.380acp or 38.spl?

[laffourcade]

As much as I love Berettas I find the cheetah way too heavy for the limited magazine capacity.

But I saw a Tanfoglio .380, same capacity as glock 25, just 11mm less barrel lenght, and sa/da

I´ve never fired a tanfoglio, so tell me, what would you choose glock 25 of tanfoglio FT 9

Tanfoglio FT 9 link

 

[Hypnogator]

Of the two, I would definitely go with the Tanfoglio. Light SA trigger-pull should be easier to shoot than the Glock's "safe-action" trigger, and safer as well if you carry it decocked. If you need it in a hurry, just point and pull. If you have time, thumb-cock it for accuracy on the 1st shot.

 

[laffourcade]

Yes, the only thing I don´t love about glocks is the dao... I believe is a lot safer to have a sa/da, with an empty chamber.

Do you think those 11mm less of barrel will be significant in 25m targets?

 

[verge]

You might also want to consider a .380 with Federal EFMJ ammunition. This may supply the necessary expansion without breaking the law regarding HP ammunition.

EDIT -- Scratch that they don't offer EFMJ in .380. Too bad.

Could you get by using something like Corbon PowRBall?

http://www.shopcorbon.com/Glaser-PowRBall/380-Auto-70gr-PowRBall/PB38070-20/600/Product

 

[dodo bird]

I wouldn't worry too much about hollow points in Mexico. I would think a shovel would be better for after the fact. I hate to sound so grim, I just wouldn't trust anyone with a uniform there.

 

[mgregg85]

Well I recently bought two guns, one in each of those calibers.

The first was a Ruger LCR in .38 special. Its an awesome little revolver with a great DAO trigger. I would highly recommend it and I'm betting .38 special would be more effective than the .380 acp.



My second purchase was a Sig P238, an improved copy of the Colt Mustang that a few people have mentioned. I love this pistol, its small enough to easily ride in my pocket, very light @15 ounces and it came with tritium night sights. More on the sights, they are of three dot and big for a pocket pistol which makes them much easier to use than say a P3AT/LCP. Of course it is a bigger gun than either of those two but I feel its also much better.

The trigger pull isn't bad but it isn't great either. I hope to have a trigger job done on it someday but its still very usable and I find myself shooting it a lot more accurately than I ever shot my P3AT or P11.

 

[laffourcade]

Verge, too bad for that EFMJ... On the other hand, PowRball ammo is allowed, just not very sure if I prefer it over a standard FMJ.

Dodo, that´s a good advice in Mexico, a shovel and some gallons of acid...

mgregg85, seems interesting that rugger snubbie, but I already have one similar. Still, I prefer a medium sized barrel.

I believe it´s either gonna be the glock 25 or the tanfoglio FT9

 

[NG VI]

EDIT -- Scratch that they don't offer EFMJ in .380. Too bad.

Yeah because of that rubber filling in the nose they need to use a fairly long bullet for those. Would have been a nice choice though.

 

[hermannr]

This whole discussion makes me think of the French Common Law "guilty until proven innocent" rather that the English CL, "innocent until proven guilty"

I wonder how many politico's (Mex or US) really think that the gangs, and the BG's in general, even care what their handgun laws are? Who are they fooling? I would bet there is very little gang violence in Switzerland..eh?

 

[Jeb21]

A 38 special gets my vote given your limitations. Best of luck to you.

 

[David E]

I believe is a lot safer to have a sa/da, with an empty chamber.

Safer for who?

If you meant it's safer for idiots, fools and badguys, then I agree with you.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Since you said you like the 1911 format best and .38 Super is a caliber that's allowed in Mexico I think you have already answered your question. I think you should get a 1911 in .38 Super. That's a good handgun in a good caliber.

 

[laffourcade]

No, .38super is'nt allowed in Mexico, just .38spl (of course in revolvers), .380 is the biggest pistol caliber allowed...

