Would you rather conceal carry 5 rounds of .357 or 7 rounds of .380?
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Panzerschwein
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5 extremely reliable rounds of .357 magnum with devastating 97%+ one-shot stop potential, or a puny underpowered and unreliable .380?
Make mine a .357 ANY DAY of the week.
Make mine a .357 ANY DAY of the week.
SwampWolf
Member
Six rounds of .38 Special in an Airweight, S&W J-frame size and weight revolver (a Colt Cobra) or six rounds of .327 Magnum in a Ruger LCR revolver would be my choice(s).
orionengnr
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Carry? An S&W 340 with full house .357s. Had two of them at one point (plus a 360). Piece of cake....to carry.
Now...if you ever have to actually shoot? Whole different story. And this impacts training as well. If it hurts to shoot it, you won't. As a result, if you ever need it, your shooting will be sub-par at best.
And if you decide to go to an all steel M-60 (etc.) to dampen the recoil, then you sacrifice the major advantages of the AirLite j-frame.
In the end, you are left with a compromise.
Small, light and brutal? (M340, M360)
Small, heavier and less carryable/somewhat more shootable? (M60, etc)
Smallest, lightest, and less effective cartridge (although one with which you may actually score some hits after the first round)? (LCP, etc.)
Sold all my (six) J-frames about ten years ago when I bought my PM-9.
Went back and bought another about three years ago (not sure why) but never carry it.
So, my answer to your question is....Kahr PM-9. Smaller than a j-frame, same weight, 7 rounds of 9mm +p+, and quick reloads.
If you want something smaller/lighter, and are willing to accept the performance penalty, then an LCP fits that bill.
Now...if you ever have to actually shoot? Whole different story. And this impacts training as well. If it hurts to shoot it, you won't. As a result, if you ever need it, your shooting will be sub-par at best.
And if you decide to go to an all steel M-60 (etc.) to dampen the recoil, then you sacrifice the major advantages of the AirLite j-frame.
In the end, you are left with a compromise.
Small, light and brutal? (M340, M360)
Small, heavier and less carryable/somewhat more shootable? (M60, etc)
Smallest, lightest, and less effective cartridge (although one with which you may actually score some hits after the first round)? (LCP, etc.)
Sold all my (six) J-frames about ten years ago when I bought my PM-9.
Went back and bought another about three years ago (not sure why) but never carry it.
So, my answer to your question is....Kahr PM-9. Smaller than a j-frame, same weight, 7 rounds of 9mm +p+, and quick reloads.
If you want something smaller/lighter, and are willing to accept the performance penalty, then an LCP fits that bill.
edmo01
Member
One perspective left out of the "Everything else being equal" thought is how well does the OP shoot each handgun? IMHO, that is really more important than the caliber vs capacity issue.
If I could shoot both equally accurate, my next question would be, "What environment am I going to travel in?" In my rural southern community I would feel confident with either. Headed into the "big city" I might carry both plus one of my high-capacity GLOCKs!
To answer the original question as presented, it would be the revolver for me. However, I would opt for 38 Special +P rounds.
Edmo
jcwit
member
I carry 10 rounds of 9 mm.
Nicky Santoro
Member
IMO, one will be victorious or dead in under three rounds, so I'd take the five rounds of .357.
Uh, no.
Perhaps the average defensive gun use averages 3 rounds, or perhaps even the majority are over in 3 rounds or less, but that doesn't mean that, should you ever need your carry gun, you will only need 3 rounds. A great many use more than that.
In a great many defensive gun uses, no shots are fired. Many times shots are fired nobody is hit. That would help explain a 3 shot average BTW. And then the long running average for private citizen defensive gun uses or officer involved shootings is an 18-20% hit rate, which could easily mean, averaging, that 3 shots = 0 hits.
And let's not forget that around 80% of people shot with a handgun survive.
TfflHndn
Member
I have both, and usually carry the .357. Only rarely do I grab a .380 in a back-pocket holster, and I'm picky about the ammo I put in it for carry use.
MICHAEL T
Member
Have no love for Ruger If revolver my old CA 44 spl But more often I find a old PPK.s with BB ammo IWB or pocket.
TexasBill
Member
Um, Bond actually carried a .32 ACP PPK.
TexasBill
Member
I like them both
I carried a PPK as a BUG back in the old days. Never had a problem with it.
If you really want to shoot the Magnum round, the SP101 is the way to go and would be my preference over the LCP. IMHO, anyone who wants to light off a .357 magnum round in one of those lightweight Smiths is either a masochist or has serious reproductive self-image problems. As I recall, the whole point of carrying a firearm for self-protection is to avoid getting hurt.
For pocket carry, I have a S&W 637 (I like hammers) and a Sig P938.
