.380

[Abraham]

"Trade it in for the 9mm G43. Not significantly bigger, and packing 9mm instead of .380."

My previous post was in response to the above.

[Rmartinez37]

Hornady Critical Defense.
380 and 9mm.

Can't go wrong with this

[The Annoyed Man]

"Trade it in for the 9mm G43. Not significantly bigger, and packing 9mm instead of .380."

My previous post was in response to the above.

Yeah, I realized that. I also said that if he didn't want to do that, I could suggest some .380 ammo choices.......and did.

And you're right.... the .380 you carry is better than the 9mm you left at home. But when the 9mm pistol is not objectively bigger than the .380 pistol, then the arguments in favor of buying a .380 in the first place diminish.

Ammo arguments will never cease.

Is a .45 better than a 9mm?

Is a 9mm better than a 380?

And on, and on, and on...

What is definitely better, is to be armed, irrespective of caliber...

This is not the same argument as 9mm vs .45. In that case, what is being disputed is whether fat, slow, and heavy is better than small, fast, and light.

But in the .380 vs 9mm argument, the bullet is the same caliber, and the dispute is whether it better to have light and fast versus heavyer and faster. Shrugging off the difference in cartridge length (a silly millimeter longer.......sounds like those old Chesterfield cigarette commercials....) as insignificant does a large disservice to the very significant real world difference in power between the two. A 9mm is a "major power" cartridge. The .380 is not.

Subjectively, for me anyway, the .380 isn't even easier to shoot.

When I suggested the OP trade in the G42 for a G43, I understood that he probably wouldn't. He had already made the investment, and so I approached it in jest. Hence my use of this guy at the end of my suggestion >>

But I seriously do believe strongly enough in the superiority of 9mm over .380 as a self-defense round that whenever I am guiding a newbie who seems enchanted by small size in choosing a gun, I will always steer them away from the tiny .380 pistol and toward the tiny 9mm pistol.......which in my experience is easier to shoot too.......and despite my personal preference for .45 ACP over 9mm.

But, to each his own. And you're right.... the .22 in your pocket beats the .44 magnum you left at home.

[Abraham]

TAM,

We're in agreement, both in caliber selection (I prefer my Glock 19 9mm) and philosophy as to being armed irrespective of caliber.

[Pawpaw]

I agree with TAM completely in the 9 vs .380 discussion. This is why even though I already owned a Sig P238 .380, I opted to buy a Sig P938 9mm. I actually had to lay one pistol on top of the other before I could see that the P938 is just slightly bigger.

I have more faith in the 9mm. Both guns carry very easily, but (to me) the P938 is not fun to shoot. Since I'll carry it a lot and shoot it a little, this is just fine.

I still have the P238 and it will likely wind up as my wife's carry gun. Since it IS fun to shoot, I expect her to like it and hate the P938. If that is the case, I will probably load it with Lehigh XP Xtreme Penetrator ammunition, after verifying it is reliable in the P238.

[WesTx]

I like Winchester Train & Defend ammo for both .380 and 9mm

[IsraelisJewish]

I enjoy my Bersa .380 cc and at 1000 feet per second it seems lethal enough as the majority if uses are in pretty close encounters. I enjoy how easy it is to conceal. I am new to chl so may get something bigger eventually. But it is a what ... shorter 9 mm? Does that little difference make that much difference?

[jason812]

For what it's worth:

http://www.usconcealedcarry.net/2012/07 ... led-carry/


Caliber % stopped after 1 shot How many shots to stop % that did not stop
.22 (short, long, long rifle) 60% 1.38 31%
.25 ACP 49% 2.2 35%
.32 (ACP and long) 72% 1.52 40%
.380 ACP 62% 1.76 16%
9mm Luger 47% 2.45 13%
.38 Spl 55% 1.87 17%
.357 Magnum 61% 1.7 9%
.40 S&W 52% 2.36 13%
.45 ACP 51% 2.08 14%

[Abraham]

LEO's I've known have informed that me that a lot of people die from 22/25/32 calibers.

In fact, more so than larger calibers.

However, they die eventually while a few stop breathing right away...

I own a .357 magnum and hate to shoot it. It's painful. From muzzle blast to recoil. When I do shoot it, I load 38 specials. They're pleasant to shoot and are a reasonable defense caliber.

I prefer 9mm and if it hits what I'm shooting at, it's a whole lot better than a miss from a more powerful caliber...

[ScottDLS]

LEO's I've known have informed that me that a lot of people die from 22/25/32 calibers.

In fact, more so than larger calibers.

However, they die eventually while a few stop breathing right away...

