beretta 84 in 380 and he says that it's a pain to shoot. Really sharp recoil. It is a nice little gun though and looks like it would be great for CCW.
 
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