how lethal is the .380 acp round?

Remember that James Bond carried a 380, and the Israeli Mossad used 22lr as their "assassination" round, and a 380 is larger than that. As others have stated, I don't think too many folks keep a 380 as their go-to gun in the middle of the night (assuming that they own more than one gun) but for me, the 380 Ruger LCP with 6+1 rounds in a tiny, easy to conceal package is a better choice than my other "small" gun, a S&W640 with only 5 rounds. But honestly, if I decided on what to use for personal defense based upon how accurately I shoot it, I would rely on my 10-round S&W 4-inch 22lr revolver with which I am extremely accurate. But don't expect to get a definitive answer to your question here, since there is no absolutely right answer.
 
About the .380 round, I never could figure out why there are no "super-capacity" .380 handguns out there. I bet you could get 20-30% more cartridges in a magazine compared to 9mm. That means we really should be seeing 25 round, full-sized .380's. Now, that would be something I would be interested in!
 
Although self-protection with the .380 is the issue with this post. I wonder why when I think in terms of a very close body shot with a handgun on a deer, my mind shouts: Whoa!...on anything smaller than a .38 Super. For those who say that a .380 is adequate for shooting a human in self-protection, how is it that shooting a deer with the the same round would be somehow inadequate (assuming that they would say that)? Unless of course, a deer has some magical physiological property of being immune to weaker handgun cartridges. Or, is it alright to only injure and maim a human where it is not alright to injure and maim a deer? Do you see where I am going here?
 
Skans: said:
About the .380 round, I never could figure out why there are no "super-capacity" .380 handguns out there. I bet you could get 20-30% more cartridges in a magazine compared to 9mm. That means we really should be seeing 25 round, full-sized .380's. Now, that would be something I would be interested in!
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Since the .380 and 9mm cartridges are the same diameter, both cartridges will occupy the same magazine volume equally. IOW, a 15 round 9mm magazine could hold no more than 15 rounds of .380.
 
How lethal depends on where you put the bullet, same with any other round. I know of one instance where a man was hit 4 times with 185 gr HPs, wasn't knocked down but did turn around and walk across the street where he did fall down. Still alive far as I know. Any one of the bullets thru the head would have been lethal.
 
Well, seems like it's fairly close to a split decision when it comes to caliber vs. shot placement.

I've also considered a compact 9mm but I might consider branching out into other calibers. The .380 seems interesting and there are quite a few available at a reasonable price.
 
My take on the 380 vs 9mm debate is that if you successfully used a 9mm to stop an attack that means you were on the money with shot placement. You would have been just as successful with a 380.

A 9 will not stop unless properly placed and a properly placed 380 will be just as effective. Choose the one you can shoot the most accurate and can reasonably conceal.

I can shoot my Taurus 380 far more accurately than my harder recoiling pf9 and lc9. It is also easier to conceal
 
My take on the 380 vs 9mm debate is that if you successfully used a 9mm to stop an attack that means you were on the money with shot placement. You would have been just as successful with a 380.
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^^^ This is exactly my outlook on it as well.


When I first started shooting and getting into gun's I thought I needed the most powerful round I could fit into a small package. My first carry gun was a S&W model 60 in .357. As I continued to learn more about firearms I realized caliber isn't as important as people chalk it up to be. I worry more about getting some trigger time from week to week and practicing with my carry guns than I do about which round I carry. I no longer own the .357 and alternate between 9mm, .38 special, and .380. Don't listen to all the internet hype about which round is better than the other, .380 is plenty good as a SD round and those who say otherwise are ignorant to the damage any firearm can cause. Sure 9mm is better than .380, but so is .44 mag, and 10mm and etc... For as many advantages the internet has, it has just as many disadvantages, and armchair commandos talking down on the .380 because it isn't as powerful a round as their .45 is one of them.

I thought Bond carried a Walther PPK in .32 ACP in most of his movies after being forced to surrender his Beretta .25.
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Yup your right it was .32 not .380. I believe Q said something to the likes of getting shot with it was like a brick going through a pane glass window:rolleyes:
 
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Hi, Technosavant,

Nope, Prinzip and his three friends carried Model 1910s in 9mm Browning Short (.380 ACP). Prinzip's was serial number 19074.

