I wouldn't be caught dead carrying a .380!

[searcher]

Or maybe I would, if I was stuck defending myself and /or my loved ones from a deadly attack with one.

I can't for the life of me see any justification for carrying this "widow-maker" round as a primary or even a backup self defense gun unless that was the ONLY weapon available to me. Maybe if I had one of the tiny "mini .380s" that are out now I could see it as a secondary backup (backup to my backup). They make fun plinking guns, but so do .22s.

With all the nice subcompact single stack 9mm guns on the market now size or concealability is not a valid reason. And there seems to be a price war (rebates) on these to boot now!

If people claim recoil sensitivity is a valid reason for carrying a .380 I say that is a ridiculous reason considering we are talking about a possible life or death situation here! If the claim is that recoil sensitive people won't practice with anything more powerful than .380 I would suggest they use a padded bicycle glove on the range and I guaranty it will hurt less shooting a sub-compact 9mm with standard pressure rounds than shooting a .380 without the gloves. I have shot Federal 125 grain .357 magnum hollowpoints out of a Scandium airweight J frame with those gloves and I am no tough guy (leaning more towards the wimp side of things when it comes to pain).

[Duelist]

So, you joined to bag on the .380?

Mmmkay. Have fun with that.

[searcher]

So, you joined to bag on the .380?

Mmmkay. Have fun with that.

Guess so. I have been a "lurker" here for a long time and reading message boards on terminal ballistics since the early Ammolab.com days

[SecondsCount]

I think I would spend a little more time working on speed and accuracy than arguing about caliber choice.

Every pistol caliber ever made has failed at one time or another to stop a threat because of the shooter, not necessarily the caliber.

[Totem Polar]

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/SWiplk1qryE/hqdefault.jpg

[searcher]

I will say that my uncle once saved a woman's life using a .380. He was a carpenter doing some work on a house in an inner city ghetto. A women on a nearby porch was screaming while being attacked by a man with a butcher knife. My uncle pinned the guy down in the house until the police arrived by shooting his .380 towards the porch. It was loaded with tracer rounds!

[Hambo]

I would suggest...bicycle gloves...

Not operator enough for me.

[searcher]

Moved to General Discussion.

Ah, Demoted! Seems like on topic for an ammunition discussion. Guess I couldn't get past the censors.

[Drang]

Obviously unfamiliar with the First Rule of Holes...

[searcher]

I think I would spend a little more time working on speed and accuracy than arguing about caliber choice.

Every pistol caliber ever made has failed at one time or another to stop a threat because of the shooter, not necessarily the caliber.

Of course you need to practice until you are accurate under pressure! But tell the "ammunition doesn't matter" story to all the poor officers who fell in the line of duty because they were stuck using .38 round nose ammunition against the violent shitbirds they had to face, may they rest in peace!

[Odin Bravo One]

And yet they have constructed graveyards for the guys we've killed with the woefully underpowered 9mm ball ammo. Just dont tell the people who believe everything a box of Jell-O tells them.

If one has the skill, one can make any caliber do what needs to be done. If one lacks said skill, then he drives a big jacked up truck with giant exhaust pipes, and talks to anyone who will listen about the horsepower.