.380 VS 9mm

[kyoten3]

Hey all, no im not trying to start a caliber war tonight and I understand the merits of 9mm as being the min. however I want to challenge that a bit. Lets say someone breaks into your home at night, you are half asleep and full of adrenaline, heart pounding and shaking, which do you think, taking the 'bigger is better' out of the picture, would perform better. I guess I'm asking that even though the 380 isnt as powerful as the 9mm if i cant hit the target with the 9mm or i get one shot on with 9mm and 5 on with 380, would it not be better to use the 380. I ask because we just found out that we are getting my mother in laws house/property, its in the sticks with only one neighbor thats very close. I have a .22lr pistol(10+1), 380 pistol (5+1) but im thinking of picking up a 9mm since I will be loosing my steel security door of my apartment.

Just not sure, I can handle the 9mm ok but the wife however not too sure about, its why i dont have a 12ga for home defense, she would just throw it at them. She is a fan of the .22lr but can shoot the 380 pretty decent just not a lot (hurts her wrist) the 9mm in question is a.....yes its a hi point. Heavy for its size but recoil is still more then the 380 we have.

Ive tried to get her used to shooting and she is good with the little 22 pistol and i have no doubt that 5 in the chest from a .22lr would leave someone pretty badly hurt just worried it wouldn't be fast enough.

380 is loaded with either speer gold dots or hornady critical defense and 2nd mag is fmj just in case.

 

[MedWheeler]

Is your .380 also a Hi-Point?

You need to be shooting what you can score well-placed, rapidly-repeated hits with. The larger-framed guns in .380 (Bersa, Beretta, etc.) can certainly be easier to achieve that with than some 9mm-framed ones.

But, if your .380 is one of the "keychain guns" (LCP, P3-AT, etc), then most of the 9mm medium-framed and bigger guns will likely be easier to handle.

I'd rather my wife handle a .22LR and be able to hit with it (she does, actually) than fire one ineffective shot with a 9mm indoors, at night, and without hearing protection, while ending up so overwhelmed by the blast she can't get another shot off. She has yet to move up to the .380 Bersa Thunder I have. My carry gun and my bedside gun are both in 9mm.

 

[jlr1962]

My 380 is harder to operate and shoot than all of my other pistols. It is a pocket pistol that I edc. Find something that she can operate easily. Our hands don't work well when they first wake up.

My Glock19 slide is easier to get hold of to rack the slide than my Buckmark. But firing the 19 might not be good for a part time shooter.

I suggest renting several 9's and 380's. The Beretta 92 I shot a few weeks ago was easier to get hands on and rack, and had less felt recoil than my Glock. The safety I would trust enough to leave a round chambered while it sat on a night stand. Some people will say that is not a good idea. I want one at some point.

Get some range time worked into your schedule. You don't want her to close her eyes,wince and turn her head if and when she might have to pull the trigger on any gun.

 

[Scarpia]

You may want to consider the wife's ability to rack the slide before choosing the caliber. Some guns rack easily while others are a challenge regardless of caliber. If you opt to have a round in the pipe at all times, then this is not an issue. I prefer not to have a round in the chamber so I keep an easy to rack gun nearby at all times. Of course, this all refers to a semi-auto. Why not a wheel gun and be done with it?

My easiest to rack semi-auto is the Sig P238. With the seven round extended magazine, it can get someone's attention. If the Sig P938 (9mm) is as easy to rack as the P238, you may want the wife to check it out at a LGS.

 

[TarDevil]

As previously alluded, this is a gun choice issue - not a caliber question.

 

[C0untZer0]

if i cant hit the target with the 9mm or i get one shot on with 9mm and 5 on with 380, would it not be better to use the 380

If this really is the situation then the answer is obvious.

 

[Wishoot]

Well placed hits on target trump caliber.

 

[psyopspec]

I guess I'm asking that even though the 380 isnt as powerful as the 9mm if i cant hit the target with the 9mm or i get one shot on with 9mm and 5 on with 380, would it not be better to use the 380.

Yes, given your assumption that outcome makes sense. But the assumption itself would prove true almost never.

 

[C0untZer0]

if i cant hit the target with the 9mm [sic] would it not be better to use the 380.

"If you think you can't - you're right."

- Mike Ditka -

 

[djont57]

My Taurus TCP .380 is much harder to control than my S&W SD9VE. I'm also more accurate with the 9mm.

 

[PJSprog]

My wife used to think the same way. She would only ever use her .22LR. Then, we got her to try some other calibers and cartridges. She now has a small .380 and a compact 9mm. Her targets with the .380 look like a shotgun with a bad pattern, and the 9mm shoots the X-ring out. I can't shoot that little .380 very well either. Those little guns are challenging, to say the least.

As also noted above, if hand strength is an issue, and it can be when racking a slide, maybe consider a revolver.

 

[X-Rap]

Just my opinion but I look at my 380 as a last resort or a backup to my g19 or 26. You'd be hard pressed to find a 380 more controllable than a G19. Beyond that caliber and capacity don't compare as well as ability to mount a light on later models.

 

[BSA1]

have a .22lr pistol(10+1), 380 pistol (5+1) but im thinking of picking up a 9mm since I will be loosing my steel security door of my apartment.

For starters I would install steel entry doors on your front, back and other entrances (garage for example).

Second get a big dog.

Three is there some reason you are ignoring a revolver?

