I don't understand the rash of .380 pistols today.

[The Bushmaster]

First and foremost...You have to want to carry. If the handgun does not fit you, you will not carry it. Carrying a .380 is better then a sharp stick. My wife has a whole gun safe of handguns to choose from. Everything from 9mm X 19, .38 Specials, .357 mags and .45 ACPs. What does she pick up every morning? A Bersa Thunder .380. Because it's light, fits her hands, easy to hide and she shots well with it. I'd rather she carried it then nothing at all and that's what it would boil down to.

One more thing. Ammunition for the .380 has made great advances. Though I firmly believe that the 9mm X 19 to be the bare minimum for self defense. I still will not argue about carrying a .380 over nothing at all.

 

[chaplain tom]

I got into a similar discussion in another thread, I believe it was on this forum regarding the effectiveness of my little 2 shot .45/.410 Texas Defender. Almost everyone who posted on that thread seemed to be obsessed with killing the attacker. So they were all trying to explain why my choice of personal defense weapon was in their words, "useless".

I tried to explain that I carry with the intent of STOPPING the attack and getting away. If the attacker dies then so be it, but if I was able to stop him and get away, I would still be alive and I had done what I intended to do. The fact is though, my useless gun fired four .36 caliber lead balls into the attacker's throat at a distance of about 3 to 3 1/2 feet. He fell backwards to the ground and was dead before any LEO or emergency help arrived.

My point is that sometimes we get into this discussion and many seem to forget the real reason we carry. To STOP the attack and get away. In most cases, the vast majority of cases in fact, a few hits to the upper torso or throat or even the lucky head shot will stop the attack so we can get safely away. I only had to fire on shot to stop the attack, but who says we only get one shot. Several hits from almost any firearm will give you the few seconds needed to get away.

The reason so many people are buying .380's is in my opinion, for the same reason anyone buys any handgun. They like it. And it fits their idea of what they need.

 

[Nushif]

The Chaplain speaks good words.

 

[premier1]

They are certainly hot

Last year over 20 new models were champered in .380 The reason is that it is a great combintaion of caliber and firearm. The small sub-compact design matched up with the .380 is a match made in heaven. I personally own a XD in 9mm. I also own a Pk.380 both are very similar in size and both conceal about the same, but anything smaller in frame seems to work better in a .380. As for the caliber how big of a caliber do you really need. I mean does any body really want to be hit with any caliber from a .22 to a 44 mag.Believe me a .380 is enough for personal protection.

 

[Norrick]

My guess would be what Old Fuff said about the blowback not being suited for 9mm.

 

[357 Terms]

My ex and current g-friend simply wont carry anything bigger than a small mouse gun. Hot pants and tight jeans will print anything substantial. I would prefer they carry a 380 than a 32 or 25 auto. I just wish the Sig 238 I bought for the ex was more reliable, but then again she is the EX!

 

[JohnBT]

"I'm not beating up/or insulting ANYONE for their choice of gun."

It sure sounds like it to me.

fwiw, I have a P-32, 442, 649 and an R9, among others. I even appendix carry a BHP or the 442 sometimes.

I'm working on finding a pair of trousers with a front pocket large enough to conceal my Sig X-5 TAC TB without the threaded barrel poking a hole in the bottom of the pocket. Anybody ever front pocket carry a big gun with a silencer?

John

 

[trlhrv]

.380 ?

Maybe it's a conspiracy by the ammo manufacturers and gun makers to push up demand for the most expensive round in short supply? Critics are right. The .380 is a minimal caliber for personal protection and many 9mm(s) are just as easy to conceal and ammo is very affordable.

 

[Tapoutking]

I love my Baikal .380.

 

[Bigfoot]

One more thing. Ammunition for the .380 has made great advances. Though I firmly believe that the 9mm X 19 to be the bare minimum for self defense. I still will not argue about carrying a .380 over nothing at all.

Yep. The 380ACP Corbon DPX load equals the expansion and penetration of the typical 9mmx19 defensive load.

