380 vs. 9mm compact (not pocket)

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MotorCraft

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If I have two identical compact (not pocket) pistols in size, weight, capacity and one is chambered in 9mm and other is chambered 380ACP…. is any reason for me not to get a 380ACP?

I like the fact that the 380 is half the pressure of the 9mm.
 
The 9mm is considered to be a more effective SD caliber.

But it also kicks harder, is much louder.

What two guns are you asking about?
There may be more to the story too.

rc
 
MotorCraft said:
If I have two identical compact (not pocket) pistols in size, weight, capacity and one is chambered in 9mm and other is chambered 380ACP…. is any reason for me not to get a 380ACP?

I like the fact that the 380 is half the pressure of the 9mm.
Click to expand...
Is there any reason not to get a 9mm?

I liked the fact that 9mm ammo is half the price of .380.

Also, for SD purposes, the .380 is barely adequate under ideal conditions. There are only two reasons I can see for choosing .380 over 9mm. One is that .380 may be more controllable in a lightweight gun, the other is that a .380 may be smaller and more concealable the a 9mm. Your specifications eliminate the second reason so that leaves only the first. Only you know whether or not it applies.
 
is any reason for me not to get a 380 ACP ?
Click to expand...

I think a lot more R&D has gone into creating 9mm ammunition that will go through soft barriers like leather jackets / ski jackets and still be able to penetrate deeply enough to damage vital tissue.

There are a lot of 9mm rounds that can do that.

There are only a few 380 ACP rounds that can do that and they do not penetrate as deeply nor expand to as great a size as the 9mm rounds.

A 380 locked breech pistol is going to have less recoil than a 9mm pistol of similar size and weight. But at 29+ ounces I don't think it is going to matter either way
 
High Point's website lists the CF 380 at 29 ounces but You-Tubers have it topping the scales at 34 ounces (with a mag) - I don't know too many 8 round magazines that weigh 5 ounces.
 
I can't see either being optimal for concealed carry, but CC means SD and all else about the guns being equal, I would go with the 9mm. With the weight of those guns, control should not be an issue.

The only reason I can see for choosing either for CC/SD is price, and anything gained over a smaller, lighter, more concealable 9mm will soon be eaten up by the higher cost of 380 ammo. So if economy is a primary issue, 9mm would be the most economical choice.
 
All other things being equal, if you can handle the recoil, get the 9mm. Hipoint sells a killer carbine, and you can swap the magazines from the C9 to the carbine.

Also, 9mm really is a more potent self defense round.
 
Motor, since it's intended for CC, and might be needed to save your hide, why would you go with a rather anemic caliber, even if it does operate at half the pressure of the 9MM??? The 9MM has probably had more R&D work to improve terminal effectiveness than any other handgun caliber on the planet. Without even going to +P and +P+ ammunition, due to development of very effective projectiles, even standard pressure 9MM ammunition can be very effective.
Another factor to consider might be functional reliabilty between the two calibers. I don't know what pistols you're considering, but over a lot of years, I've seen many many more malfunctions with .380 pistols, by various manufacturers, than I ever have with pistols in 9MM......ymmv

BTW, within my humble experience, the .380 blowback pistols have recoil all out of proportion to the relatively minimal energy of the caliber. In fairness, I did recently have the opportunity to shoot a small .380 pistol with locked breech that did display very soft recoil. SIG P238, I believe, was the model.
 
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You can water down a 9mm to be like a .380, but it's impossible to Jack up a .380 to be a 9mm.

And yes, .380 ammo is much more expensive than 9mm.

Deaf
 
I'm assuming that you're interested in them for SD.

If they are identical in every way except for chambering, why would you want it in .380 ACP? Because of recoil? There's very little difference once you move out of the micro semi's in those calibers. Get used to the 9mm's recoil. Ammo is also a lot less expensive. Wear a pair of driving gloves to get used to the recoil if you have to. If and when you actually have to defend your life with it, recoil will be the last thing you feel.
 
380 ammo has recently become available and much at lower prices than they have been for a long time.

I just received 500 rounds of Fiocchi 380 from LAX at 30 cents a round. Still a little higher than 9mm, but certainly not twice the price.

If you willing to go with a Sig P238 or a Glock G42 you will have a much easier to carry and much softer shooter than any 9mm.
 
I have two lightweight blowback pistols in .380 (Grendel P-10 and Bersa Thunder) and would not say that recoil is difficult to manage in either. But, some people do, and I can't say anything about their reasons.

I own the C9 (bought it cheap off a friend) but have not shot it. Never held a C380, so I can't say if they're the same size or weight. If they are, or are so close that it makes no difference, I personally would go with the 9mm for some of the reasons everyone else above has already covered. I do not dismiss the .380 as a potentially-effective SD caliber, and have never felt "under-armed" when carrying either of those two guns. That being said, I do carry a pocket-nine (PF9) because I have one available to carry.

Only you know your tolerance for recoil, and I admit that, in never having fired this blowback beast in 9mm, I can't say I'd enjoy it, either.
 
MotorCraft said:
Found this.....

380 ACP 3.66’’ Barrel
90GR. Match Hollow Point
1100 FPS 241 Ft-Lbs


http://atomicammunition.com/380acp.html
Click to expand...
their claims and I quote from Atomic's website, "Our 380 ACP ammunition is designed to hit hard, expand to 150% of its original diameter even if fired through heavy clothing and still penetrate 12 inches or more of ballistic medium and all when fired from a small, concealed carry sized pistol" sounds pretty far fetched to me.

I don't believe it's possible to have 150% expansion and twelve inches of penetration with a 380 round in 10% ballistic gelatin.
 
Other than the fact that 380ACP is ballistically inferior to 9mm in every way?

If it is so small that 9mm would be hard to control, that would be a different story, but you said this is not a pocket pistol.

Of course, I am assuming this is for security since the purpose is not stated.

If it's just for plinking, none of this would matter.
 
If it was either/or I'd definitely go with the 9mm's superior ballistics now and get a .380 ACP later. Chamber pressure is seldom a reason to choose a gun as all modern, quality guns are designed with sufficient engineering safety margins for the cartridge they chamber. If you feel greater pressure means higher recoil, that isn't necessarily so. One of the most punishing handguns I've ever shot was a .380 ACP. Knocked chunks out of my thumb joint. Generally 9mm is a mild recoiling round but that too is not a hard and fast fact.
 
" I like the fact that the 380 is half the pressure of the 9mm". Well, The 380 is more than half the pressure of the 9mm. That said, if you like the 380 for self defense and are good with it, you do not need the 9mm.
 
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