380 acp vs 22 magnum?

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Maybe someone very well practiced can guarantee that shot. I don't think the snubbies are the world's easiest to shoot - and I trained and practiced with them. BTW, I posted a picture with the NAA mini but I also have a NAA 22S which was a 'just because it was cute' gun. In a similar test, I scored about a 150. Also, the rounds love to key hole.

Easier to shoot a 22 snubbie? I had a 317 and the trigger stunk as compared to my 38 or 32 J frames. Are the LCRs better? If you want more ammo, then the Glock 42s with 7 rounds make more sense.

The 32s have more rounds and are more respectable as a round. If the OP is dead set on a small gun, like a 380 or 22, then practice the crap out of it. Shoot it in a dynamic sense - like an IDPA match to see the reality of using it in more than Greg's psychological stop.

[BillSWPA]

http://www.activeresponsetraining.ne...r-self-defense

I am not advocating for either, but the founder of the shooting school with the initials RSS, carries a .22 magnum revolver as a BUG. His logic is more ammo than a .38, easier to shoot than a .38, and he figures he will be putting rounds into an eye socket anyway.

That is one of the most intelligent discussions of use of a .22 for self defense I have seen.

[BehindBlueI's]

http://www.activeresponsetraining.ne...r-self-defense

I am not advocating for either, but the founder of the shooting school with the initials RSS, carries a .22 magnum revolver as a BUG. His logic is more ammo than a .38, easier to shoot than a .38, and he figures he will be putting rounds into an eye socket anyway.

If he's putting rounds in the eye socket anyway, why is he concerned with more ammo?

[lawnguy]

I just watched a video on youtube of the Lehigh Defense & Underwood Ammo Xtreme Cavitator 32 acp. Very interesting! They also offer this ammo in many other calibers which include the 380acp that I mentioned in my original post. As someone who is new to all this and learning, I had read online where the 380 acp round doesn't penetrate as well in hollow point, which I found very interesting. The xtreme cavitator ammo seems very impressive in the 380acp in regards to optimum penetration in a self defense shootout.

[JAD]

Terminal ballistic performance is very easy to misrepresent. I am very wary of sources regarding performance; I will read a detailed study with a lot of transparency about method, but I have never heard of anything scientific being presented on YouTube.

Tl;dr version: everything about bullets on YouTube is bullshit.

[lawnguy]

I just thought it was interesting.

[Hambo]

I just thought it was interesting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lf-IF1emoJI

I laughed when I saw the title. You're not going to be as impressed as you'd like to be if you shoot somebody with an LCP. Choosing a less effective caliber will only make it worse.

[lawnguy]

Didn't quite understand what you ment? Did you say that shooting a LCP in protecting myself,I wouldn't be impressed with the results of the LCP 380 acp?

[BehindBlueI's]

Didn't quite understand what you ment? Did you say that shooting a LCP in protecting myself,I wouldn't be impressed with the results of the LCP 380 acp?

Due to the low price point and ease of concealment, the LCP is a pretty popular gun. I've seen quite a few real world shootings where it was used. It is not terribly impressive, but it's not useless. The .380 has enough punch to break large bone at close range. I suspect the .22 mag from a short barrel would not break a femur, but haven't seen it in person yet so it's speculation. The .380 will.

Somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 of random violence encounters could be won with a starter pistol. Likely more. I say this based on the numbers of people who have won by either simply drawing the gun or by firing and missing but either result in the bad guy fleeing. A starter pistol firing blanks would have been just as effective, so caliber and capacity are completely irrelevant to those situations.

The next block is made up of people who stay in the fight, or shoot as they flee, until taking some sort of injury. Psychological stops are by far the most common. The bad guy COULD stay in the fight but chooses not to because of pain, panic, etc. While I've not kept hard stats, my impressions across hundreds of shootings is .22 rimfire is significantly less likely to do cause psychological stops, likely due to less tissue destruction. The .22 mag MAY work better due to noise and light, which I believe effects psychological stops, but can't prove.

Where your really in trouble is when someone is very dedicated to the fight. A shooting stemming from a domestic, for example, where the attacker doesn't mind eating a few rounds as long as they get to kill you. Then shot placement and blood loss start coming in to play. Bigger holes that are better placed beat smaller holes that are poorly placed, and they are likely to stay in the fight until a CNS hit or they bleed out.

In short, unless you have a specific and credible threat it really matters very little what gun you carry as long as you can quickly and consistently put it into action and get the first shot, although a center fire tilts the odds further in your favor. I would not waste money searching for the magic gun and magic bullet. If you have the LCP, the next purchase is a QUALITY holster, a case of ammo, and a training class. If you have a specific and credible threat, the next step is a duty sized 9mm, a quality holster, a case of ammo, and a training class.

[GJM]

If he's putting rounds in the eye socket anyway, why is he concerned with more ammo?

You would have to ask him, although he is pretty busy since he has designed about every good duty holster of the last 20-30 years.