My ex and current g-friend simply wont carry anything bigger than a small mouse gun. Hot pants and tight jeans will print anything substantial.

Charlies Angels never printed. They could wear the tightest, brightest spandex 80s clothes and not print at all yet when it was time for an arrest they reached around to the middle of the back waistband and out came a S&W snubbie. It was amazing. No real point here I just wanted to reminisce about Cheryl Ladd....

 

[outerlimit]

My ex and current g-friend simply wont carry anything bigger than a small mouse gun. Hot pants and tight jeans will print anything substantial. I would prefer they carry a 380 than a 32 or 25 auto. I just wish the Sig 238 I bought for the ex was more reliable, but then again she is the EX!

I applaud you!! You're in luck if you get any girl to carry anything besides a purse full of cosmetics and random crap, they generally just don't care about guns. It's like us caring about how our hair looks when we walk into a gas station. The key seems to be not being too forcefull, just kind of grill their mind with it for awhile and then one day when they're bored they want to go shooting..

The funny thing is, in my experience these same kind of girls get really turned on when they find out you carry.. kind of like badge bunnies.

 

[n5odj]

Ben86 wrote: ".380 pocket pistols are great when discretion is vital."
That's what it's about for me. That and an occasional backup gun/reload. Mostly (99%) of the time, I carry a larger pistol semi-concealed (legal in TN).

Robert in the hills of Tennessee

 

[mcwicktx]

I bought a 380 because I am a woman and it fits in my hand well. When I was buying, that's what all the dealers told me - get one that feels good. Also, I have carpal tunnel syndrome, and by the time I pull the trigger on a larger caliber my aim is off. I shoot fine with a 9 mm, but I much prefer my 380 - I'm pretty accurate with it and feel confident that it's got enough fire power to stop somebody after I unload all my rounds into them.

 

[PabloJ]

This thread isn't intended to be an insult.


I have a problem understanding why so many gun manufacturers are coming out with .380 pistols for CCW market today.

The .380 package is not much smaller than a 9x19. The power factor of 9x19 isn't so much more than a 9x17 that it is impossible to design for.

KelTec PF9 and P11 are quite obvious examples that a small pistol can exist in 9mm Luger.

Sig P238 for example: Why not use that good Colt design and make it 9mm luger? Why is it that so many gun companies think .380 is what we want for a CCW pistol? I just can't wrap my head around buying a caliber I know is inferior to 9mm but the same size. Help me understand!

What is even more absurd is that .380 ammo is more expensive than 9 Luger ammo.

 

[lokpyrite]

Jeez, with all these folks crying about how hard it is to pack a PF-9, I probally shouldn't mention that I carry a PF9 and a G21 any time that I've got pants on

 

[Ben86]

I bought a 380 because I am a woman and it fits in my hand well. When I was buying, that's what all the dealers told me - get one that feels good.

I'm glad your .380 works for you. Though, often times women buy little .380s or snubbies because they are a "ladies gun" not knowing that they can be some of the most difficult guns to shoot. This line of thought is often perpetuated by the guy behind the counter, and I often combat this myth (much to the dealer's chagrin). After I say my piece they usually end up buying a subcompact or mid sized 9mm.

 

[NMGonzo]

Let's see.

I mostly move around on a motorcycle.

On my most of the time jacket, I had stashed a 5 1/2 inch redhawk.

Walking around in winter means that gun must drop in pocket.

That is when the Bersa comes out.

If I need more gun, I would really need to rethink my fighting ability.

Most likely adversary would be a coyote or a stray dog.

Les than arctic weather calls for whatever I want.

 

[NMGonzo]

Ok, that's a little harsh and I apologize. It just seemed to me that you were saying all people who opt for a pocket .380 over a larger gun with larger caliber are lazy. I see now that you didn't mean that. I agree that some are just being lazy, but some with some people that is all they can carry on them.

I run 3 miles every day, and the .380 comes with me.

But I am lazy!

