Many moons ago, I was going through the state police academy. We had been issued Smith Model 60's as off duty/backup guns, but my class was the first to get Walther PPk/s in .380.
Our instructors told us with a straight face that it was the same as having a .38 Special, but we'd have a flatter pistol easier to conceal, and have three or four more rounds on tap than we would with the model 60.
I was little more than a dumb a$$ed kid, but having spent quite a bit of time behind .38 special revolvers in various guise, I figured out within the first day's shooting, that there wasn't any way a 90 grain bullet from a .380 was a potent as a 125 grain +P out of a .38 special.
Only took 5 years of carrying that hateful, sharp edged, habitually malfunctioning, little piece of Interarms garbage before we finally got Glock 27's.
In the mean time, I was usually found with an unauthorized .38 snub on my person. It is definitely more gun than a .380.
Things are different when you are looking at it from a position that is strictly self protection, rather than being prepared to be "offensive" with your firearms.
Maybe a .380 is enough to keep someone from hurting you. That decision is as personal as how much life insurance you need.
