Is 380 the thing now for SD ?

[jben]

If .380 means you'll carry a gun on those days you just don't feel like the extra weight.. than .380 is the perfect caliber.

[arrix]

It's better than nothing but there are much better options.

[Pofoo]

I don’t have anything chambered in 380 and would only carry it as a BUG or deep concealment if I did, as others have stated.

No one has mentioned the Kahr 380s. It seemed to be popular for a while a few years ago. What do we know about it, Calguns?

I had 1 for a while, but, it's just too small. Conceals easily, but I couldn't hit anything past a few yards with it. Also, the recoil spring is pretty strong and hard to manipulate. Range shooting wasn't fun. I now carry a Sig P238 which is actually accurate and fun to practice with. Sometimes I carry a Kahr CW9.

[GOEX FFF]

Well, I happened to be near Bass Pro again today (happens a lot lol) and decided to swing by and pick up a G42. I had a BP $50 gift card tucked away in my wallet so I thought why not...and applied it to today's purchase and came home with a new G42 for $369.
Also grabbed a box of Federal 99 grain HST .380.



I just need to get a pinky mag plate extension. I like the Pearce +1 extention for one extra round. Probably also get 2 more mags as well. All in all, I really like the feel of the G42 and will make a great back up carry piece.


G42 1A.jpg



G42 2.jpg

[acaligunner]

Nice one bro !!

[GOEX FFF]

Nice one bro !!

I had my Wife hold it and work the slide. She had no prob, but she likes the Sig P365 (in .380) better. She says Glocks are boring looking. lol
Can't say I really disagree. I'm much more of a Sig guy myself, too. But this little pistol is really growing on me.

[oddball]

^^^^^^^^

After my wife got her TX LTC 5 years ago, she tried various different guns, including the P365 (9mm), Hellcat, etc. She instantly liked the G42, not surprising since the G19 and 26 are her favorite pistols to shoot, she used the G26 for her shooting test. She shoots the G42 well, and has no plans on giving it up for anything else. The new Bodyguard 2.0 looks interesting, but she says if it ain't broke, why fix it. I feel the same about my P238.

[BrokerB]

I like to wear my Daisy Dukes while .380 in the Prison Wallet

[mossy]

so the pawn/gun shop down the street has a new bodyguard 2.0 carry comp. now im thinking of trading my original 2.0 for it. they allegedly redesigned the feed ramp, and it has upgraded sights. the only thing that's stropping me is that holster selection for the carry comp is limited at the moment.

[OCEquestrian]

With so many sub compact 9mm's why in gods name would you want to have a .380? The only exception would be for a woman or trans girl. 😂🤣

[acaligunner]

With so many sub compact 9mm's why in gods name would you want to have a .380? The only exception would be for a woman or trans girl. 😂🤣

380 acp is just smaller / lighter / and less recoil than the 9mm - and if that gets gunners incentive to carry all good my friend.

I don’t know if cor-bon is still selling ammo, but federal ( HST ) and hornady 90g flex tip ammo is a good choice for a sd round. So is underwood with their 68g ammo.

[OCEquestrian]

380 acp is just smaller / lighter / and less recoil than the 9mm - and if that gets gunners incentive to carry all good my friend.

I don’t know if cor-bon is still selling ammo, but federal ( HST ) and hornady 90g flex tip ammo is a good choice for a sd round. So is underwood with their 68g ammo.

Ballistic energy between Federal HST 124fr 9mm (top) and 99 gr 380 (bottom)..Ill take the 9mm every time...esp. out of a short little sub gun barrel.


HST.png

[acaligunner]

Oh yes I agree 9mm makes more sense, but for folks that don’t really want to carry ( including the micro 9mm’s ), they have little excuse not to when a smaller 380 is shown to them. I have no real reason why that is but in most cases it happens.

I hear you though, I carry a G19.

[Capybara]

I think it's a "cute gun thing" because the ballistics comparatively suck:

https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/self-defense-ammo-ballistic-tests/#380ACP

Better than not carrying but it's effectiveness for CCW is questionable at best, all you have to do is look at the gel tests. My FB shorts feed for a few weeks was flooded with police shooting bodycam footage and the amount of shoots where the cops have to empty their mags and at times even reload and keep shooting is eye opening and that's with 17-18 round mags.

Never having shot a human for most of us, we assume that 1-3 shots center mass takes a person down. After watching these videos of actual close up shooting, it's amazing how many shots some people can take and still keep advancing on you at a high rate of speed. IMHO, .380 is just exacerbating this. Better than nothing but if you can't get a head shot, which is never recommended anyway for SD, there are a lot of people and situations out there where someone who wants to harm or kill you isn't going to even be slowed down with a few .380 hits center mass until it is possibly too late for you. What if they're wearing a thick coat or multiple hoodies? Even 9mm looks very questionable in a lot of these shoots. I can see why there is a trend of some going back to revolvers and carrying hot .357 or even 10mm. Pistols in general kind of suck at stopping a threat compared to rifles. I personally wouldn't carry .380 and I am even rethinking 9mm.

[acaligunner]

In a SD situation nothing is guaranteed, I knew people that were killed by 25acp / 22lr bullets. The 380 may not be the prime choice ( what is or we would all be using that ), but for folks that think a firearm is too heavy to carry and / or recoil shy - I can see why they might choose a cute little gun.

Aside from that - yes carry the largest / most powerful weapon one can or is limited to. I carry a 9 because it’s a compromise, gangs around here mob victims, I’m also a strong built man - so they may try to hit me up with 2 or 3 Vatos .. I would like to Upgrade to a 45acp but 9 mm just is a better choice for here.

Back in the day a lot of bg’s carried 22lr because they could shoot a victim with not a lot of noise ( so LE wouldn’t track down their location ) and they had ammo for it.

So yes I do agree and I wouldn’t feel that good carrying a 380, but again it may not immediately stop a determined attack - but it has the potential to kill someone if that bullet hits the lungs / heart.

I don’t even think I like the 38spl +P / 380acp or the 9mm but it is what it is 😏