Why so few suppressed 380 handguns? And my Bersa TPR380 Plus threaded review/upgrades (15+1 380 ACP)

JoeTester

JoeTester

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Most non-pocket 380 are fixed-barrel blowback (admittedly blowback can be a downside for supression), and are in a caliber that is innately subsonic.

Bersa is selling all their 380's (and all other handguns) with threaded barrells now, and seem to a great supressor-host.

I have their 15 round threaded, brand new "TPR380" PLUS (replaces the Thunder line like the TPR9 did for the Thunder Pro 9), and itS threaded with upgraded 18 lb Wolff Walther PP springs. The springs work 100% reliably without a can, and are great improvement over the anemic 12 to 13 lb recoil spring that comes stock (easier to rack, but awful for recoil and makes suppressed fire downright abusive on the frame). See my Bersa forums post for how I calculated all that, the links to the those posts wirh various my spring tests and experimentation are in the gun review video below.

Its an amazing and quiet can host, why are there not more supressed 380 handguns?

 
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JoeTester said:
.... why are there not more supressed 380 handguns?
Click to expand...
For the same reason there aren't more nonsuppressed .380 handguns.....popularity.
9x19 is the most popular centerfire handgun round by far and has been for decades.
.380 ammunition costs a bit more than 9x19 and for that reason isn't as popular to plink with.

The .380 is most often seen in pocket pistols, which by definition aren't usually seen with a 5" tube hanging off it.

A 9mm silencer doesn't know whether its stuck on a 9x19, .380, .32 or 7.62x25.
 
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Indeed, the lack of availability of 380 threaded platforms is likely a large reason, but the benefit of not requiring specialized ammunition is awfully convenient. If more firearms offered threaded barrels in .380 ACP I think it would actually be popular since your existing 9mm can is the perfect fit for 380 acp, which is a 9mm caliber - so the sound reduction is ideal. Thus it does matter that 9mm cans work perfectly with 380, unlike the .32/7.65 examples you mention, that I guess could theoretically use a 9mm can. Hell a 22lr could use a 9mm suppressor, it just wouldn't make sense for the caliber. 380 being a 9mm caliber makes your 9mm can an ideal dual caliber solution.

That said, and as you mention, it's mostly relegated to being a pocket pistol caliber in current day, and with guns of that size they make less sense with a can. But it is a shame since if you put a 4" barrel on a 380, its performance is greatly improved, and its recoil becomes even lighter - making supressed shooting even more enjoyable.

Price matters too I suppose; if it were cheaper like 22lr maybe we would see more. It just feels like such a good fit when exisiting 9mm cans work perfectly on it, and ALL of its ammo (practically) is subsonic...

...All my local gun shops are usually out of subsonic 9mm, but some kind of .380 is always in stock.

Just seems like wasted potential.
 
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Don't know the % of gun owners that have a suppressed handgun, likely low; I consider myself a handgun and carry enthusiast and don't have one.
Glock 17 is easy enough for me carry concealed, add a suppressor and that would assuredly be a nope.
I (like many people) go to a indoor shooting range; I've not seen a single suppressed handgun in use there.
IMO full size suppressed 380's are not popular because too big to carry, most either go to a indoor range or noise is not a factor, and/or most want 9mm.
 
JoeTester said:
Just seems like wasted potential.
Click to expand...
What do you mean by "wasted potential"?
There are millions of .32acp pistols.....yet no .32 cal pistol silencers.
That doesn't mean wasted potential, it means manufacturers know darn well that they ain't gonna make a profit selling .32acp pistol cans. That would be wasted production.
Same with .40 cal silencers. They have never been popular because those wanting a silencer for their .40, just went ahead and bought a .45 cal can.

greyling22: it's been done
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Yep, it ain't nothing new.
Nothing stops a .380 pistol owner from dropping off his barrel at a gunsmith to get it threaded. If the public wants factory threaded barrels on .380 pistols, manufacturers would make them....and they don't. Thats not wasted potential, that's reality.

The market for factory threaded pistol barrels is a rather recent development. Twenty years ago it would have been very unusual to find any factory pistol with a thread barrel.
Not so today.
 
I don't know for sure, but my guess would be that most people who buy a .380 want a very compact pistol to easily hide with light recoil. Once you add the 4-6 inches of suppressor to that pistol, it's not the same tool and does not fulfill the same role. It might be fun, but that's not why people buy that type of pistol in the first place. It's such a small niche, there's virtually no demand, so the gun companies don't try to fill it.
 