Otherwise I don't really see the need for different gun(s) as the distances will still most likely short.

 

[C0untZer0]

If we're not ignoring revolvers get the Charter Arms 9mm PITBULL !

 

[minutemen1776]

As previously alluded, this is a gun choice issue - not a caliber question.

+1 on this. I believe strongly in matching the gun to the task and the cartridge to that gun. The strength of the .380 is that it can be chambered in tiny pocket pistols. For a home defense or nightstand gun, you don't need a diminutive pocket pistol. You need a larger service pistol, in which the 9mm really shines. In a larger gun, you will get more rounds, more power, and about the same relative felt recoil. Again, you need to start by matching the gun to the task.

 

[danez71]

This isn't a revolver vs semi auto issue.


This is a recoil issue.

A revolver doesn't mean it will be a softer shooter than a semi auto so it makes very little sense to be steering the OP to a revolver for a recoil issue.


To the OP....., of course the answer is shoot the biggest you (her) can accurately shoot. If that's a 22 for her then so be it. But is sounds like she can handle the 380... just not comfortably for a lot of shots.

If you can get her to empty the mag and be reasonably accurate then that probably the right choice even if she is sore afterwards.

If she's not accurate with the 380 because the recoil and discomfort for just one mag, then its probably not the right choice.


A larger 380 with a locked breach design instead of a blow back design would be better. A 32 could also be the answer.

A revolver could be the answer.... but not because it will be a softer shooter by nature of being a revolver. It will be because the weight of gun to caliber and how comfortable it fits in her hand.

 

[BSA1]

A revolver doesn't mean it will be a softer shooter than a semi auto so it makes very little sense to be steering the OP to a revolver for a recoil issue.

Since a revolver recoils differently it does make sense to consider them. A double action revolver recoils differently than a single action revolver and both recoil differently than a semi-automatic.

A revolver is much simpler than a semi-auto for someone who isn't really interested in handguns.

There is a wide selection of different power ammunition that can reduce the recoil of a revolver whereas with a semi-auto there isn't a lot you can do to it's recoil due to it's design.

 

[Tallball]

My 11year old daughter shoots.with me sometimes. She and my wife are both quite accurate with 32 h&r magnum revolvers. The recoil doesn't bother them in the least.

My daughter will occasionally shoot one of my large 380's. Since they are heavy and/or fire from a locked breech, they don't bother her much.

She doesn't want to try a 9mm.

 

[Derry 1946]

Have you thought about a .38 special revolver? For HD, it need not be small, and a larger platform is a good balance of capacity (6), power, simplicity of operation, safety, recoil, and muzzle flip. Or a 32-20.

 

[C0untZer0]

Beretta had the Model 86

380 AUTO
23 oz
7.28" OAL
4.37" barrel

It is a fairly soft shooting gun that is perfect for people who can't rack a stiff slide - since it has a tip-up barrel. It has the longest barrel of a semi-auto 380 available in the U.S. besides the Cobray. There is probably a wider range of 380 hollow points that have better terminal ballistics and expand more reliably fired from a longer barrel. I have to think though that if the gun were popular it would still be in Berreta's lineup.

Tanfoglio makes the FT9 - a full sized semi-auto, short-recoil action, chambered in 380 AUTO, but they don't export it to the U.S. I have to assume that they don't believe there is enough demand for it. The TF9 looks exactly like the EEA Witness to me - so maybe it is, but just chambered in 380 ACP, although the barrel length is listed as slightly longer on the 380 ACP TF9 versus the 9mm Witness

Tanfoglio FT9

380 AUTO
28 oz
8.07" OAL
4.60" barrel

 

[Robert101]

Try shooting a 45 automatic. Then after much practice scale back and shoot the 9MM or 380. The recoil will be much more manageable. Do some research on hand grip and better stance before shooting. Then shoot and practice a lot ( both you and your wife). 380 and 9MM do not provide harsh recoil.

 

[Iggy]

My wife just chose to replace her S&W 642 .38 Special revolver which hurt her thumb joint with a 45 ACP Kahr pistol.

I was worried about her response to the recoil and muzzle blast, but she took to it like a duck to water.

I wouldn't want to get crosswise with her if she had that gun in her hands.

 

[toivo]

A larger 380 with a locked breach design instead of a blow back design would be better.

The SIG P238 HD isn't large, but it's an all-steel locked-breech .380, making it one of the softest-shooting centerfire handguns I've ever encountered. With the extended magazine, shooters with small to medium hands can get all their fingers on the grip. I think it would be a great choice.

http://www.sigsauer.com/CatalogProductDetails/p238-hd.aspx

Glock 42 is another option in that category, or Ruger LC 380 (not LCP).

A 32 could also be the answer.

If you can find a CZ 83 in .32, go for it. It's a blowback action, but .32 ACP in an all-steel mid-size pistol is a breeze to shoot. Fifteen-round mags are a big plus, too. No longer imported, though, so not easy to find. Robertson Trading Post used to get them occasionally -- European police trade-ins, I think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZU0979I4jmc

 

[Armybrat]

What Iggy said. My Kahr CW45 is an easy to shoot & handle in a compact package

 

[righteoushoot]

I haven't shot one, but I hear tell the Ruger LC380 is very easy to rack, but the same gun otherwise as the LC9. So, bigger than the LCP.

As far as recoil, maybe someone else can weigh in.