Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Would You Trust Your Life With A 380?

Terry, did you bob the hammer on that 32 mag? Regardless, people lose sight of the bottom line. Is a 380 optimal? Hell no. But then again, I am not the police anymore. What I need is for people to leave me alone and let me go home.

Now, It may be that a 9mm with 17 round magazines will put me in a position to get back to the house safely. For that matter, an AR15 with 30 round magazines will up the chances significantly.

Let every Spartan. He who has seen the elephant, decide at his particular point in life, decide what tool suits him and his family in terms of self defense.

For now, I prefer a G19 with an extra G17 magazine. If I live long enough, a Smith Model 38 with a couple extra speed strips might suit me. (with a sharp pocket knife.)

Finally, a Glock 42, with a pocket knife, might make me happy enough, about getting back home safely.

Who can say what is "Enough"?

God bless you all, and carry all you can.
CT

CT, Yessir, I did the bob job as I couldn't find a 432PD when I needed a pocket pistol.

I'm no shootist. Nobody never shot at me and I never shot at Nobody. We're both still alive and well. But logic tells me the only reason to carry a .380 instead of a larger chambering is because the smaller size of the vessel is to my advantage. Big pistols for small ctgs don't make sense to me when it comes to concealed carry. The reasons for me to carry a larger chambering in a larger vessel are primarily terminal performance, capacity, and handling as compared to the smaller chambering. However the choice of a particular weapon to be carried will also be affected by the circumstances surrounding my activities of daily living. I'm becoming more attracted to the AR pistols than ever before but just wouldn't be able to swing the required level of concealment during church service at Trinity Baptist. I'm sure it'd bring on the vapors for a fair number of our WMU ladies. So with their well being and protection in mind I compromise with (usually) IWB carry of a G23. If I wear a jacket it hides well. Coming summer sweat time I'll most likely go to the LCP or buy a LC9 to tuck because I HAVE to carry and it MUST be concealed. But haven't totally given up on finding a mo betta way to hide the Glock. And that's all I have to say about that.

NO. The 380 cannot be compared to a 9mm. A 38 sp might be the bare minimum,but I carry a .357, 3" barrel.Even that with such short barrel is not all it is cracked up to be.

Would I want to be shot with a .38? Of course not,but I am not about to trust my life with one.

To many people are putting to much to much emphasis on guns being light,easy to carry and concealable when they should be more worried about the capabilities of what they are carrying

People seem to get confused on the definition of "compared" in these types of threads. It can be compared, for example:

- 380 and 9mm both use the same nominal bore size.
- 380 generally uses lighter bullets than 9mm
- 380 generally pushes those bullets much slower than 9mm
- 380 full power loads are generally similar to the lightest target loads many 9mm pistols will cycle.

Those are comparisons. I think what you mean is the 380 cannot be the equal of 9mm, and that is true.

I agree that he just blew it off. No acknowledgement of the fact that the .22lr often kills slowly. In fact - the entire article kind of glosses over the idea that stopping the fight - rather than killing - is the main goal.

And he never mentions that rimfire misfire problem.

If your CCW is a 22LR and that is all you can manage, more power too you. Those little tip up Beretta 22s were favored by people who did not have the hand strength to rack the slide. A few years back a lady near Atlanta filled a home invaders carcass with 9 22's, he made it out the front door before he died.

This.

I disagree. You have to carry and conceal your weapon so common sense and physical ability influence what a person can carry. I just shot a pistol class with a G43 and passed it. To a man everyone had some type of high capacity gun except me and a fellow with an LC9. We decided to shoot the course with what we usually carry. It is easy to forget that Grandma with her sciatica cannot tote a 2.5 pound N frame in her purse any longer and yet I would want her to be armed instead of harmed.

