Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Gelatin Testing Last Week... Bad News for 380 Lovers...

Plenty of Makarovs where made and put to serious use and were/are in police/military service for a long time. Given that there's not much difference in balisic potential between 9x18 and 9x17, I'd have to conclude that these geletin tests are designed (at least in part) impress customers.

My view on the .380's is that I've never had a problem concealing a J-frame, so why go smaller? I don't mean just in cartridge, I also mean in gun size.

I agree. The .380's not my thing either.
But having fired some hot Spanish corto that clocked over well over 1100fps out of a pocket pistol, I think it rates as formidable.

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.

CT, I like that line A LOT. Mind if I borrow it for occasional use?

Ditto on that line.... PERFECTLY said!!!!!!

I agree. And, now that I think about it, I carry a lot of life insurance and I don't even own a .380, much less carry one. I wonder if there is a correlation.

Be my guest, friend.

I can't speak for anyone but myself, but I carry a gun for MY benefit - life insurance is for someone else's benefit.

True, but it's for people I care about. Otherwise, I wouldn't have any. I carry a gun for me and for them as well.

I think most will agree that we carry guns for our family's safety as much as our own, My family comes first..............Hb