 

[x_wrench]

in my mind, it has a lot to do with marketing. kel-tec had their little p3at out for a while before ruger brought out the lcp. when ruger introduced the lcp, they made it "cute" in my wifes words, by basicly just smoothing out some of the lines. and apparantly, "cute" is what it took to sell these little guys to the masses. one thing i will say for them, in anything but a tight bikini, a girl can carry one of these things anywhere, anytime, and no one will ever know. i am sure that is part of their appeal.

 

[pistolpacker]

More and more women are packing in the last decade and I believe this has something to do with the recent wave of pocket .380s, not to say pocket pistols are just for women because their not but women do seem to be more recoil sensitive in general and a 9mm in the pocket sized variety is more recoil than most women are comfortable with or can even shoot effectively. And then of course there are the people that choose one of the .380s due to their convenience of size and carry alone. I say to each his own, but I'll stick with my slightly larger sub-compact 9mm thank you very much.

 

[Tomcat47]

Mostly because it is NOT an inferior or inadequate cartridge, nor is .25 or .32 for that matter.

I predict NO on Fad!

It is only the fear of missing that makes one believe it is inferior!

Missing with a 9mm , 40 SW , 357 magnum, 45 Auto Etc.= Same results

IMO

Love the new SIG 238!

Carry Taurus PT58HC
Carry Beretta .32

 

[reflex439]

It seems odd to me that for a group of people so adamant about defending ones right to choose on so many other issues, that some loose this objectivity when it comes to what caliber to carry, what condition to carry in, or when or how often one should carry.

If we support ones decision to not carry at all, and an others decision to carry a .45 24x7, even in the shower, then we have to supports ones decision to carry anything in between, no?

Some got it exactly right. Carry whats right for the individual, based on their own risk assessment, environment, specific scenarios they are carrying for, and/or carry style.

My risks are very low. No gangs, no murders, no gun related violent crime. I carry when its convenient just because it is convenient, and, well, you just never know. So I carry maybe 10% of the time, mostly when I travel into other areas or situations with higher risk. I recently purchased an LCP. Now I carry 80% of the time. Not because my risks have increased, but because it is so convenient. And it's 100% more effective in that additional 70% of time where I wasn't carrying before. Truly the 'gun in hand is better then the one in the safe' in this case.

And yes, .380 is more than enough in many situations with proper training. 6 armed gang members at 50 feet, no. Against an armed car hijacker with a knife or sledge hammer at 2 feet, yes. In both cases, better than nothing? Absolutely.

I'm more likely to get hit on my mountain bike and killed, than needing a firearm. But I ride anyway, sometimes even sporting a nice new LCP

 

[quatin]

Not everyone is on the same boat you are about cartridge power. When I did some training in self defense, it became apparent that getting a small, easily concealable and hard to grab gun held much more weight than cartridge power that it can practicably be neglected. For those of us with bigger hands that can't comfortably wield a NAA mini revolver or Seecamps .32, we move up to the pocket .380s. The difference between 9mm and .380 really holds so little weight with me that unless the 9mm is smaller and lighter, I don't see a need to consider it.

 

[Fastcast]

one thing i will say for them, in anything but a tight bikini, a girl can carry one of these things anywhere, anytime, and no one will ever know. i am sure that is part of their appeal.

That's what the big caliber, big pistol, big men don't understand.....Woman are built and think different than men.

My wife has carried her LCP religiously. She carries it below the belly button, tucked in the waste band with a Desantis Nemesis holster. She never carried the bigger pistols anywhere near as much. They were too difficult for her to conceal. You're NOT going to get a woman to change her wardrobe to carry.

She doesn't shoot the LCP as well as the larger pistols, nor does she like it as well but she doesn't care....She cares that she has something, which is better than nothing because she left it at home. Unless your woman looks and dresses like a man, large pistols on the belt or IWB just does not work well for them......GET IT?

 

[archigos]

My LCP is my EDC. I can't conceal my M&P 40C with many of my outfits.