I do have a few .380s: a Walther PK380 and my favorite, a Beretta 84FS Cheetah that holds 14 rounds, as well the Browning clone.
My favorite revolver for CCW is a 1967 Colt Police Positive. Sounds weird, I know, but I am a big guy so the 4-inch barrel really isn't an issue. I used to carry a S&W N-Frame so the weight's not a problem, either.
The Colt's frame allows me to load .38 Special +P as long as I don't feed the gun a steady diet of it. Finding someone to fix the timing on a Colt is more of a challenge than I care to take up.
The 4-inch barrel makes the gun an almost natural pointer and I don't have a problem with the Colt trigger.
Since open carry became legal again in Texas today (after only 144 years), the fear of printing or someone catching a glimpse of a holster is pretty well a thing of the past. This means LTC (License To Carry - replaced the Concealed Handgun License) holders can now use belt or shoulder holsters to carry their guns, so maybe the mouse guns won't be such a necessity anymore.
I carried a PPK as a BUG back in the old days. Never had a problem with it.
If you really want to shoot the Magnum round, the SP101 is the way to go and would be my preference over the LCP. IMHO, anyone who wants to light off a .357 magnum round in one of those lightweight Smiths is either a masochist or has serious reproductive self-image problems. As I recall, the whole point of carrying a firearm for self-protection is to avoid getting hurt.
For pocket carry, I have a S&W 637 (I like hammers) and a Sig P938.
I do have a few .380s: a Walther PK380 and my favorite, a Beretta 84FS Cheetah that holds 14 rounds, as well the Browning clone.
My favorite revolver for CCW is a 1967 Colt Police Positive. Sounds weird, I know, but I am a big guy so the 4-inch barrel really isn't an issue. I used to carry a S&W N-Frame so the weight's not a problem, either.
The Colt's frame allows me to load .38 Special +P as long as I don't feed the gun a steady diet of it. Finding someone to fix the timing on a Colt is more of a challenge than I care to take up.
The 4-inch barrel makes the gun an almost natural pointer and I don't have a problem with the Colt trigger.
Since open carry became legal again in Texas today (after only 144 years), the fear of printing or someone catching a glimpse of a holster is pretty well a thing of the past. This means LTC (License To Carry - replaced the Concealed Handgun License) holders can now use belt or shoulder holsters to carry their guns, so maybe the mouse guns won't be such a necessity anymore.
Nicky Santoro
Member
Warp, reading is fundamental. Start over.
i would go with the .357 as my "primary"...and then pocket carry the LCP.
110 gr .357 is really easy to control out of the SP101 and has decent muzzle energy out of the small barrel.
.380 is kind of a "back up" caliber to me...especially out of a small gun like the LCP....
110 gr .357 is really easy to control out of the SP101 and has decent muzzle energy out of the small barrel.
.380 is kind of a "back up" caliber to me...especially out of a small gun like the LCP....
I'm good, thanks.
TheRealJQP
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I usually go for more rounds over bigger caliber (which is why I'd much rather have e.g. a 18-round 9mm than a 14-round (never mined 8) .45). But the gap between .380 and .357 seems pretty big, so I'd call it a toss-up.
ETA: on second thought, at this low a round count, 2 extra rounds is a lot: 7 is 1.4x 5, so .380 might get the edge, especially against multiple attackers.
Is .357 shown to do 40% more damage than .380?
ETA: on second thought, at this low a round count, 2 extra rounds is a lot: 7 is 1.4x 5, so .380 might get the edge, especially against multiple attackers.
Is .357 shown to do 40% more damage than .380?
sgt127
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I'm a revolver guy at heart. But, with a "real" .380, like a Sig P232 or Colt Govt .380. It may be a wash.
By real, I mean a gun I can actually get a full grip on with real sights.
I am phenomenally accurate with my P232. Better than I am with a 642. Like, A ring hits at 25 yards without real effort. And, I can shoot it a little faster.
Actually, the sig is 7+1. So, the advantage is pretty heavy to the P232.
I may try a little time drills on both. I have carried either one. But, honestly, if you're being held hostage, you might prefer I'm carrying the Sig.
By real, I mean a gun I can actually get a full grip on with real sights.
I am phenomenally accurate with my P232. Better than I am with a 642. Like, A ring hits at 25 yards without real effort. And, I can shoot it a little faster.
Actually, the sig is 7+1. So, the advantage is pretty heavy to the P232.
I may try a little time drills on both. I have carried either one. But, honestly, if you're being held hostage, you might prefer I'm carrying the Sig.
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I'd take the .380
- More rounds on tap. With typical miss rates for gunfights and the number of hits it will likely take to neutralize an attacker, 5 rounds starts to look like the minimum round count for dealing with just one attacker. If there are two, having a couple of extra rounds could be really important.
