Ummmm....Let's see if I get this straight:
1. Best .25 ACP loads send 50-70 gr pill @ 900fps;
2. Best .380 loads send 85-95 gr load @ 1050-1150fps
3. The .380 penetrates deeper
4. The .380 makes a larger diameter hole aka wound channel
5. But there's no difference in performance against bad guys?
Fellas, I don't think we could see a huge difference in one-shot stops....on mice. Once you move up to rats, the .380 is the way to go. Racoons and opossums? Good luck with that .25, I think you'll need multiple shots if you miss the head shots (remember of course, shot placement is everything
).
All joking aside, a bigger, heavier faster bullet is the way to go. I know the .25 can do in a pinch (sometimes); I had a homicide case where the victim took a .25 slug under the arm - the bullet hit in just the right spot and went into the guys heart and he died. But in most instances you're going to miss most of your shots, and will be lucky to hit the bad guy
at all. You want a round that disables when you
miss the vital organs and only hit an arm or leg, as opposed to a round that may not disable even if you hit where you are aiming.
The .380 is a marginal round...but compared to the .25 its an elephant gun.
The .25 doesn't guarantee quick kills against a racoon; do you really want to trust your life to that?
-David