do you own and shoot a .380?

In the past I had a Colt Mustang Pocketlite, Ruger LCP, and P3AT 380 - don't own a 380 now.
After work, dressed in sucky work clothes, a 380 in pocket was the best I could do (not the best I was willing to do).
Thank God, I'm no longer limited by work clothes and can dress as I prefer, which is in a manner conducive to concealment.
Even in the FL heat, a Glock 19 is IWB.
 
380 experience started when Mrs Canasta bought a SIG P238 & I figured if there was going to be a new caliber in the house I better take the opportunity to get me something & got a Colt Mustang Pocketlite. The SIG was a lot better out of the box, but I got "Sally" tuned up & had Novak put some usable sights on it. They're both reliable & viable alternative carry weapons but have fallen into the shadows of the micro-9's that aren't much bigger. I progressed to P938 & onto a P365 before going full circle back to my 1911's that I've come back to after answering the question: "If the chips are down which gun do you want in your hand?"
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My summertime carry gun is a AMT backup in .380. At 5 yards I can keep my shots in a 4" circle. Good enough for self defense use. My carry ammo is Remington golden saber 85grain HP.
 
MY favorite 380 has always been the old Browning 380. That was one of the best looking handguns ever made. I had one some years ago, and foolishly let it get away from me. It was a little large for it's caliber by today's standards, but back then the idea of a 13 round magazine was hot stuff. It was actually made by Beretta, who sold basically the same gun under their own name, but I always liked the Browning better.

But that's all water under the bridge. I still like the 380, and the older I get the more small and light appeal to me. These day's I carry a Kimber Micro 380. Good shooting little gun. Reliable as a Timex watch, the next malfunction will be the first, and makes tiny little groups even when I shoot it, which is impressive. I carry it in a nice little Leather OWB holster, with a couple of spare mags. Why a couple? Because I've got them, and don't see much sense in leaving one at home. My ammo is Sierra "Outdoor Master" 90 grain HP. That's pretty much all I could find the last time I bought ammo for it, so that's what I use. With the extended magazine it's 7 +1. I bought this one used, and didn't realize it at the time, but it also has night sights, something I've never had on a gun before.

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I've also got a Kimber Micro 9. Pretty much the same gun, except chambered for 9mm.

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Mrs. Fl-NC carries one, a Ruger LCP. I have her shoot a few rounds once in a while for practice. I prefer a 9mm shield. That pistol and others in 9mm have the size and weight that works best for me for ease of concealment with the increase in power of 9mm. Most modern/quality autos are pretty reliable with HP rounds from a reputable manufacturer. But test your equipment to know for sure. I test a few HP's in a new autoloader after a session with ball ammo, after the gun is nice and dirty and I have "warmed up".
 
Here are some of mine. If you want "well concealed, the Browning 1911-380 (bottom right) is a bit big. It is well suited for ill-concealed carry will say that the Kimber (top right) is on my belt right now.
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I no longer own a 380. I sold my baby rock and replaced it with a sig 365xl. More oomph out of the front end, less out of the rear end, and more fuel in a lighter container.
 
at some point, i plan to buy a browning 1911-380. i love the way that pistol looks and i think it would be ok for concealed carry. but i have no experience with that caliber. i've watched a bunch of videos of that gun, on some there's no problems and some others it don't feed so good.

so i wonder about anybody's experiences with .380 and what is the good ammo and what to avoid. i've got this notion in my head that autoloaders work better with ball ammo than with hollowpoints. i know the .380 isn't a real powerhouse round, but, hey, i'm a "shot placement" believer

any thoughts about .380 you'd care to share?

it's the 2d rung on my "Stairway to 1911".

i bought a S&W 380, EZ, from someone, who bought it in August of last year, during the mad-pandemic gun and ammo frenzy.

she NEVER used it, kept it in her closet. (her husband bought a Glock, G-19, KEPT THAT in the closet as well...!!!) and i will certainly keep that Glock.

i thought it would be a good CCW gun, (the .380) but i think it sucks.

it has 2, 8 rnd mags, to me, anything less than 15 rnds, is useless.

i am in the process of taking it to the range, and blowing off all the ammo i have for it, (about 200 rounds left to go) then i will clean/lube it, and dump it for whatever i can get for it.

