Lethal .380

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AMBASSADOR

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Is it possible to seriously injure or kill a person with a .380ACP.I have herd that it is better than nothing,beats a punch in the nose.How affective is this round.Would anyone volunteer to get shot and explain how it feels?.;)
 
First of all. No one volunteers to get shot. Period.
Any caliber bullet is capable of killing someone. Shot placement makes even the 17 a potential killer. As a former paramedic and current ER nurse I have seen my share of gunshot victims and all of them were very unhappy about being shot. At least those that were still alive.
 
.380 is just as deadly as 9mm, FMJ's are very weak, but your SD load shouldn't be FMJ.

modern bullet tech has gotten quite good, carry what you can fit, cause if you aint gonna carry it, then it aint gonna help you any.
 
If the .380 isn't deadly then we sure put the pathologist to a lot of work for a couple of shootings I handled involving a .380. If they weren't dead then they should of spoken up before the pathologist performed the autopsies on them.
 
Fellow I know Popped his g-friend's ex as he was pointing a shotgun at him. DRT.

Seemed to be fairly lethal.
 
I read somewhere that .22's account for a large percentage of firearm deaths, so a .380 is at least as lethal I would think.
 
I got your "beats a punch in the nose"!

http://www.brassfetcher.com/380ACP.html

Note that both FMJ loads would probably shoot through two BG's if you stacked them just right!

And the JHP loads would certainly leave a mark!
12" penetration and almost 1/2" expansion out of a tiny little Kel-Tec ain't all that bad for a lot of other calibers.

rcmodel
 
C'mon, guys, it might be aserious question.

Not all people read as much, shoot as much or frequent forums as folks who are serious about our sport.

Coupled with that is the usual hubbub about "mouse guns" fueled by blowhards over coffee at gun shops.

Two of my self-defense pistols are .380 ACP. And even after all these years I get funny looks and friends ask me, "Tourist, I know you own .45's and .40's, so why is your EDC a .380 ACP?"

Even after I show them that my particular firearms are Tusseys that cycle Gold-Dots and Golden Sabers, they are so accustomed to misinformation that they sincerely believe I have made a poor choice.

I'll bet we have members here who would begrudgingly opine that a .380 ACP is the "smallest acceptable cartridge" a real martial artist should consider.
 
.380 is 9mm short.

Slightly less velocity if I remember correctly, but at the ranges it is typically used at it is absolutely deadly.

Some police forces (notably in Brazil) carry .380 caliber Glocks.
 
I sure hope it's lethal!

My everyday carry gun is chambered in .380 ACP. It's a Sig P232.

Ballistic gelatin tests show it to be adequate for self defense. Even the JHPs manage 12" of penetration. I carry 90 grain Federal Hydrashoks.
 
Note that both FMJ loads would probably shoot through two BG's if you stacked them just right!
Click to expand...
People read too many gun rags and when they read something that says a certain round doesn't penetrate deep enough they think that means it will bounce off a person. As you write, people who have never seen the results of a shooting would be surprised at the penetration of even those rds the "experts" claim won't penetrate.
Oct 2, 1996. We were making an entry into a hotel room when the BG began firing at us with a TEC-9 in one hand and a Colt Mustang .380 in the other. He fired a total of 11 rds. He then reloaded the .380 and put a FMJ thru his head. It entered in front of and at the top of his right ear and exited at the rear of and top of his left ear. It then went thru the arm of a large cushion type chair and hit a dry walled wall. It traveled thru about 2" of the dry wall when it struck a 2X4 wood stud, stopping after an 1" in the stud.
The 9mm ammo was FMJ stuff too. When we were digging the bullets out of the walls you couldn't tell by the depth of the bullet what kind of bullet it was until we got it dug out.
One of our guys shot a BG at about arms distance using a PPK loaded with Silvertips. The rd hit the BG center mass just below the rig cage and came to rest fully expanded up against the spine. DRT.
 
Check out Buffalo Bore or Double Tap. If you want a more household
name then gold dot and hornady xtp are good as well as the federal hydroshock
 
I'd like to say just one thing about the penetration issue, if you can actually call it an issue.

Put your hand on your chest, thaaaat's right, right over the center. Feel that rhythmic thumping? We call that your "heart". On a person of average height and weight that heart thing is about three inches back from where your hand is right now. Even if a guy is as big as me, 6' 3" and 255 lbs, the heart is still no more than about four inches back.

Now, I'll agree that the heart is surrounded by a tough fibrous sack called the pericardium, but that ain't made of Kevlar and the bone in front of it, the sternum, isn't plate steel!:banghead:

The .380 is a nice load for self defense, especially if you have small hands, and especially if, like my wife, you have grip issues.

We have enough debate about penetrating power vs. actual stopping power raging over the 9mm and .45acp. Let's just not go there with this caliber.
 
[email protected] isn't a troll. It seems that he is a guy that has some experience with firearms, but perhaps is lacking experience in some areas of firearms (ie Handguns.)

I just scanned through all of his posts on THR, and I do not get a "troll" feeling out of any of them.

Before anyone starts making accusations about someone being a troll, it is usually helpful to take a look at their past on THR. It may change your mind.


-- John
 
Most European law enforcement, and a lot of military, carried the 9mm Kurtz, or 9mm Short,...aka .380 for decades. I can think of some of the finest SD pistols ever made that were carried and chambered in .380. I have personally carried a Walther PP, a PPK, a Beretta 84 for many years, and have see first hand what they are capable of. I carry a Keltec P3AT almost daily, and my wife's primary carry gun is is a Bersa in .380At SD distances, it is at least as effective as a .38 Special with the right rounds. My carry load is Federal low recoil HP's for the keltec,...and NO,..I wouldn't personally care to be shot by a .380,...or any other round,....again!
 
I do not have any personal experience with a .380 but from research on the internet I can conclude that it is a good defense caliber.
I will get a .380 eventually as a back-up since Bersa makes a small and concealable handgun that I could use when on the road as a glove box gun.
I prefer revolvers but I always welcome semi-autos too.
 
Lack of experience

As JWARREN states I do lack experience in the area of handguns,as for the fact that I at my late age I am just becoming acustom to owning my first handguns ever.I have owned firearms for over fourty years.I never really had a liking for handguns or a need for one.Due to circumstance I can shoulder a long arm.I have always known that a rifle or shotgun will out match any handgun.I always chose a 12ga shotgun for H.D
I currently own a 22Mark III AND A 686P 357MAG(LONG SHOTS) and just aquired a Walther PPK/S.380 for HD.The round has been around for about70yrs or more.I just thought that if it was good enough to stay popular,it just might still work.
What good is a large caliber in a small house,when a .380 will work?Hits count and noboby will die from pneumonia if missed by a large caliber.:scrutiny:
 
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