I am probably going to catch some flack over this, but here goes. I am not a fan of open carry, and open carry is the best and only way, one can carry a large handgun. I just don't like the idea of people seeing me armed, because it's none of their business. Also, there are places where it's just not practical to walk around with a 1911 strapped on you. That's why I carry concealed only, and I'll admit that I carry in some places where I'm not supposed to. However, I feel it's a necessity, or I wouldn't do it. That means that the handgun that I pack must be small enough to avoid being seen. If I have enough clothes on and can conceal it, I'll pack a Glock 19 or maybe a Sig 40 cal, but most of the time there will be a 380 in my pocket. I don't see it so much as trusting my life to it, but rather as the best way that I can go armed without the world knowing.

I do not trust my life to any firearm! I carry and use what I feel gives me the best chance of stopping a threat quickly. I also agree that many have physical limitation that require smaller less powerful cartridges. For instance my wife is small and has a bad case of rheumatoid arthritis, so she uses a Berreta 32 ACP with a tip up barrel, because she can't adequately rack the slide. She shoots the pistol reasonably well and it beats the hell out of nothing.

Basing this all on memory so there may be a glitch or two. Back in the '90s when I still lived in Alabama there was an attempted robbery of a barbershop in Birmingham. IIRC it was headed downhill and one of the bad guys was waving a gun. Old guy in the chair pulls out his NAA .22 mag paperweight and head shot both of them. I recall at least one was doa. Ended the robbery.

Yes,but Granny can carry a Lady Smith with +P's that weighs 22 ounces,and there isno slide racking.

Then there are those that say they want concealable but want to wear shorts and a tank top.Here's a clue, wear a regular shirt not tucked in. The termed concealed means not in plain sight,it doesn't necessarily mean that a bulge is not permitted.Again people are more worried about their comfort than they are saving their own life than.

Surely if our troops in the Middle East can work in full body armor and carry all the equipment when they are in 120-130 degree temps. Someone who is worried about their own safety can wear few more clothes.

I conceal a 17 everywhere I'm legal to carry. Before that, I conceal carried a K-Frame S&W. For years I conceal carried a full sized 1911. In 37 years of carrying concealed a whole variety of handguns of all common sizes, I was only (to my knowledge) spotted once, and that was when I reached down to the ground to pick up a little dog. Asked at that time if I was carrying a handgun, I simply said "Always."

In a well made firearm, yes. But that is the problem I find with 380's. there's a lot of junk out there.

I've carried since I was legal to do so at 21. Always had whatever I was carrying covered and didn't give a rip if it printed or not. Never been questioned about it either. Mostly carried a Sig 229 or Glock 26. A t-shirt one size larger than what you normally wear hides quite a bit and is still comfortable in summer.

What an idiotic view.



Dave

As always nobody reads the fugkin' question. He specifically omitted size of the gun and narrowed the question to the cartridge. Would you trust your life with the .380?

I would and do. On occasion...

I am glad so many people leave the house only dressed in Wranglers, a button up shirt and a fugkin' cowboy hat, but I'm one of those people that does normal schit. i.e. go float the river with your kids in swim trunks and a tank top. Or maybe flip-flop my happy ass into the grocery store on Sunday morning wearing nothing but sweatpants and a hangover.

That's what I wear into the store when we stop for beer and ice and pop on the way to the river. Guess what I have on me? It's not a fugkin' Sig 226 I can tell you that.

Guess what I keep in my pocket or waistband while I float? It's not a fugkin' G17L, I can tell you that.

Speaking to accuracy of small guns, that's on the shooter and has nothing to do with the lethality of a cartridge.

I feel relatively comfortable with mine:



Here's a rabbit that got brained @ 11yds.



I have literally piles of handguns and I carry accordingly.

But if you're the kind of guy that spends his whole life wearing 5.11 pants with a riggers belt, a suitable cover shirt, a Surefire flashlight, an iPhone, a wallet, and a spare mag, you're probably not real relatable to Joe Family Guy that does a variety of schit with his kids and wife and girlfriend.



Clark

Should read wife and girlfriends.

Just as idiotic to trust your life to a.380.
My opinion is as valid as your flippant one.