9MM (to me) is the better choice for stopping power, (and mag capacity) then go up to .45 if one wants to.

i'd not recommend wasting money on any 380.
 
We have a few sig p238s and I routinely pocket Carry an original LCP for those times when I want an ultra concealable pistol.

my sidearm is typically a 9mm but the 380 fills it’s specific role nicely. I reload for mine as well but only carry factory ammo Hornady CD is my carry round of choice.
 
I carry a Remington RM380 loaded with Precision One .380 ACP 90 grain XTPs as a backup to my Rohrbaugh R9

And here is the video:



Thanks to ShootingTheBull410, what a great guy...


AmmoQuest updated it original final results. It has a new winner. Here’s the video.
 
I had an FEG PA63 for a while in .380 acp. James Bond two tone pistol. Pretty slick.
Horrible trigger pull. Hmm, no thanks.
 
I have owned 2 .380 pistols.

I had a Kel-Tek P3AT and it was the most painful gun I ever fired. Recoil was stupid, but the trigger would bit my finger and after a couple of magazines the first knuckle on my trigger finger would ache fro being whacked under recoil. Carrying it was a breeze. I hated shooting it so I sold it.

I had a Remington RM380, but to make a long story very short I sold it along with a Remington R51 because the guy buying the R51 also wanted the RM380, so away they went.
I carried the RM380 along with my S&W 442.
Te RM380 was very accurate with Remington Ultimate Defense 102 grain HP ammo and Hornady American Gunner 90 grain XTP.

Here is the RM380 with my 442
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I have gone through a lot of 380 pistols between my wife and I. Owned many of the notable models like G42, Taurus TCP, Bersa Thunder, Kel-tec P3AT etc. A few years ago I had a sit down with the Mrs and showed the couple 380s we had next to my 9mm PPS. The size difference between the 380s and my new 9mm was too slight to matter. Within a month I had sold them off along with their ammo.
 
AmmoQuest updated it original final results. It has a new winner. Here’s the video.


ShootingThe Bull410 is a great guy and I appreciate all the work he did and the testing that he published.

Most police departments use JHPs in either 9mm or 40 S&W. There is a fairly large data set now gathered over decades, from police shootings, that indicate that cartridges that do well in the FBI tests and MacPherson's IWBA 4-layer denim protocol do well in actual field use.

People get caught up sometimes about ordinance gel not simulating bone or lung, or 4 layers of denim not representing the clothing that an assailant is going to be wearing, but all of that misses the point. There is a strong correlation between JHPs doing well in the FBI tests and the IWBA protocol and JHPs doing well in actual police use.

I'm not sure anyone can pull out one specific characteristic of a solid bullet's behavior in ordinance gel (besides penetration), through the FBI test barriers or through 4 layers of denim and make conclusions about the bullet's effectiveness in real world scenarios.

The Lehigh bullets do penetrate well. I guess I view them like the .32 ACP Lehigh Defense Xtreme Cavitators - they do poke a hole sufficiently deep to puncture vital organs, but I'm hesitant to make any other correlations.
 
I have owned 2 .380 pistols.

I had a Kel-Tek P3AT and it was the most painful gun I ever fired. Recoil was stupid, but the trigger would bit my finger and after a couple of magazines the first knuckle on my trigger finger would ache fro being whacked under recoil. Carrying it was a breeze. I hated shooting it so I sold it.

I had a Remington RM380, but to make a long story very short I sold it along with a Remington R51 because the guy buying the R51 also wanted the RM380, so away they went.
I carried the RM380 along with my S&W 442.
Te RM380 was very accurate with Remington Ultimate Defense 102 grain HP ammo and Hornady American Gunner 90 grain XTP.

Here is the RM380 with my 442
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Great minds...

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I carry the 442 more than the RM380 but I like them both about as much as you can like a pocket gun. The RM380 goes in a vest pocket very nicely and when the weather gets cold I frequently carry it their.
 
"If the chips are down which gun do you want in your hand?"

:thumbup:

That statement is similar to my philosophy, "Strive to carry a handgun you would prefer in hand to defend yourself"

Both statements are location independent; whatever is preferred in an area of greater "anticipated threat" aint reduced in a "good area".
 
