Geezer Ray
Senior Member
Knowing everyone has an opinion on .380s. How effective you do think a .380 with Hornsby self defence round would be at close range? Close range being maybe 7 steps at the most.
Welcome Guest!
.380 effectivness
- Thread starter Geezer Ray
- Start date
Robert28
Senior Member
Hornaday critical defense ammo? If it’s the 90 grain ftx round, it’s one of the best 380 self defense loads out there. I don’t really have a problem with the 380 round itself, I have a stigma of older 380 handguns that had iffy reliability and feeding issues years back. I know that’s not really the case anymore but it’s why I’ve never kept a single 380 I’ve owned, the reliability in the back of my mind always made me question it. I know that’s not the case anymore but if I can’t carry my 9 or 45 in carrying 38 special full power loads and feel confident with those.
Hillbilly stalker
Senior Member
I will tell you what I saw 1st hand one night. We had a shooting call at a gas station. Two guys got into it at the gas pumps. One shot the other with a .380. The thug that was hit may have weighed in at 13o lbs., he was wearing a wife beater t shirt. The round struck him right about where you button the last button on your shirt. Me and him both thought he was a dead man. The bullet didn’t even penetrant his chest. The store camera caught the shooting on tape, it was estimated at less than 10 feet. The next evening I saw the thug/victim walking around like he thought he was a superhero. Now you have to consider the thugs usually buy the cheapest ammo they can , which is usually regular ball ammo. I carry a .380 in my weak side pocket and I load it with Critical defense. It’s about 2 steps above a sharp pocket knife.
They were both thugs.
They were both thugs.
The Original Rooster
Mayor of Spring Hill
The most enlightening thing I've seen on caliber vs stopping power was this video on YouTube. It's 5 years old now but despite some advances in bullet manufacture that helps effectiveness, it still applies. It takes a few minutes to get through it but I think it's worth it. The .380 is addressed at the 7:25 mark.
It's also talked about in this article. In short, whatever you can hit an attacker with more than one hit is the best thing to carry because the only thing that guarantees better stopping power is multiple hits.
www.activeresponsetraining.net
An Alternate Look at Handgun Stopping Power
Written by: Greg Ellifritz I've been interested in firearm stopping power for a very long time. I remember reading Handguns magazine back in the late 1980s when Evan Marshall was writing articles about
www.activeresponsetraining.net
It's better than nothing, and worse than a real pistol. To be honest, I would much rather have a .22LR more than a .380 or .38 Special.
The Original Rooster
Mayor of Spring Hill
I've come to the conclusion that a .22 caliber LR or magnum that you can get multiple quick hits with is much better than a pistol that you can get only 1 slow or no hits with. The more holes in the bad guy that I can get in him quicker than he can get holes in me, the better.
Last edited:
.22 will penetrate better than a .380.
I spent half of a morning once trying to kill a sick sheep with an old S&W .38 revolver I had. I finally killed it with one shot from a .22 Single Six my buddy had. I sold the .38 soon after that.
sbroadwell
Senior Member
My thinking is, these days you can get a full 9mm that's really not all that much bigger than a .380. And, 9mm ammo is a lot cheaper.
I can fit my Sig P365 in the front pocket of most of my pants, so it's what I carry.
I can fit my Sig P365 in the front pocket of most of my pants, so it's what I carry.
My LC9 ain't much bigger at all than a LCP, and it will run +Ps.
notnksnemor
The Great and Powerful Oz
My pocket .380 is strictly a "get off me gun".
If you carry one for engagement past arms length, rethink.
If you carry one for engagement past arms length, rethink.
Pig Predator
Useles Billy’s Fishel Hog Killer ?
I'm pretty sure 14 rounds of those 85 grain monolithic hollow points from Norma at nearly 1300 fps would get somebody or 2 off you with ease.
I carry a .40. It'll get you off me at more than arm's length. If you're at arm's length, I already made a big mistake. It's still marginal. A .357 would be better, but it's too big to tote.
If you watch actual footage of gunfights and look at the statistics from them, it's amazing how much lead folks can soak up sometimes and still keep coming.
Robert28
Senior Member
If someone broke in my house and all I could get to was my 10/22 I wouldn’t feel at a disadvantage at all. If anything I’d be at more of an advantage because I’m deadly accurate with that thing and 10 nasty little cci mini-mags are headed your way and they’re all gonna land the same spot.
Robert28
Senior Member
The thing that keeps me away from the 380 is ammo cost, can’t practice with it as much as I’d like to like I can 9mm, and for me I’m giving up too much and gaining nothing going from 9mm to 380.
menhadenman
Senior Member
Really good video… but three things that would have completed the conversation in my mind:The most enlightening thing I've seen on caliber vs stopping power was this video on YouTube. It's 5 years old now but despite some advances in bullet manufacture that helps effectiveness, it still applies. It takes a few minutes to get through it but I think it's worth it. The .380 is addressed at the 7:25 mark.
It's also talked about in this article. In short, whatever you can hit an attacker with more than one hit is the best thing to carry because the only thing that guarantees better stopping power is multiple hits.
An Alternate Look at Handgun Stopping Power
Written by: Greg Ellifritz I've been interested in firearm stopping power for a very long time. I remember reading Handguns magazine back in the late 1980s when Evan Marshall was writing articles about
1 - accuracy/shootability
2 - bullet construction
3 - ammo availability
For example, how many of the 22s were using thunderbolts or wildcats? Doubt they were stingers or velociraptors. How many 45s were just ball ammo?
The Original Rooster
Mayor of Spring Hill
Yes, I can't help but believe that a .22 Magnum hollow point is far better than LR as well.
sbroadwell
Senior Member
Yep, that’s what I first got instead of the 380 I had been thinking about. Carried it for about 10 years and got to where I was pretty good with the admittedly horrible trigger.
But a couple of years ago I traded in hotel points for Bass Pro Shop gift cards and got a free P365. I like it a lot better. I carry it with a 12 round magazine and it’s got a good trigger. The Ruger was a good gun though.
menhadenman
Senior Member
The new FN is going to take some market share from the 365s and 43Xs… internal hammer and much better trigger.
transfixer
Senior Member
I've been carrying a Ruger lcp for years, now have the lcp2, I've shot critical defense out of it, and there is little to no expansion through milk jugs , or through wood, I like the Liberty Civil Defense , they're lightweight rounds, only 50gr, but moving about 1500fps, and they splinter apart on impact, they may not penetrate all the way through someone, but they will make a mess for a few inches in anyway. But I'm also a stickler for shot placement, if I ever have to pull the trigger when using the .380 , one shot might be center mass but a follow up will be a head shot, and I've shot it enough to know I can do that easily inside 15-20feet
