Ok, so now that the debate regarding the .40, 9mm and .45 ACP are over (see FBI report on the matter); for best 'service' pistol (military, police and personal protection).
Now lets reexamine the little .380ACP, which nearly everyone (until now) said was 'marginal'; from a civilian personal defense perspective.
Before I post a few videos, and I do hope you watch all of them and come to your own conclusions; let me just jump to what I think is the bottom line today:
For 'duty': The 9mm Luger (9x19mm) is still better than .380ACP, chiefly for a couple reasons - its about 33% more powerful and costs less. <- that's already two good reasons. The other is that there are very few if any .380ACP pistols that are reliable/rugged enough to serve as a front line 'duty' grade handgun. Nearly everyone that makes a .380, makes it as tiny as possible to take advantage of its greatest strength, lower power which allows the manufacture to put it into a much smaller package. Some military's of the past have used .380 as a duty firearm, but it was typically relegated to a defensive sidearm for military officers (personal protection). Remember the original Scorpion pistol, that was .32ACP! Now, CZ has completely reengineered it to be even more popular than ever in the 'right' caliber - 9mm and it's much larger.
Not to dismiss the few med/full sized .380's that are out there, in fact the very first pistol I was tempted to buy was a mid sized .380 Beretta, later I did own the 9mm Taurus PT99 (adjustable sights), and that was a splendid handgun.
The point of this thread is to once again suggest, that if we are going to turn popular opinion and folklore on it's head and agree that the 9mm is every bit the equal (or better when all factors are considered); why not reexamine the .380ACP?
For me the priorities for a defensive handgun are:
#1 You pull the trigger, it must go bang; reliability is most important.
#2 It must be of sufficient caliber to penetrate at least 9" (ok, FBI says 12" to 18" are idea).
#3 Light/small enough that it can be carried most places, most of the time. Micro 9mm's work, tiny .380's do it even better.
#4 Capacity - Hold enough ammo that give a second or fourth chance (5 rounds minimum)
#5 Manageable recoil, if I can't shoot 5 shots within 5 seconds, from 5 feet into a 5 inch pie plate; it's unacceptable. So not too big a caliber.
This leaves us with few choices, probably the best among them are .38SPL snub nose revolver (perhaps still king); the pocket 9mm or the tiny .380ACP with the right ammo. Let's only look at the 9mm and .380ACP for now. .380 can be much smaller and lighter than either of the other two choices. 9mm clearly wins with power factor. 38spl is absolutely the most reliable, but less rounds, and not as small. Recoil is the least in .380, and most people find the .380 easier to rack the slide and operate of all the the semi-autos.
Which is best for everyday carry for self defense?
Recommend you watch all of these before commenting (at least watch the first two):
Now lets reexamine the little .380ACP, which nearly everyone (until now) said was 'marginal'; from a civilian personal defense perspective.
Before I post a few videos, and I do hope you watch all of them and come to your own conclusions; let me just jump to what I think is the bottom line today:
For 'duty': The 9mm Luger (9x19mm) is still better than .380ACP, chiefly for a couple reasons - its about 33% more powerful and costs less. <- that's already two good reasons. The other is that there are very few if any .380ACP pistols that are reliable/rugged enough to serve as a front line 'duty' grade handgun. Nearly everyone that makes a .380, makes it as tiny as possible to take advantage of its greatest strength, lower power which allows the manufacture to put it into a much smaller package. Some military's of the past have used .380 as a duty firearm, but it was typically relegated to a defensive sidearm for military officers (personal protection). Remember the original Scorpion pistol, that was .32ACP! Now, CZ has completely reengineered it to be even more popular than ever in the 'right' caliber - 9mm and it's much larger.
Not to dismiss the few med/full sized .380's that are out there, in fact the very first pistol I was tempted to buy was a mid sized .380 Beretta, later I did own the 9mm Taurus PT99 (adjustable sights), and that was a splendid handgun.
The point of this thread is to once again suggest, that if we are going to turn popular opinion and folklore on it's head and agree that the 9mm is every bit the equal (or better when all factors are considered); why not reexamine the .380ACP?
For me the priorities for a defensive handgun are:
#1 You pull the trigger, it must go bang; reliability is most important.
#2 It must be of sufficient caliber to penetrate at least 9" (ok, FBI says 12" to 18" are idea).
#3 Light/small enough that it can be carried most places, most of the time. Micro 9mm's work, tiny .380's do it even better.
#4 Capacity - Hold enough ammo that give a second or fourth chance (5 rounds minimum)
#5 Manageable recoil, if I can't shoot 5 shots within 5 seconds, from 5 feet into a 5 inch pie plate; it's unacceptable. So not too big a caliber.
This leaves us with few choices, probably the best among them are .38SPL snub nose revolver (perhaps still king); the pocket 9mm or the tiny .380ACP with the right ammo. Let's only look at the 9mm and .380ACP for now. .380 can be much smaller and lighter than either of the other two choices. 9mm clearly wins with power factor. 38spl is absolutely the most reliable, but less rounds, and not as small. Recoil is the least in .380, and most people find the .380 easier to rack the slide and operate of all the the semi-autos.
Which is best for everyday carry for self defense?
Recommend you watch all of these before commenting (at least watch the first two):