I own a .357 magnum and hate to shoot it. It's painful. From muzzle blast to recoil. When I do shoot it, I load 38 specials. They're pleasant to shoot and are a reasonable defense caliber.

I prefer 9mm and if it hits what I'm shooting at, it's a whole lot better than a miss from a more powerful caliber...

This is a really interesting discussion to me. I have been concealed carrying for almost 20 years, but always had a hard time carrying a full size. I found myself rarely carrying outside my car (used to have to have CHL for that), so I switched to .380 pocket carry or IWB carry. I always felt like the .380 was a little underpowered. So I bought a Ruger SP101 .357. It is quite heavy and my carry loads are .38 special +P silvertips. Since it was so heavy I now mostly carry my Walther PPK/s. I'm really thinking about getting a compact 9mm, but I don't have the money to spend right now and want to find a good one to carry. Anybody out there that switched from a PPK to a compact 9mm? What kind did you get?

[Oldgringo]

LEO's I've known have informed that me that a lot of people die from 22/25/32 calibers.

In fact, more so than larger calibers.

However, they die eventually while a few stop breathing right away...

I own a .357 magnum and hate to shoot it. It's painful. From muzzle blast to recoil. When I do shoot it, I load 38 specials. They're pleasant to shoot and are a reasonable defense caliber.

I prefer 9mm and if it hits what I'm shooting at, it's a whole lot better than a miss from a more powerful caliber...

This is a really interesting discussion to me. I have been concealed carrying for almost 20 years, but always had a hard time carrying a full size. I found myself rarely carrying outside my car (used to have to have CHL for that), so I switched to .380 pocket carry or IWB carry. I always felt like the .380 was a little underpowered. So I bought a Ruger SP101 .357. It is quite heavy and my carry loads are .38 special +P silvertips. Since it was so heavy I now mostly carry my Walther PPK/s. I'm really thinking about getting a compact 9mm, but I don't have the money to spend right now and want to find a good one to carry. Anybody out there that switched from a PPK to a compact 9mm? What kind did you get?

I've been meaning to see what holster, if any, I have for my Sig P230 SL. Since I've been told to wear a heart monitor I can't wear suspenders and my SA Compact 1911 is pulling my britches down.

[WildBill]

I've been meaning to see what holster, if any, I have for my Sig P230 SL. Since I've been told to wear a heart monitor I can't wear suspenders and my SA Compact 1911 is pulling my britches down.

Do the suspenders interfere with the function of the monitor or your heart?

[Oldgringo]

I've been meaning to see what holster, if any, I have for my Sig P230 SL. Since I've been told to wear a heart monitor I can't wear suspenders and my SA Compact 1911 is pulling my britches down.

Do the suspenders interfere with the function of the monitor or your heart?

The suspenders cross the electrode/sensor connections and work them loose thereby sending a signal somewhere that I've croaked....
or something.

[The Annoyed Man]

LEO's I've known have informed that me that a lot of people die from 22/25/32 calibers.

In fact, more so than larger calibers.

However, they die eventually while a few stop breathing right away...

I own a .357 magnum and hate to shoot it. It's painful. From muzzle blast to recoil. When I do shoot it, I load 38 specials. They're pleasant to shoot and are a reasonable defense caliber.

I prefer 9mm and if it hits what I'm shooting at, it's a whole lot better than a miss from a more powerful caliber...

I would say that a pretty large majority of gunshot fatalities I saw in the ER were shot with a .22......but they mostly didn't die right away. For that matter, neither did most of those killed with larger calibers. The one thing that all people who died quickly had in common, regardless of what they were shot with, is that the bullet either holed their descending aorta or the aortic arch, or it scrambled their brains.

[thetexan]

What you "want" is something that will stop the threat!

The best way to do that is to use something that will deliver significant energy to the threat. There is plenty of studies about the physiological reactions to being shot. In almost all of them it shows that the body goes into an adrenaline surge when hit by a bullet, even a rock. This surge gives a sudden burst of energy that can increase the threat rather than reduce it. You need a round that will overcome this surge with enough energy to physically stop the threat.

The most effective rounds transfer a ballistic shock by effectively transferring the energy of the round to the body. This means one, that there is some energy, and two, that energy is not lost by the round exiting the body. A round that has exited the body did not transfer the complete energy to the body.

So, you want a round that has energy and is designed to not leave the body, if your purpose is to actually stop a threat.

In my opinion a .380 is not the best choice. In fact, a 9mm, up until recently was considered iffy. Now it is generally agreed that 9mm is fine. A well designed 9mm in an accurate gun is a good choice.

I use .40 cal. myself.

tex