.380 for self defense?

[Laxguy59]

I read the long article by an atlanta medical examiner and he gave his objective opinions on what he saw when bad guys and good guys came in. He noted that 9mm victims took many shots before dying and anything smaller generally took more or didn't end up in the morgue often. 45 was great because even if it took multiple shots to take down a victim, 45 was likely to shatter bones and down a victime before killing them. 40 seemed to be the best balance, but 357mag and 357sig got rave reviews from him.

Here it is, it is just a collection of forum posts and blog post by the guy and it is REALLY interesting, especially if you study every bit of terminal ballistics information that you come by like I do. A friend of mine once showed me some FBI test on pig carcasses that revealed similar results to the morgue articles, but it never took death into account, only damage to a body which is a totally different thing in a SHTF situation.

http://www.gunthorp.com/Terminal Ballistics as viewed in a morgue.htm

 

[Bear44]

IMHO. A 380 is better than nothing, but that's as far as it goes. Is it adequate as a primary self defense weapon? Absolutely not. The purpose of a self defense weapon is to stop an attacker quickly and a 380 will not do that reliably. If you use the argument that a half dozen hits will do the job, it's to slow. A fraction of a second can determine if you live or die. If you use the argument that shot placement will do the job, you're not taking into account that under stress fire accuracy goes to s**t. No matter how much you train, you will not perform as well in a real world self defense situation. The margin for shot placement error with a 45 is much greater than with a 380. You can kill someone with a pencil if you stab them in the right place, but it's not a good weapon for self defense.

Put yourself in this situation. You are in a gun fight with a bad guy. You have a 380 and he has a 45. Are you still happy with your choice of carry gun? I think the 9mm is minimum and I don't recommend anything less than a 40S&W. With the sub-compact versions available in effective self defense loads it takes very little effort to be well armed.

 

[silothepro]

honestly, the biggest problem i have with the small 380's is the only hold 5-7rnds, 380's will work but i really like to have at least 10rnds in the mag, but thats just me. i quit carrying revolvers for the same reason.....

 

[NGIB]

I prefer the "stopping power" of twin DEagle 50AE's; however, I carry a .380 nearly everyday. I can hit what I aim at and it's a gun that I'll actually carry...

 

[unclear.six]

I will let jeepster speak for me on this one:

Mine was a jennings 380, I pulled the trigger nothing happened, pulled the slide and it wouldnt come back, I sat down on the front steps of my house and tried to get the slide back and turned it around to look at it and it went off and shot me in the chest. I was in Icu for 3 mounths. Hollow point went through me and blew my sholder blade out. It took me 3 years to recover and get back to patrol. Ive got some nasty scars and I wont trust a cheap pistol again.

 

[Petro_58]

Practice, practice , practice, it don't matter if you have a magazine with 100rds, if you can't hit what your shooting at under stress! The Spray and Pray people drive me crazy. Comfort, reliability, and Practice that's what's going to dictate your survival, not magazine capacity or caliber! Chances are your not going to see it coming, and whatever is going to happen is going to be over in seconds, one, two, three, if the perp's not down then there's a problem. Multiple perp's, your already in trouble, depends on how many and their armament, but most of all your Skill.

 

[Wheeler]

bear44, i'm posting from my phone, so forgive e for not quoting. The question I have is, What is the difference in the margin of error between a .45 and a .380?

 

[CCW]

You can always count on 2 facts.

1. I will have atleast one weapon on me at all times.
2. One of them will be my Sig P238 (.380)

Although I am a VERY avid 1911 supporter.......and I do carry the 1911 platform, I have been carrying a .380 (as a primary or backup) for a LONNNNNG time. With that being said, it is not the most effective round to stop an attacker and unless you are well versed in knowing how and where to place rounds, you are probably not getting the most out of it. I absolutely hate heavy and bounding clothes so my P238 (based on the 1911 platform) always rides safely tucked away. So much that I usually forget it is there. If you are going to carry a .380 for primary self defense, I highly recommend doing 7 yard rapid drills on large silhouette targets to acquire the best accuracy you can. Remember.....even if you train hard you will still lose a large portion of your effectiveness to adrenaline in the event of an actual self defense situation.

 

[silothepro]

Practice, practice , practice, it don't matter if you have a magazine with 100rds, if you can't hit what your shooting at under stress! The Spray and Pray people drive me crazy. Comfort, reliability, and Practice that's what's going to dictate your survival, not magazine capacity or caliber! Chances are your not going to see it coming, and whatever is going to happen is going to be over in seconds, one, two, three, if the prep's not down then there's a problem. Multiple perp's, your already in trouble, depends on how many and their armament, but most of all your Skill.

i agree, but if theres 5 dudes coming your way, i dont think 6 rounds would make me feel very good.......gangs come in packs last time i checked........

 

[Petro_58]

.............................
Put yourself in this situation. You are in a gun fight with a bad guy. You have a 380 and he has a 45. Are you still happy with your choice of carry gun? I think the 9mm is minimum and I don't recommend anything less than a 40S&W. With the sub-compact versions available in effective self defense loads it takes very little effort to be well armed.

If you hit what you were shooting at to start with, there would be NO GUNFIGHT. And if I'm so scared that I have to think that I'm going out to a Gun Fight everytime I leave the house, then I'm taking the AK47 and moving somewhere else.