All things .380

[Protected One]

Nice try Lost Lake, but I will be trying out a few 3rd gen's, so your competition may just increase!
Sounds like you have the "shield?" (you hinted at comparring it to you BG in the truck)

 

[GKC]

People will tell you (usually the guy carrying a .40 S&W with two extra 12-round mags) that a .380 will "just make somebody mad" and "really won't do any damage". You should ask these folks to stand there and let you shoot them a few times with it. They won't.

I don't want to stand there and be shot with a BB gun, either...but that doesn't make them effective self-defense weapons. I'm not knocking the .380 at all...a gun in the hand is worth all the ones in the safe, when the need arises. I'm just saying that there are lots and lots of things I wouldn't want to be shot with or hit with or stabbed with...in fact, I can't think of a single thing I'd want to be shot, hit, or stabbed with...but that doesn't mean that they are all good choices for self-defense.

To be brutally honest, with all the small framed 9mm pistols out there I find no reason at all that anyone would want to carry a .380

I agree...for me. But if someone else finds whatever gun/caliber the solution for their carry needs, then it is the right gun for them, when it comes to carry. Will it suffice when it comes to actually needing it? Who knows...there are too many variables to know the answer. There are many instances of people being shot repeatedly with bigger caliber rounds and surviving...while there are equally instances of people being fatally shot with one .22 round. Of all the variables, shot placement is the key...but in order for that to come into play, you have to have a gun to make the shot.

The ideal intersection of a CCW is where the caliber, size (ability to conceal), weight (willingness to carry), and reliability all meet in one gun...and that is going to vary by each person.

 

[mbliss57]

I don't carry a .380. I hope this isn't a slam on anyone. My wife has 4 or 5 380 autos. She is any excellent shot. Her favorite is her Sig P238 and Colt Mustang Pocket Lite. She also shoots a Bersa Thunder, Beretta 85 Cheetah- (My Favorite). Probably because it's bigger.
She can shoot all of my semi autos well up to my 10mm. But she feels most comfortable and confident with a .380 auto. I personally like the conceal-lability. I have a hard time controlling them because of their size.

 

[Lost Lake]

Sounds like you have the "shield?" (you hinted at comparring it to you BG in the truck)

I have the Shield. It's okay. I have the M&P compact which is nicer than the Shield. No safety, smoother action. And the M&P full size which really shoots nice. Plenty of real estate to park a weapon light too.

In all I have 7 M&P's. They are kind of fun to collect, and I'm not done yet!

 

[Protected One]

I have the Shield. It's okay. I have the M&P compact which is nicer than the Shield. No safety, smoother action. And the M&P full size which really shoots nice. Plenty of real estate to park a weapon light too.

In all I have 7 M&P's. They are kind of fun to collect, and I'm not done yet!

Which do you carry most (I'm guessing the compact)?

 

[DCWilson]

I stand with those who appreciate the Walther PPK and PPK/S. Years ago I had a wartime .32 (or 7.65mm) PPK that I let get away in a moment of temporary insanity, and when I replaced it with a PPK/S about five years ago I moved up to .380; I have heavier hitters that I would rely on for defense against home invaders, but if I were out and about the .380 would be one of the guns I would happily haul around in a pocket. Would a compact 9mm be a better choice? By some standards, sure, as would a small .40 or .45 -- but when you are evaluating adequacy, anything that lies on the high side of sufficient is functionally indistinguishable from anything else in that range.

I know I wouldn't want to be hit by a .380 projectile, and I have to assume that most guys who meant me ill wouldn't want to be either.

 

[hemiram]

I've had 2 Beretta 84's, and the closed slide version, the Browning BDA. IMHO and experience, they are the best 380s, period. There may be some that equal it, but I haven't seen one yet. I was severely disappointed with both of my two Walther PPK's, and the PPK clones were mostly total junk, and others were OK, at best. Of all three of the Beretta made guns, the only single failure to fire was due to a seriously distorted case that was crushed as the slide tried to shove it into the chamber. I carry my present 84 once in a while, but my present carry gun is my Astra A-75 9mm, another one I have pretty much total confidence in. It's a heavy little gun, (I like that, a lot), and it seems to eat anything and everything I put in it.

 

[Protected One]

Interesting: Ruger has taken their LC9 (9mm) and re-chamberred it for .380...and introduced the LC380! That should make the round feel "real nice" to fire. Think I'll have to try and find one to shoot.

 

[3dots]

I carry a Bodyguard 380, hot, no safety, Critical Defense in a DeSantis Nemesis. Never had to show it and hope I never have to. I think it would be at least a decent deterrent to aggression.

 

[Boris B]

To all Bodyguard owners. You may want o consider getting a Pachmyer grip for your .380. Mine came yesterday ($15 incl shp on ebay) and it gives the grip a better size, making it more comfortable in the hand, and though I haven't shot with it yet I'm expecting improved accuracy.

I have considered the Pachmyer but I also read reports that the grip slips down and interferes with trying to reload the gun with a fresh mag.

Do you have any update regarding this?

 

[5906fan]

.380acp in the boiler room is gonna cause some major discomfortant

 

[Guevera]

I've got five .380s, starting with my prized Colt 1908. My EDC lately has been a Beretta Model 84. I understand the limitations of the caliber, but my confidence in the reliability and accuracy of the pistol in this case trumps caliber size. This, combined with the ability to put a fair number of rounds on target in short order, makes the 84 a winner for me. I also appreciate less weight since getting a pinched nerve or something similar last year.

Neither are S&Ws, but I thought I'd post a comparison photo anyway since we are talking about .380s in general vs. larger calibers and pistols:

 

[Protected One]

Just got done chatting with a high school classmate of mine about the plans for our 40 year reunion. Remembering that he's Chief of Police for a large city police department, I asked him what would he recommend for concealed carry (caliber & manufacturer)?
He said "380 Smith & Wesson Bodyguard. It's what I carry off duty all the time"

 

[Protected One]

THe slipping is very minimal and not something that I believe to be a problem. The grip helps the gun "fill the palm" better. I wish Pachmyer would make it go furhter up the backstrap, to help more with recoil absorbtion.

 

[LedFowl]

I've got a Beretta 84F. I bought it as a range gun and because I didn't own a .380. I wanted a .380 that would be fun to shoot and could be shot accurately. This pistol was intended to serve the European police agencies - I think at one time .32 and .380 were their police calibers - and so they weren't made all that small. I believe a Glock 27, which is a .40, is actually smaller. Mine is police surplus, I think.

 

[lebomm]

I have a factory nickeled Beretta 1934, and an FN M1922 that I believe to be one of the 1st 500 manufactured for the Yugoslav gov't in 1922 - 23. The only reason I bought either of them is that they're cool guns. When I carry, it's usually my M640 in .38 Spl.

Larry