I know of a shooting that involved one man with a .45 auto and another with a .44 Magnum. They each fired one shot at under 10 foot range. The man shot with the .45 died an hour later; the one shot with the .44 died the next day in the hospital. So neither of those "super" rounds killed instantly (I don't know where the hits were).

Jim
 
Shot placement, shot placement, shot placement. It's not a split decision between caliber and shot placement, not even close. Would you rather take a .22lr to the eye, or a 50 BMG to the big toe?

However, two shots to the same place, I'd rather have a bigger hole, and better penetration. YMMV.
 
I have no problem carrying a .380acp. In fact I just sold my LCP so that I could buy a Sig P238 and have a much nicer, better shooting .380acp. Of all the reports/stories/myths I've read, I'm under the impression that if the attacker is sober and aware that he has been shot, it doesnt take much more than a .22lr. If he is drunk/on drugs/insane then its gonna take a hole lot of something to put him down.
 
In the past many "Gun Rag Experts" debated whether the 38 Special or the 380 were the minimum floor for a self defense round. On paper the heavier slower 38 Special was often given the nod as it had 10 whole ft. lbs. muzzle energy over the 380 and due to its heavier bullet was expected to penetrate farther. Of course many of these experts also didn't consider the power loss that came about when you used a snub with a sub 2" barrel. Lighter faster vs. slower heavier....guess what in a non expanding bullet they both make the same sized hole.

Then came the first two generations of hollow points. Mostly a concession to the market want for a hollow point bullet with the added issue that many guns available in 380 wouldn't reliably feed a generous diameter hollow point. So you have bullets that will feed well but expand poorly if at all. A 38 Special had no such problem with feeding so the makers could easily make a bullet that would work well. There was also a smaller demand for 380 ammo so little effort was put into improving the bullet designs and the lesser demand also kept the ammo cost up; further depressing demand.

Then came the proliferation of Shall Issue CCW laws. Lots of people found suddenly that a 45 auto looks great on paper but not so great when dressed for places like the Southern States in Summer. :D Suddenly many people found that the saying that a 32 in the pocket beats a 45 in your dresser really meant something. The 380 found new popularity.....and the market took notice. New efforts have been put forth by the manufacturers to make better ammunition that both feeds well and expands more reliably. They even try to balance that with penetration.

In most cases where a gun needs to be used, if a person presents and the bad guy believes that he WILL get shot the encounter ends without the need to actually shoot. The gun has successfully neutralized the threat and stopped the bad guy. In the other cases if you must shoot, you need to hit. When the bullet fly, the bad guy will probably flee...if so the gun stopped the bad guy. If you hit and wound the bad guy and he stops doing bad things; again the gun worked and stopped the threat. If you hit and the bad guy dies; threat neutralized permanently.

Can the 380 kill???? Yes. Can it "Stop" a bad guy???? Yes. Can it stop with one bullet???? Yes but that is asking an awful lot from ANY handgun.

8 hits from a 380 beats 5 misses from a Scandium frame 357 any day; I don't care what ammo is in it. :)
 
Here's a thought for y'all.... For those who don't think the "lowly" .380 is lethal... Just stand in front of one as its going off.
 
About the .380 round, I never could figure out why there are no "super-capacity" .380 handguns out there. I bet you could get 20-30% more cartridges in a magazine compared to 9mm. That means we really should be seeing 25 round, full-sized .380's. Now, that would be something I would be interested in!
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481 is right, the 380s could hold as many as a 9mm could. Most 380s are marketed as tiny mouse guns, so they're made with single stack magazines. The Bersa Thunder Plus model has a 15rd magazine capacity, and I believe the Beretta 84 is a 13 rounder.
 
As lethal as a .22 through the eye or a 50bmg through the liver. its still a round. just like cigarettes there is no safer than option or choice with live ammo.
 
You can't take the 10/22 with you when you leave the house. If you home carry (as some of us do),it's easier to have the 738 on you at all times. Try toting a rifle around with you throughout the house.

RE:Stressfire-interesting you consider Bersa as 'inexpensive'. To each his own I guess.
 
The Taurus PT638 had a 15+1 capacity. DA only. I almost bought one but I'm not a big fan of DA only pistols. My Taurus 738 and S&W bodyguard .380 are DA only;but,that's to be expected since they are pocket guns.
 
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