.380 vs 9MM

[muggsy]

To those of you who doubt the potential of the .380.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQE0pRbtmO4&feature=em-subs_digest-vrecs

[deadeye]

Don't disagree on the .380. It is a good round. It is what I would carry if Kahr hadn't come out with the CM9. It is small and very easy to conceal and does pack the extra punch so it is the way I personally decided to go. Another thing I like is the 100% reliability and up close (21') accuracy of my CM9 once I learned how to shoot it.

[SlowBurn]

To those of you who doubt the potential of the .380.
Thanks muggsy

[TheLastDaze]

I'm not one of the doubters for sure, just short of a caliber war I'm under the frame of mind that a .22lr is lethal... no doubts there....

Since mouse guns have conformed to the 380 platform I think it is very capable, even more so because you'll likely have it when you need it... I remember as a kid my dad and people in his circle felt compelled to carry a mouse gun, back then we're talking .22 and .25 with an occasional .32 thrown in the mix, I'm sure just having a gun on their person they felt more confident warding off a threat, brandishing something other than a comb typically makes the bad guy seek another victim...

Enter the interlube era and we have multiple caliber wars where if it doesn't start with a 4 its not worth carrying... hogwash I say......

Though I'm not a fan of Hornady with the plastic thingy in the middle I do like their XTP (i believe) boooolits....

But after watching Shootingthebull comparison of the .380 cartridge I'm now brainwashed that Lehigh Defense Xtreme 85gr is the way to go, I have two boxes I bought for a steal along with a box of Fiocchi Extrema XTP HP 90gr from a guy who's gun (kahr p380) wouldn't cycle (but in all fairness he also stated it won't cycle any ball ammo he put through it, lemon I guess).... Those are the two that I will only use, atm... ymmv

[marcinstl]

I just came across this series of video's. fearless leader shooting his pistols. what's with 100 and 200 yds ? Kahr wouldn't be my choice for sniper work. http://www.kahr.com/kahr-news.asp enjoyed the above, .380 vs. 9mm gel test. 9mm, .40, .45 makes a hole and maybe expands. .22, .32, .380 (depending on the round) can tumble and really tear up the meat. you read those accounts of somebody being shot with small caliber and the bullet goes in the stomach and comes out the arm pit. Yikes! whatever it is, if you get a shot off first, good chance to win. (oh, I mean, "stop the threat".)

[hardluk1]

I'll stay with speer gd or bonded unicor bullets in 9mm or 40 cal for CC. no interest in critical what ever

[ltxi]

For when a 1911 just won't fit in your pocket.....

[Jimmy10mm]

For when a 1911 just won't fit in your pocket.....

Guy with the handle 'mavrace', on Firing Line forum, said "The 380 in your pocket is better than the 45 you left at home." Lot of truth to that IME. I was talking to an undercover LEO back in the mid '90s, about calibers. He told me he carried a .40 Sig and his partner carried a Sig 380. "A 380, I said, they don't have stopping power do they ?" He told me that his partner killed a guy with a 380 a couple of weeks before. About 3 months ago a friend of mine's elderly aunt shot her husband of 47 years in the heart with a 380. A Sig P238. Needless to say he was DOA. So I guess it is safe to say that the 380 can deliver the goods. Now that we have so many mini 9mms I guess, if I had to choose, I'd opt for the 9. I still throw the P380 in my pocket on days when I don't feel like the IWB in a larger caliber, but the PM9 is becoming the favorite here lately.