I own (and shoot) an original lcp. My first one didn't care for certain hollowpoints that had a larger hole like the Winchester PDx1, it ran fine with Critical Defense through which has a more tapered nose. Somewhere around 1200 rounds and 9 years of regular carry (sometimes submerged while wade fishing) it locked up and Ruger replaced it. My new one is more accurate and seems less picky on hollowpoints, it's cycled everything I've run through it so far.
 
My summertime carry gun is a AMT backup in .380.

I carried an AMT DAO .380 for a few years... it was compact, and it went bang when I pulled the trigger, that's about the nicest things I can say about it. I have since moved it on down the trail.

I have a Colt's Government stainless .380, I like it a lot... it's a great range pistol, and particularly to help people learn to shoot centerfire automatic. It superceded the AMT as my carry piece, but IMHO opinion, it needs some mods before being a good, safe carry gun.

Just FYI, I have the Colt, which is a locked breech design (1911,) my brother has a PPK/s... which is blowback. Although there is a certain sauve faire to the PPK/s, it isn't as much fun to shoot. The blowback action cracks your hand pretty good compared to the Colt's Government.

If you want to shoot .380 regularly, and you have not recently won the lottery, you will need to handload... and keep a stash of components. During any period of ammo shortages, one of the first things to dry up is .380, and ammo makers are reluctant to waste time making .380, when they could be cranking out 9mm. I saw that first hand during the First Dark Age... but I was setting fat on 1000rds of factory, and plenty of components.
 
CajunBass
MY favorite 380 has always been the old Browning 380. That was one of the best looking handguns ever made. I had one some years ago, and foolishly let it get away from me. It was a little large for it's caliber by today's standards, but back then the idea of a 13 round magazine was hot stuff. It was actually made by Beretta, who sold basically the same gun under their own name, but I always liked the Browning better.

I had the "sister" gun to yours; the Beretta Model 84. Have to agree with you that the Browning BDA .380 was a fine looking gun but I preferred the frame mounted safety of the Beretta to the slide mounted safety on the Browning. My Model 84 was extremely reliable with any type of ammo and fairly accurate as well. Never had any problems with it though I did find it kind of on the wide side for comfortable concealed carry. It served as a decent home defense gun for a number of years as well.
 
eddiememphis

A most excellent choice for the first gun you ever bought!

A friend of mine had a stainless SIG P230 and it had the Hogue grips on it as well. First time I saw it I was instantly impressed by how well built it was and how comfortable it felt in my hand. Like the gun equivalent of a Swiss watch.
 
Own and shoot .380s? Yes, a few.

It started with a Ruger LC380 which was as much as my wife could rack the slide and manage the recoil pain after extensive hand surgery.
After shooting the LC380 a bit myself, I got a Remington RM380 because it fit in my jeans' watch pockets (like a built-in pocket holster).
Then my wife got a Smith EZ which led to larger guns and we got a Sig P250 Compact (15-round magazines) as a shared bedroom gun.

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All of the above pistols are hammer-fired, locked-breech designs.
 
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ShootingThe Bull410 is a great guy and I appreciate all the work he did and the testing that he published.

Most police departments use JHPs in either 9mm or 40 S&W. There is a fairly large data set now gathered over decades, from police shootings, that indicate that cartridges that do well in the FBI tests and MacPherson's IWBA 4-layer denim protocol do well in actual field use.

People get caught up sometimes about ordinance gel not simulating bone or lung, or 4 layers of denim not representing the clothing that an assailant is going to be wearing, but all of that misses the point. There is a strong correlation between JHPs doing well in the FBI tests and the IWBA protocol and JHPs doing well in actual police use.

I'm not sure anyone can pull out one specific characteristic of a solid bullet's behavior in ordinance gel (besides penetration), through the FBI test barriers or through 4 layers of denim and make conclusions about the bullet's effectiveness in real world scenarios.

The Lehigh bullets do penetrate well. I guess I view them like the .32 ACP Lehigh Defense Xtreme Cavitators - they do poke a hole sufficiently deep to puncture vital organs, but I'm hesitant to make any other correlations.

I agree. I carry 124g HST JHP in 9 mm. However, in my LCP I carry Underwood Extreme Defenser since the odds of JHP expanding out of such a short barrel are low.
 
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