.380 vs 9mm carry gun

[WebHobbit]

I would invite anyone who feels that a .380 is a mouse gun to be shot by one.

Logic doesn't add up. I wouldn't wanna get shot by a pellet gun either but that doesn't make it a viable defense weapon.

 

[nakinate]

Logic doesn't add up. I wouldn't wanna get shot by a pellet gun either but that doesn't make it a viable defense weapon.

So .380 isn't a viable defense round?

 

[WebHobbit]

Well I suppose it's technically viable...just kind of pointless in today's market.

 

[XDS45]

I told my fiance that if she uses a .380 that will only make a person mad and not stop them as well as a 9mm would.I talked her into a 9mm,now I have to find one. She wants the M&P Shield. She likes how my Shield feels and wants one in a 9 mm.
I have actually considered getting a small cheap .380 to carry in my jacket pocket during the colder months. I found one that is the perfect size for 150$ new,but I would get what I paid for. I'll make due with my Shield now.

 

[Nicr1991]

I'd vote for 9mm. It's a bigger round but the circumference is pretty similar, so you'd have greater stopping power per round and minimal capacity sacrificed. Just my $.02, but what ever you feel most comfortable shooting is really the best benchmark.

 

[IndyGlockMan]

.380's suck
if you do any research at all, you will come to this conclusion as well.
No, I wouldn't want to get shot with it, but I wouldn't want to be shot by a .22 either... doesn't mean either one is good for self-defense.
9mm/.38spl is minimum IMHO.

 

[nakinate]

I told my fiance that if she uses a .380 that will only make a person mad and not stop them as well as a 9mm would.I talked her into a 9mm,now I have to find one. She wants the M&P Shield. She likes how my Shield feels and wants one in a 9 mm.
I have actually considered getting a small cheap .380 to carry in my jacket pocket during the colder months. I found one that is the perfect size for 150$ new,but I would get what I paid for. I'll make due with my Shield now.

Show me your evidence that .380 won't stop someone. Show me the evidence that it angers people instead of making them rethink the error of their ways.

 

[Tobias]

Makes zero sense to me to carry a .380 when 9mms of equal size are available. Just my .02

 

[nakinate]

Makes zero sense to me to carry a .380 when 9mms of equal size are available. Just my .02

I've never seen a 9mm the same size as an LCP or P3AT. The Sig 938 is close, but that's the closest I can think of.

 

[USAFVet]

9mm Shield, Ruger SR9C, M&P9C, XDS 3.3 9mm, LC9, LC380, Sig 238, Sig 938, etc. Their are many options to think about so just check them all out and see what fits you.

 

[Tobias]

If you comfortable carrying a .380, by all means, go for it. They are certainly better than nothing......but just barely!

I personally can't see where a person would rather carry a lcp over, say, a Sig 938 but to each his own.

 

[wesnellans]

I'll be the first to say I WANT 9mm as my minimum in my carry gun - but that often means a bigger gun than the situation for carry and concealment dictates, for me and many people. And in some cases more recoil than the shooter can handle.

380 and 9mm are for all intents and purposes the same diameter, so no gain there by going 9mm. Penetration and expansion with that penetration are the 9mm strengths over 380. But 380 is still capable of getting the job done with the proper loading and shot placement.

This has been discussed ad nauseam all over INGO and every other gun forum - with good reason, I'll submit, since we're ALL looking for the perfect sweet spot of carry. It doesn't really exist, since every situation so different as to make choosing the "best" gun and caliber to have with you for EVERY scenario is absolutely impossible - hence the "best gun is the one you have with you when the balloon goes up and shoot well" creed.

But 380 CAN be effective if utilized well, and in a much smaller pkg than is controllable in 9mm most times.

I submit:

380 SUCKS! LOL watch this!! - YouTube

380 SUCKS! EPS 2 - YouTube

And, finally, the most comprehensive and useful testing I've ever seen done seeking "real world" application, the excellent series by Shooting the Bull:
Final Results of the .380 ACP Ammo Quest | Shooting The Bull

Something's always "better" in these threads. I'll take putting all my rounds in the area I aim to in the fastest time I can with the biggest I can do it with that I can have on me in the situation I'm in. And I'll be darned if I'm to judge the situation for everyone and impose my standards on them. Next.

 

[nakinate]

Thanks wesnellans. That was the best post on here. It has evidence that .380 is adequate. Yes 9mm is a better choice, but that doesn't mean .380 is a poor choice.