 

[Manco]

I once observed a very interesting phenomenon. I was out in the middle of no place and had my Rossi Stainless Model 88 snubby with me loaded with standard factory .38 spl 148 gr target wadcutter loads (probably Winchester), and my old AMT .380 backup loaded with the standard Winchester Silvertip HP ammo (I forget the bullet weight). Anyway, I fired several shots from the .38 spl at a scrap piece of heavy duty corregated sheet metal from about 10 yards. All the .38 rounds put a healthy dent in the sheet metal but none penetrated it. Then standing in the same exact spot I fired several rounds from the .380. Every single one of them blasted a hole completely through the sheet metal.

That makes sense to me because the wide, flat nose of a wadcutter that causes so much damage to flesh by crushing it and cutting/tearing it at the edge can spread the applied force of the bullet out to the point where the bullet cannot pierce sheet metal (of a certain thickness and strength). In this case, even though .380 ACP is generally somewhat weaker overall, the narrower noses of the hollow-point bullets concentrated the force to where it was strong enough to pierce the metal, and once that happened pushing the rest of the bullet through was not a problem.

The main principle at work here is that as you observed different materials can behave quite differently in response to the various characteristics of bullets in flight. Generally, hard, dry materials often respond in the opposite manner to that of soft, wet materials. For example, light, fast bullets tend to penetrate many barriers better than slow, heavy ones, while the latter tend to penetrate more deeply into flesh. And evidently wadcutters generally have no trouble penetrating soft materials, but thin, hard materials are more easily penetrated by pointier bullets.

That was a cool example--thanks for sharing.

 

[TexasBill]

I was confused about the comment about the Beretta Cheetah. I have the 84FS Cheetah and its capacity is 13+1. Same for the Browning BDA. Topped off with 14 Remington 102-grain Golden Sabers, it weighs 811 grams (28.6 ounces). It's an all-metal (steel slide, alloy frame) pistol and a sweet-shooting piece. Beretta also makes a very nice shoulder holster for the Cheetah.

Walther PK380. Nice, inexpensive, fun to shoot, accurate. 8+1 capacity.

 

[laffourcade]

TexasBill,you're right, my mistake. I had in mind the 92fs, not the cheetah, which is just a bit heavier than glock 25, and almost the same mag capacity (on standard mag)

 

[Cop Bob]

No 38 Supers in Mexico??? when did they do that? that has been a very popular caliber down there for many years...

I wonder why anyone there would even worry about legal calibers and registration... the cartels do whet the heck they want to, and the darn government there lets them...

I have a man that works for me that went ot vist his Father in Puebla (sp?) a few weeks ago for his 80th birthday... he was afraid to drive... 1st time in years,.. he wanted to hire a mariachi band, and was advised against it.. the cartels, if they see something that makes them think you have a little bit of money, they will kidnap or rob you... What the.........? Looks to me like they need to envoke the 2nd amendment.

 

[laffourcade]

Cop Bob;

Around late 60's and early 70's, we had a very repressive government, there were even 2 attacks using warfare on civilians in public demonstrations, so the government was afraid of an uprising, that's when they banned carrying and big bore guns.

I live in Puebla (250km south from mexico city) actually, and there´s no drug-related violence in here yet. But what your worker told you is a reality in northern states, specially in small towns. In the bigger cities there doesn´t go a week without a shootout between rival drug cartels.

But in central and southern mexico, things are safe as long as you think safe. In 28 years living in here I've never seen a gun fight, and I´ve never been robbed (let´s hope it continues that way). As in any big city, there´s crime, but if someone needs or wants to travel to central (including mexico city) or southern mexico, don´t worry, it´s not that bad.

 

[VirgilCaine]

Good luck, laffourcade, hope you stay safe, and keep hanging around here!

Good to get some foreign perspectives.

 

[laffourcade]

Thanks, VirgilCaine, I´ll surely keep 'round, I received a lot of help from your comments.

 

[gallo]

In Mexico, I'd choose a hi capacity .380 over a .38 revolver. Given that you can't conceal carry in Mexico, for home defense I'd have a shotgun which is legal too.