- Faster to shoot accurately. With just a few rounds available, anything that increases the chances of making them count is a great thing.
- Easier to shoot accurately. See above.
- Faster to reload.
- Easier to carry a reload. In fact, the difference is such that I very likely wouldn't carry a reload for the revolver--certainly not a speed loader.
- Smaller/flatter than a 5 shot revolver.
- For me it wouldn't be a comparison between .357Mag and .380ACP because I'd be carrying .38SP, MAYBE .38SP+P in the revolver.
Jed Carter
Member
For me it's easy, if I had to be shot with a modern SD pistol, it would be the
.25ACP. Of the two choices given it would be the .380, so I would carry the
.357 Magnum. BUT and it's a big BUT, all things are not equal an SP101 is much wider and heavier than say a SIG P238... So I carry a SIG P238, much more often. Usually I holster carry either a SIG RCS CCO 1911 in .45ACP or a Glock G19, 15 + 1 vs 6 + 1. I feel the .380 is better than nothing but it is never my first choice. I carry a .380 when I'm not carrying a gun.
.25ACP. Of the two choices given it would be the .380, so I would carry the
.357 Magnum. BUT and it's a big BUT, all things are not equal an SP101 is much wider and heavier than say a SIG P238... So I carry a SIG P238, much more often. Usually I holster carry either a SIG RCS CCO 1911 in .45ACP or a Glock G19, 15 + 1 vs 6 + 1. I feel the .380 is better than nothing but it is never my first choice. I carry a .380 when I'm not carrying a gun.
TRX
Member
My daily carry is a Ruger LCP in .380 and a .38 snub with +P cartridges.
I'd prefer a .357 over the .38, but not enough to buy another carry gun.
My load is always the .380 + something, because my wife bought us a matched pair of LCPs when we got our CHCLs. Not carrying the .380 would cause marital problems...
I'd prefer a .357 over the .38, but not enough to buy another carry gun.
My load is always the .380 + something, because my wife bought us a matched pair of LCPs when we got our CHCLs. Not carrying the .380 would cause marital problems...
gamestalker
member
Well, a .380 just doesn't do it for me, I just feel kind of under gunned. I got on a .380 kick about 12 or 13 years ago, but that only lasted for a year or so before I went back to my trusty revolvers.
And I could personally care less how loud it will be. Chances are, I'm not even going to notice if I'm shooting in self defense. I carry the most powerful load I can for a SD carry round.
Unless you are asking because you are personally trying to decide between .380 or .357, you might pose the question a little differently. Like would you rather have 5 rounds of .357, or 7 or 8 rounds of an auto loading cartridge, which could be 9mm, or a SC .40 would make for a better question I think.
Personally, I almost always carry a snub, usually an M66. What I carry in it depends a lot on where I plan to go. But most times, I carry full house magnums, which is always either 140 gr. XTP's, or 158 gr. Gold Dots. When I'm not carrying magnums, I stuff it with +P 38's, 110 gr XTP's, or 125 gr. XTP's, or 110 gr, or 125 gr. Gold Dots. And I always carry at least 2 speed loaders or speed strips.
GS
And I could personally care less how loud it will be. Chances are, I'm not even going to notice if I'm shooting in self defense. I carry the most powerful load I can for a SD carry round.
Unless you are asking because you are personally trying to decide between .380 or .357, you might pose the question a little differently. Like would you rather have 5 rounds of .357, or 7 or 8 rounds of an auto loading cartridge, which could be 9mm, or a SC .40 would make for a better question I think.
Personally, I almost always carry a snub, usually an M66. What I carry in it depends a lot on where I plan to go. But most times, I carry full house magnums, which is always either 140 gr. XTP's, or 158 gr. Gold Dots. When I'm not carrying magnums, I stuff it with +P 38's, 110 gr XTP's, or 125 gr. XTP's, or 110 gr, or 125 gr. Gold Dots. And I always carry at least 2 speed loaders or speed strips.
GS
Mainsail
Member
OP, what is limiting you to just those two choices?
My EDC is 15 rounds of .357 sig. Conceals well enough, has far better capacity than the .380, and almost all the punch as the .357 mag.
Handguns are already a compromise; why compromise even further?
There is no way I would trust the life of my family to .380 or similar. 9mm is a minimum round I would consider, and since I can carry a .357 sig or even a 10mm just as easily as the 9mm, why would I settle for the minimum?
My EDC is 15 rounds of .357 sig. Conceals well enough, has far better capacity than the .380, and almost all the punch as the .357 mag.
Handguns are already a compromise; why compromise even further?
There is no way I would trust the life of my family to .380 or similar. 9mm is a minimum round I would consider, and since I can carry a .357 sig or even a 10mm just as easily as the 9mm, why would I settle for the minimum?
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