Those of you who feel a .380 is underpowered for ccw, would you carry a 9X18?

[MCgunner]

I consider the .380 to be minimal for self defense and consider the 9x18 a glorified .380. I own a .380, a 9x18 (P64), and a 9x19 pocket gun (Kel Tec). Is it wrong to like 'em all? The .380 is my least favorite, but I'm currently in LOVE with that P64 even though the Kel Tec is a proven gun and the logical best choice for carry. I reload all three calibers, but it's nice to run to Academy and pick up a box of Monarch 9x18 for 10 bucks. I prefer it to .380 because I can trim 9x19 brass to reload it, it's cheaper to buy ammo for, and it's accurate and fun to shoot. I don't really prefer it because it's any more effective as a defense caliber. I really don't know if that's true. I do know that P64 is unreal accurate and quite reliable. I feel better armed with it than any of the .380s for that reason alone.

I hardly ever shoot my .380, but the 9x18 and the 9mms get fired a lot. There's more to that story than ammo and brass availability and price, too. I just like the other two calibers better than .380 and I like the guns I own better than the .380 I own.

 

[Wishoot]

In the whopping two weeks that I've owned my CZ82, it's proven itself very reliable and amazingly accurate. In fact, I shoot it better than anything else I own.

The accuracy alone makes this round/gun combination a winner.

 

[Hatterasguy]

IMHO the round you shoot is nothing but a detail thats not all that important.

What is important is finding a CC pistol that you will carry all the time. Some guys have no trouble carrying full size 1911's and don't think twice about it. Others find it way to bulky and they prefer a little pocket .25.

Either way the first and most important rule of a gunfight is to have a gun. So if a little pocket pistol is what you will carry all the time, carry it. Having a little .380 when the shooting starts is 100% more usefull than a Mak you left home because its bulky and you were only running down the street to buy a gallon of milk.

One you have a pistol you will carry the most important thing is training, and more training, and than some more training, followed by more training. So your muscle memory will make you take the pistol out, and put rounds on target if you should ever need to do so.

Pistols in 9x18 tend to be more bulky, if that works for you go for it. If since its more bulky you start to leave it at home than a .380 that you carry is a better choice.

 

[GLOOB]

to name a few selling 9x18 at a much cheaper rate than 9mm

Oh, really. One of those places you listed actually sells Luger cheaper than 9x18:
http://www.jgsales.com/product_info...gr-fmj-50rd-box-/cPath/25_31/products_id/2623

It's not HP, but I'd rather shoot FMJ in 9x18, anyway. And I'd take FMJ Luger over anything 9x18.

 

[pvthouse]

IMHO if I'm going to be in a fight I'm gonna be bringin the biggest stick that I can carry. Glock 21 .45 acp with a 13+1 capacity. Reason being nearest .380 ammo is about an hour away and rediculousy over priced for what it is and 9x18 is also fairly uncommon but still easier to find. Its all about what you shoot well and those little "pocket" pistols don't do a dang thing for me. Can't hit a thing with one because they feel so goofy in my hands but then I pull up the glock and what do you know beautiful grouping in the kill zone. I'm not knocking either round because it has been proven throughout history that they are proficient man stoppers but refer back to the bigger stick portion of my post. Just my very long winded .02

 

[harmon rabb]

I'll be damned. Didn't realize JG was selling 9mm luger so cheap

 

[Fastcast]

It's not HP, but I'd rather shoot FMJ in 9x18, anyway. And I'd take FMJ Luger over anything 9x18.

Hmmmmm.......Why is that?....9x18 is 9.25mm so it actually punches bigger holes than 9mm Luger, if all you're using is FMJ......9x18 has plenty of punch to send FMJ clean through a human being at any legal SD distance so why not go with the one that makes a bigger hole?

 

[gearhead]

Oh, really. One of those places you listed actually sells Luger cheaper than 9x18:
http://www.jgsales.com/product_info...gr-fmj-50rd-box-/cPath/25_31/products_id/2623

It's not HP, but I'd rather shoot FMJ in 9x18, anyway. And I'd take FMJ Luger over anything 9x18.

If you want to shoot Brown Bear through your modern 9mm, go for it. I won't, though. The combloc pistols eat that Russian steel-case stuff like a pit bull eats a pork chop, it's what they were made for.

 

[harmon rabb]

The combloc pistols eat that Russian steel-case stuff like a pit bull eats a pork chop

lmao

 

[mbt2001]

My problem with the 9x18, like others have stated, is that the firearms are the same size as many 9x19 pistols which begs the question of why not step up to 9x19.

Part of it is price... Read the comments, again and again people have cited price. For the price of 1 x CCW style 9x19 (Walther PPS / Kahr / etc...) you can get 2 380/9x18's in tested and reliable designs.

Not everyone has lots to spend on their hobby.

 

[mbt2001]

Oh, really. One of those places you listed actually sells Luger cheaper than 9x18:
http://www.jgsales.com/product_info....oducts_id/2623

It's not HP, but I'd rather shoot FMJ in 9x18, anyway. And I'd take FMJ Luger over anything 9x18.

The only guns that I would even dare shoot that steel cased crap in is a Glock. If you use it for your other 9mm, you are looking at a broken extractor or worse.

 

[Fastcast]

The Silver Bear 9x18 is actually clean and accurate to boot.....I'm impressed, I like it!