 

[wesnellans]

Thanks wesnellans. That was the best post on here. It has evidence that .380 is adequate. Yes 9mm is a better choice, but that doesn't mean .380 is a poor choice.

 

[Cameramonkey]

I told my fiance that if she uses a .380 that will only make a person mad and not stop them as well as a 9mm would.I talked her into a 9mm,now I have to find one. She wants the M&P Shield. She likes how my Shield feels and wants one in a 9 mm.
I have actually considered getting a small cheap .380 to carry in my jacket pocket during the colder months. I found one that is the perfect size for 150$ new,but I would get what I paid for. I'll make due with my Shield now.

So do you always lie to your fiancee, or just have double standards? If its so bad and "will only make them mad" why are you getting one? those two highlighted comments are quite conflicted.

I've never seen a 9mm the same size as an LCP or P3AT. The Sig 938 is close, but that's the closest I can think of.

^^^^^THIS^^^^^

380 and 9mm are for all intents and purposes the same diameter, so no gain there by going 9mm. Penetration and expansion with that penetration are the 9mm strengths over 380. But 380 is still capable of getting the job done with the proper loading and shot placement.

COMPLETELY INCORRECT except for the part about 380 will get the job done. check out the ballistics comparison:
.380 940ft/sec, 200 ft/lbs
9mm 990ft/sec, 320 ft/lbs

So the 9mm is half again as powerful. Yes, 380 is quite capable, but to say its nearly equal to the 9 simply because of diameter is like saying a pound of black powder is the same as pound of C4, or that a .223 round is less powerful than a 380 because it has a smaller diameter... you are trying to make a comparison based on irrelevant features.

 

[wesnellans]

So do you always lie to your fiancee, or just have double standards? If its so bad and "will only make them mad" why are you getting one? those two highlighted comments are quite conflicted.



^^^^^THIS^^^^^


COMPLETELY INCORRECT except for the part about 380 will get the job done. check out the ballistics comparison:
.380 940ft/sec, 200 ft/lbs
9mm 990ft/sec, 320 ft/lbs

So the 9mm is half again as powerful. Yes, 380 is quite capable, but to say its nearly equal to the 9 simply because of diameter is like saying a pound of black powder is the same as pound of C4, or that a .223 round is less powerful than a 380 because it has a smaller diameter... you are trying to make a comparison based on irrelevant features.

Wounding vitals is what's doing the work in handgun rounds, sir, not energy. Were we talking about rifles I'd agree with you. However, the almost universal consensus among those much more knowledgeable than me is that we're not anywhere close to energy playing a role when dealing with the measly rounds we're all carrying in our handguns. Penetrating to and destroying or disrupting vitals is all a handgun can do. Granted, a larger caliber (or if you will, a more powerful one) can more easily and effectively do that job, but there's a point of diminishing returns in going bigger than the shooter can handle effectively. And the general recoil impulse is one of the biggest factors in control.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Wounding vitals is what's doing the work in handgun rounds, sir, not energy. Were we talking about rifles I'd agree with you. However, the almost universal consensus among those much more knowledgeable than me is that we're not anywhere close to energy playing a role when dealing with the measly rounds we're all carrying in our handguns. Penetrating to and destroying or disrupting vitals is all a handgun can do.

We are in agreement, I was simply illustrating that a 380 does not equal a 9 simply because they share the same diameter. a 9 has much more energy, which results in much better expansion and penetration under almost all conditions. a 380 can get the job done, but is more likely to have penetration and expansion issues.

Bottom line the 380 with the right round is nothing to sneeze at. I'd feel perfectly comfortable carrying a 380 myself.

 

[wesnellans]

We are in agreement, I was simply illustrating that a 380 does not equal a 9 simply because they share the same diameter. a 9 has much more energy, which results in much better expansion and penetration under almost all conditions. a 380 can get the job done, but is more likely to have penetration and expansion issues.

Bottom line the 380 with the right round is nothing to sneeze at. I'd feel perfectly comfortable carrying a 380 myself.

Cool. I always get all warm and fuzzy when people agree with me.

Happens about as often as the proverbial blue moon, feels like.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Cool. I always get all warm and fuzzy when people agree with me.

Happens about as often as the proverbial blue moon, feels like.

Oh, so I assume you are married too?

 

[wesnellans]

Oh, so I assume you are married too?

Going on 18 years of "Yes, dear".

Not complainin', though.