Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters School me on the 380

Thanks for all the info guys.

I am more of a "gun aficionado", collector, hunter, shooter, than self defense expert. I freely admit ignorance, bullheadedness, and am under no illusion of my own competence. On the other hand if Glock ever makes the single stack 9mm in a 42 size I will get one. This may never happen seeing the divorce mess he put himself in.

I don't know how it was in other locals. After Sandy Hook and the rush on ammo but 380 was absolutely the 1 st ammo off the shelves and non existant until you got out a $50 bill for the cheap stuff. Lotta 380 ccw holders abide the "380 you have on you is better than whatever you left behind thought" around here.If you buy the 380, find out what ammo it likes that meets your needs and secure plenty of it. Magnum Man

To the OP

Practice is what makes CC handguns work. You cannot buy an effective handgun if the guy using it is not effective with it. While not ideal a 380 used with skill will work.
A controlled expansion, deep penetrating bullet will get the job done.

The good thing about the small 380s is that they are light and easy to conceal so you are more likely to carry them day in and day out. A more powerful gun that you don't put on for a quick trip to the store because it is to heavy and hard to conceal is worthless compared to a 380 auto or a j frame that you will slip in your pocket or clip in your waistband every single time you go out the door.

For a lot of folks the 380 is the upper limit of what they can carry everyday. If thats the case get a 380 and practice regularly and feel confident in it.

BTW, I like the ruger lcp stuffed with double tap ammo

I carry mine with Buffalo Bore ammo, and would use the same in 9mm, I feel confident enough in the 45ACP to use about anything including FMJ.

The Little Chitty Pistol is OK. The .380 is ok. Fella has to understand that comparatively speaking most pistol rounds are anemic compared to shotguns or rifles, not that it matters a whole lot. The dangerous part of a gunfight is between your ears. To whom it is dangerous is another discussion entirely.

^^^^^^


This. Exactly.

People talk about LCP's, Keltecs, Kahrs, Bodyguards, that have little barrel length. If I were going to carry a 380 my browning BDA would certainly be the gun. 13 shots and the bad guy better be running before the I pop the first cap or he's in trouble. More than one bullet can certainly make up for the lack of penetration of one. Recoil in the BDA is negligible, it's very controllable and hitting your target is pretty darn important.

I carry everyday, everywhere I go, always, and the Taurus TCP 738 is my choice as it is the only one I tried that my index finger fit in the trigger guard and it is compact enough to comfortably, carry at all times. Did I mention I carry all the time? Deeming that having a pistol all the time was more important to any perceived caliber performance improvement.

I started out using gold dots but after seeing those utube videos on .380 ammo for CC, I am in the process of switching to ammo loaded with the Hornady XTP bullet which according to the tester outperformed all the other ammo in the areas in which he determined to be the most important factors in choosing ammo for the .380 CC pistol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNtPHYwcDts

Digitaldan,
I agree completely with your post. the gun and cartridge do matter but a combat mindset and proper use of your weapon is what will pull you through a gunfight. Thats why I tried to stress practice was the most important part of the equation in my post. Practice breeds familiarity and comfort which is what you will need when you are panicked and trying to hold it together in a fight for your life.

Chainsaw,
I couldn't agree more. you damn sure can't win a gunfight if you don't have a gun and the little 380s make it easy to always have a gun.

The double tap load with the hornady xtp is what is in my 380.

I"ll take a 9mm with modern hollow points over a 45 with FMJs

WTF is combat mindset, I did 18 years working in prison and never needed anything more than calmness and the ability to make a decision.

my dad always said he who hesitates is lost.

I carry the Colt Gvmt. .380 because that's
what I have in .380.

Well I carried a Walter PPK in 380 for several decades, its better than nothing, that being said, some of the better ammo that is available today would be what I would load if I was going to carry one again, I carry a revolver these days, a S+W 686 plus, 357 Mag these days when I carry. I am not interest in sustained combat, I just want to be left alone and most all self defense shootings are very close and very quck with fewer than three shots fired, and I still can shoot 38 Specials!

FWIW, I capped a pig years ago with a S&W Ladysmith. Hornady HBWC over 3 grains of Bullseye....flop'n twitch.

Would a fella be considered gay for packing one of those these days?

Do you own a Mazda Miata?

siskiyous6

combat mindset is a Jeff Cooper term from his book "Principles of Personal Defense".

It pretty much means what you describe; a cool head and sense enough to know what needs to be done with the situation at hand and practice enough to execute whatever needs dished out in short and decisive order.

No. Most days I call peeps that own a Miata "Bish".

I have a Berreta 70S .380. Using the Corbon 90gr load rated at 1050fps it actualy clocks 1148fps from the Berreta. I have ran this load in wet news print right next to .357 Mag loads. It gives up very little penitration to the .357 and leaves a pretty good channel in the news paper. Very accuarate as pocket pistols go with 25 yard groups running right around 2" with that load. Not a bear stopper but I sure wouldn't want to get shot with it.