concealment is king sometimes
I just picked up a P238 Equinox, and a Bodyguard .380 this morning, and put a couple hundred rounds through each. The P238 is going to be my EDC pistol. I work as a loss prevention manager in a multi-floor, high end, retail store, in a busy mall. We apprehend some real dirt bags. Catch is, i'm in MA, and for the sake of professionalism, and the threat of some hippie calling the cops and possibly losing my unrestricted LTC-A that is difficult to get in the first place, nobody I deal with on a day to day basis at work, be it customer, belligerent drug addict shoplifter, or co-worker, can notice I have the pistol. I'm 5'7", 185lbs, about 7-8% body fat, and do rx'd crossfit workouts religiously. I wear somewhat fitted clothes because I'm single and work hard to be in the shape I'm in. This brings me to the need for a tiny pistol that still has some nut. Only thing that fits that bill is a .380. I have, or have had, a lot of the other pistols mentioned here. This includes the m&p 40c, lc9, lcp, 1911's, j frames, compact glocks, etc. I usually carry the M&P 40c when I'm out on my days off, or hiking, etc, but this little p238 just plain disappears IWB and it's still an accurate, well made, pistol with very good sights, that I can shoot well at short to medium range. The lcp is cheaper, was all the rage when it came out, and it's fine for what it is, but let's face it, the sights blow, the trigger is usually poor at best, and it just feels cheap. There are better things out there now in the sub compact .380 class. I will say the bodyguard is definitely a step above the lcp. It is much easier to shoot accurately than an lcp, the built in laser works great, and is nice for those that like lasers, and it at least has real sights. I don't like it as much as the P238 though so I'm probably gonna transfer it to my father because he has been talking about getting a small pocket gun and he's on a fixed income. I know there are many on here that say its stupid to carry anything smaller than 9mm because the "experts" at the FBI say it isn't adequate, and they don't care if someone is offended by their gun, but not all of us can have that mentality or we'd be unemployed or possibly sitting in a court room. Bottom line is .380 will kill someone just as dead, and just as quick, as any other round in skilled hands, and it has done it quite well since John Browning designed it in 1908. It has been used by military, law enforcement, and everyone in between and we still use it today so i'm thinking there has to be some good reason for that. Sure it isn't gonna penetrate all the way through to the spine of a 225lb man and stop him while he's high on adrenaline from a fire fight, in 6 layers of wool military winter gear, but we don't usually face those types of issues in today's world. I'm more worried about the 135lb bony, cracked out, toothless, heroine addict that smells like a dumpster coming at me with a rusty kitchen knife or an HIV filled syringe than anything.