Well I looked and looked and looked and the only 380 hand guns I could find with threaded barrels were really expensive full size guns or custom jobs.
I want something small that I can throw my no moving parts 9mm silencer on occasionally and go shoot.
 
N555 said:
Well I looked and looked and looked and the only 380 hand guns I could find with threaded barrels were really expensive full size guns or custom jobs.
I want something small that I can throw my no moving parts 9mm silencer on occasionally and go shoot.
Click to expand...

Yeah that has been my experience with looking for them as well...

...I've also been trying to find a threaded barrel for my P238 for 2 years now for anything approaching a reasonable cost. I'll have to throw a nielsen device or a booster on a can for it, since its not fixed barrel.

The Bersa thunder and TPR380 are the only threaded 380 I find regularly available... its "CC" version is fairly compact, but I haven't found it threaded yet.
 
While not a handgun, yesterday I received a HiPoint .380 caliber rifle that has a threaded barrel. Not sure why anyone would want a .380 rifle for any reason.
With 95 grain bullets its likely going to be in the 1000-1200fps range out of a 16" bbl.
 
Curious!

The first full auto gun I ever fired, circa 1972 was an Ingram MAC 10 in .380 with a can attached.
The rattle of the action and impact of the bullets was the bulk of the noise!
This was before the subsonic 9mm was developed, and the .380 was considered to be THE cartridge for suppressed machine pistols...

Go figure...
 
I’d assume suppressed .380 is quieter than suppressed 9mm?

Admittedly that may be difficult to compare unless you have two identical pistols save for the caliber they’re chambered in?
 
someguy2800 said:
nope, Bond’s PPK was a .32 acp
Click to expand...

A lot of cool 380 handguns are coming out lately, and finally in larger sizes (where I enjoy 380 ACP the most) - yet ) none of these new larger .380 ACP handguns have threaded barrels. What gives? Why are they not offering this feature on guns shooting a subsonic caliber, in frame sizes where concealed carry is not the primary purpose?

380 is is a blast to shoot suppressed, because any ammo I grab is hearing safe. Yet manufacturers won't offer the option l. The new Ruger Security 380 has no threaded option, not the Sig P365 380. I guess Bersa is still the only real option. Does the Shield EZ 380 have a threaded option?

The recent resurgence in non-compact 380 should be the opportunity to sell, for more profit, threaded versions of these guns... But it's just not happening.

This is a huge missed opportunity.
 
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Take a look at the Diamondback DB380. They worked with Thompson Machine to pair the subcompact pistol with a micro suppressor making a nice and compact package.

As to why major companies aren’t building these guns, there just isn’t a lot of demand. Suppressed .380 pistols are a niche within a niche, and there are very few people who would actually buy one. Especially with regular 147gr 9mm being subsonic and less expensive than .380. Plus most 9mm suppressors are being shipped with boosters as standard, meaning someone would likely need to buy additional parts in order to be used on a fixed barrel.

I have a suppressed .380 and agree that it’s a lot of fun, but my suppressed 9mm’s get significantly more use just because they’re easier to feed. Same reason I shoot more suppressed .223 than .300 Blk. The .300 Blk is significantly quieter but the cost and availability of .223 means it gets more range time.
 
I live where suppressors are verboten, and even a threaded barrel makes a semi-auto handgun with a detachable magazine into an “assault weapon” in the eyes of the philandering Dictator and the Masters in Sacramento. :(

I would love to try suppressors out, hopefully I can pry the wife away from this Republik and we can start a new life somewhere sane.

As for the popularity of the .380, it’s just my 1.55 cents (2 cents after Bidenflation) that the years of recent love for the .380 is mostly for the micro carry pistols. Adding a can that more than doubles the size of these little shooters sort of defeats the purpose.

Now in a larger .380, Beretta 84 or 85 for example, a can could be a pretty cool option. (I guess threading could possibly be done on the extended barrel section that would hold one securely.)

Oh well, maybe someday…:)

Stay safe.
 
Maybe Beretta will make an 80x version with a threaded barrel? Or even Tisas Fatih version with a threaded barrel.
 
Why would you want to shoot 380 surpressed when you can get a 9mm in the same size and 9mm ammo is so much cheaper?
 
I have a pesky, pretentious, "Pom Pom" pomeranian that lives next door and I think a suppressed 380 would be just the ticket. Aside from that niche, I would rather have a suppressed 9mm flinging 147s at a lower cost.

Certain ideas seem to work better in movies and books (Bond) but average Joe types, like myself, often have other criteria and needs.

I tend to be pragmatic so, 9mm, cheaper, more available, better penetrator and hits harder. But that's just me, you do you.
 
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