[TheTman]

What I take from all this, the video and comments, is that the .380 is ok IF you use the right ammo, and If your gun will shoot it. Where as with a 9mm, you can get inexpensive Remington UMC HP ammo for about the same price as WWB FMJ. The 9mm doesn't have the "If you use the right cartridge" or dependability issues that some .380's have. So the 9mm gets my vote. BUT, as many already said a .380 or even a .22 you have on you, is better than any gun you left at home because it was too big and bulky for what you were wearing that day.
Plus it was good enough for James Bond. :)

[TheLastDaze]

Plus it was good enough for James Bond. :)

partly the reason I bought an old walther around 8 yrs ago, for some reason or another I didn't have all these hot chicks around me though.... so I sold it

[ltxi]

.380 is fine, carried them on and off for decades, and the two I currently have in service (original Mustang PocketLite and a P238) have no feed/dependability issues. Same weight/power/carry concealability class 442 just works a bit better for me right now.

[jeepster09]

There are times I carry my Ruger 380LCP using a Clip Draw clip and it just dissapears, godd for light dress in places that say no to guns.

[TheLastDaze]

@jeepster.... I have love me some elsie pea.... I just LOL after seeing your signature, btw fwiw 10MM is king....
http://i449.photobucket.com/albums/qq215/thelastdaze/walther/10MMBalistics.jpg (http://s449.photobucket.com/user/thelastdaze/media/walther/10MMBalistics.jpg.html)

[jeepster09]

Ya....I have a Glock 20 also for when the 45 just won't 'get-r-dun'....

[berettabone]

No caliber war here.................................380 is better than nothing, but...............bigger is always better...it's not rocket science. I carried .380 for a few years.

[knkali]

I wouldn't want to be shot with a .380 but why not favor a 9mm. Little weight dif between 9 and a kurt9 and the 9 has the little extra punch if you need it. Finally the 9mm is found in a variety of pistols and flavors. I have a .380 and carried it for years but I don't think I would go back if I have a choice.

[knkali]

.380 is fine, carried them on and off for decades, and the two I currently have in service (original Mustang PocketLite and a P238) have no feed/dependability issues. Same weight/power/carry concealability class 442 just works a bit better for me right now.

I have the original Pocketlite Mustang too. GREAT little gun

[TheLastDaze]

.380 is fine, carried them on and off for decades, and the two I currently have in service (original Mustang PocketLite and a P238) have no feed/dependability issues. Same weight/power/carry concealability class 442 just works a bit better for me right now.
two beautiful pistolas right there...


There are times I carry my Ruger 380LCP using a Clip Draw clip and it just dissapears, godd for light dress in places that say no to guns.
do you have a pic or link where I can check out the clip? I could see the Elsie being carried like that, sheesh I have knives that weigh more then Elsie that I've carried over the years....

[muggsy]

The #1 thing that I like about the .380 is that it's always with me. I can slip it into my RF pants pocket with or without a holster and no one knows that it's there. Sometimes even I forget it's there. I love my CM9, but the CM9 is a little tough to conceal when I'm only wearing a speedo. (I know, too much information.) Anyway, from my experience, the .380 can get the job done.

[knkali]

The #1 thing that I like about the .380 is that it's always with me. I can slip it into my RF pants pocket with or without a holster and no one knows that it's there. Sometimes even I forget it's there. I love my CM9, but the CM9 is a little tough to conceal when I'm only wearing a speedo. (I know, too much information.) Anyway, from my experience, the .380 can get the job done.

the best caliber is the one you will carry.. Sounds like it works for you--that is the main thing

[JohnR]

Historical performance of .380 is just fine, it holds its own against other calibers.

http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/publicfiles/Ellifritz_Incapacitation.png

http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/7866

[TheLastDaze]

I wonder how old that chart is..?? can't be to old as it has .40sw, but no 10mm ; ( I'm also wondering what the % of use these should be categorized under??

check out the .22lr !!!!

[berettabone]

The #1 thing that I like about the .380 is that it's always with me. I can slip it into my RF pants pocket with or without a holster and no one knows that it's there. Sometimes even I forget it's there. I love my CM9, but the CM9 is a little tough to conceal when I'm only wearing a speedo. (I know, too much information.) Anyway, from my experience, the .380 can get the job done.

And all this time, they thought that bulge was something else..............................