 

[FirearmsEnthusiast]

The only guns that I would even dare shoot that steel cased crap in is a Glock. If you use it for your other 9mm, you are looking at a broken extractor or worse.

You should see the gashes in my .38 Super cases rim. I bet it'd be broken if I was using steel cased cartridges

 

[Guy de Loimbard]

I carry a 9x18 most of the time, either a P64 or CZ-82. Anything smaller I'd be hard pressed to get my hand around, anything lighter in my experience so far has been unpleasant to fire.

 

[bdb benzino]

For me the Makarov is so natural feeling that it is a natural pointer even without the sights. Making it possible to get multiple rapid hits consistantly, which is a feature you want in your CC pistol, a little second nature if uou will.

 

[GLOOB]

If you want to shoot Brown Bear through your modern 9mm, go for it. I won't, though. The combloc pistols eat that Russian steel-case stuff like a pit bull eats a pork chop, it's what they were made for.
gearhead is offline

For SD, I agree. I use and trust the stuff in my "combloc" 9x18 guns for SD. But I only use it for plinking in my 9mm GLOCK (I put the .40 barrel back in for SD ). There are a lot of better options in 9mm, for SD. Personally, I don't worry about extractors or firing pins or anything. Those are cheap and easy replacements. The reason I wouldn't trust it in my GLOCK for SD is the lacquer coating creates more friction in a hi-cap doublestack magazine.

Hmmmmm.......Why is that?....9x18 is 9.25mm so it actually punches bigger holes than 9mm Luger, if all you're using is FMJ......9x18 has plenty of punch to send FMJ clean through a human being at any legal SD distance so why not go with the one that makes a bigger hole?

That's if it misses all the hard stuff. If you were to hit arm bone, shoulder bone, jaw bone/teeth, pelvis, or any torso hit at an oblique angle, I honestly don't think even 9mm FMJ will produce an exit wound in all cases.

side bar: My 5th grade history teacher liked to tell a story of how someone in his squad practiced quick drawing his 1911 on his buddy (Korean war, I think). One day he accidentally shot his best friend in the face, from 5 feet away. The bullet went through his mouth, knocking out several teeth, and stopped a fraction of an inch short of the spine. He lived.

 

[David E]

My problem with the 9x18, like others have stated, is that the firearms are the same size as many 9x19 pistols which begs the question of why not step up to 9x19.

Part of it is price...
Not everyone has lots to spend on their hobby.

How much would they spend on a piece of critical life-saving equipment?

In my book, that's not an area to skimp. Your tome may vary...

 

[zxcvbob]

My problem with the 9x18, like others have stated, is that the firearms are the same size as many 9x19 pistols which begs the question of why not step up to 9x19.

Because I can shoot the 9x18 better (faster and more accurate) than my 9x19. And that's a full-sized 9x19; in a compact model I'm sure it would be worse.

 

[WardenWolf]

Considering some of the loads available for the Makarov round which place it in the low-end 9mm range, I'd have no problems carrying a 9x18, and do on a daily basis. I prefer it over .380 for a large number of reasons, power being one of them. Cheaper and more available ammo also means I get more range time with my pistols, which equates to better accuracy and training. One deciding factor, though, is the firearms which chamber 9x18. They're all military designs, which means they're proven reliable. I trust them more than commercial .380's.

 

[MCgunner]

The P64 rode in my pocket today, flatter than my Kel Tec P11, less print. It's heavier, but not practically bigger and it's thinner. Of course, I could get a PF9 if I were really worried about it, but I like it a lot, bought it because I was wanting something in 9x18. But, even though it's not the latest and greatest micro .380, it's very accurate, I shoot it well, and it pockets really nice. i prefer 11 rounds of +P 9x19 to 7 of 9x18, but hey, I don't feel I'm unarmed with the Mak. And, the same knife sheath that holds 1 P11 mag holds two P64 mags.

Yeah, I've got a pair of 9x19s, a .45ACP, a .45 Colt, 3 .38 specials, 3 .357 magnums, lots of .22s, a .380, yeah, I didn't have a 9x18, I wanted one, so I bought it. I don't need to justify it. I like it.

 

[mnhntr]

Anything is better then a rock or a stick but IMO the 22 25 32 380 and 9mm markarov are just that, better then a stick. To each his own, I prefer the 45acp or 38/357 rds

 

[Lakeshore]

P-64 in 9X18 is a rugged, reliable, and inexpensive carry gun.

Pros include ammo availablility and unlikely accidental discharge owing to the heavy DA trigger (with stock hammer spring). Cons include limited range practice time due to the stiff recoil and scarcity of replacement parts.

 

[RockyMtnTactical]

I don't believe in any threshold per se. That said, I CCW with a Makarov in 9x18. I don't feel particularly undergunned when I carry it. Shot placement matters more than anything else IMO.

That said, when I carry anything .380 or less, I carry FMJ.

 

[MCgunner]

The .380 you're carrying on you is better than the 10mm you left in the bedroom.

 

[Fastcast]

Anything is better then a rock or a stick but IMO the 22 25 32 380 and 9mm markarov are just that, better then a stick. To each his own, I prefer the 45acp or 38/357 rds

LOL ...... Ah, yea a whole hell of a lot better! Particularly the 9x18 & .380 ....... I'd bet you, I or 99.9% of the BGs wouldn't have much fight left if hit with one well place shot of either, let alone a double tap.