Item Relisted! Why .380??

[yoggibaer]

I carry several different guns depending on what I'm wearing based on time of the year.
In the summer wearing shorts and T shirt the 380 IWB conceals best. If I wear a coat then my G43 OWB is my preference. I also have a Sig P290 RS which has a smaller frame than the G43 that I carry sometimes. It's all about what imprints less for me.

 

[sheep dog]

I have stood over dudes with tiny .380 and 25 cal holes punched in their chests, mouths gaped open, blankly staring up at the night sky, with that thin glimmering film covering their fully dilated eyes. I asked them if they were disappointed in the lesser bullet weight, diminished velocity and lower energy of the still warm rounds in their chest.....strangely, they had no reply.

I dont think any on this site will question any calibers ability to KILL as much as question ability to STOP THE THREAT asap.

 

[HuckleberryFinn]

Honestly, no, it’s not.


Is Hornady Critical Defense a “quality” round?

For .380, That’s 90 grains at 1000 fps, for 200 ft/pounds of energy.


For 9mm (standard prsssure) you throw 115 grains at 1140 fps, for 330 foot-pounds.

meh potato, potato, i could have worded it better, but in all honesty my opinion is they're close enough +p vs 9mm to where i personally don't care, i wouldn't want to get shot with either if i had a choice.

 

[CQB27]

I dont think any on this site will question any calibers ability to KILL as much as question ability to STOP THE THREAT asap.

Define "STOP THE THREAT asap".

If it means stopping a well determined aggressor as soon as possible:
1.) Due to pain, or
2.) Loss of blood that eventually leads to cardiac/respiratory arrest and death, or
3.) Instant capitation due to a CNS hit
Then a good self defense, well aimed .380 load fired a close quarters is likely to accomplish that as well as any other common carry self defense load.

If it means stopping a well determined aggressor instantly, even with a well aimed center mass shot...that's a feat pistol caliber self defense ammo rarely accomplishes, no matter the chosen caliber.

 

[ATLDude]

If I were rockin' a .380, I'd feed these through it:

http://www.precisiononeammunition.c...=product_info&cPath=1_2_37_42&products_id=247

 

[Smoothie]

There is not a 9mm as small or light as my LCP2.

Period.

 

[letusbuyyourcar]

I carry several different guns depending on what I'm wearing based on time of the year.
In the summer wearing shorts and T shirt the 380 IWB conceals best. If I wear a coat then my G43 OWB is my preference. I also have a Sig P290 RS which has a smaller frame than the G43 that I carry sometimes. It's all about what imprints less for me.

Mossad Ayoob ( spell check please) made a similar observation in the great 9mm vs 45ACP debate back in the early 90s. In the summer he used to carry a single stack Smith 9mm ( remember it was the late 80s early 90s) because everyone was wearing shorts,T shirts and generally light weight clothing. In the winter time he went with a Commander sized 1911 in 45 ACP. The theory was that in winter people wore layered clothing which would fill the cavity of any hollow point round and basically turn it into a hardball projectile. That being the case he wanted to shoot the largest diameter hardball rounds available.
As for me. I have similar thoughts. When I go outside and walk Lester the Jack Russell I can take my wife's Kel Tec P32 even in my lounging (fat) shorts and it doesn't weigh my shorts down. And it's basically the same size and weight as the P3AT in 380. If I tried that with my 709 Slim ( which is a small light pistol) I'd be thugging out there trying to hold my pants up with one hand the leash with the other.

 

[Radar363]

The only. 380 I have ever shot was a late 70s production Beretta 84. I liked it because I was familiar with the model 92 series but I don't know if I would feel comfortable carrying one for self defense. I don't remember the last time I went out in public wearing so little clothing that I couldn't conceal a full size M&P 9 or 40 so I don't own a pocket gun.
I've come close to buying an M&P compact and a 442/642 but would I ever carry one?

 

[letusbuyyourcar]

The only. 380 I have ever shot was a late 70s production Beretta 84. I liked it because I was familiar with the model 92 series but I don't know if I would feel comfortable carrying one for self defense. I don't remember the last time I went out in public wearing so little clothing that I couldn't conceal a full size M&P 9 or 40 so I don't own a pocket gun.
I've come close to buying an M&P compact and a 442/642 but would I ever carry one?

The Beretta 84 is a damn fine pistol for a 380. But kinda like the Bersa, the Astra Constable, the Llama 380 and the Taurus 52 they're too big in size to be chambered in 380. Those pistols we're fine over two decades ago. But right after the 94 AWB most gun companies kind of abandoned the double stack high cap pistols in favor of coming up with new super compact designs in larger calibers. I remember the Kel Tec P11 was one of the first ones. The mini Glocks were around the same time,like the G26 and G27.
Point here is if you can conceal a medium or large size pistol then that's even better. But there are situations and places where the super small pistols are necessary or preferred.

 

[sheep dog]

Define "STOP THE THREAT asap".

If it means stopping a well determined aggressor as soon as possible:
1.) Due to pain, or
2.) Loss of blood that eventually leads to cardiac/respiratory arrest and death, or
3.) Instant capitation due to a CNS hit
Then a good self defense, well aimed .380 load fired a close quarters is likely to accomplish that as well as any other common carry self defense load.

If it means stopping a well determined aggressor instantly, even with a well aimed center mass shot...that's a feat pistol caliber self defense ammo rarely accomplishes, no matter the chosen caliber.

By stopping the threat asap i meant a bullet than can penetrate deep enough (for vitals) and expand well enough to incapacitate and from what i have watched and read (not an expert on the matter), it seems the .380 does not penetrate and expand enough for that. Obviously a psychological stop of a threat can happen with a bb gun so there are other variations to consider but it seems generally speaking, the .380 is inferior to the 9mm .40 and 45 service calibers. I could be wrong though. I have recently heard there are some pretty potent .380 rounds so perhaps bullet technology is changing the older views on a diminutive round