Why buy a 380?

I hate to jump on a already crowed bandwagon, but I bought a .380 because a 12 gauge pump wouldn't fit in my cargo shorts. Lord knows I tried! The LCP is a compromise, size was the most important item on my list.
 
Yes but those smaller 9mms have alot more recoil than those small .380s
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You have obviously never shot a PM9 and an LCP (of which I own both) or a P3AT and a P11 (which I used to own).

The 9mms are far more pleasant to shoot than the .380s.
 
You have obviously never shot a PM9 and an LCP (of which I own both) or a P3AT and a P11 (which I used to own).
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Comparing apples to oranges. The LCP is about 6 ounces lighter than the PM9.

LCP - 9.4 oz
PM9 - 15.9 oz

The PM9 is 66% heavier than the LCP. Go find and shoot a 9mm that weighs the same as the LCP and then tell me the 9mm is more pleasant to shoot than the .380

Same applies for the P3AT and P11

P3AT - 8.3 oz
P-11 14.4 oz

I won't argue that the LCP and P3AT are snappy, but thats the fault of the lightweight gun not the caliber. I couldn't even find a 9mm that weighs as little as the LCP, even 9mm derringers weigh 15 oz.
 
I bought my wife a cz82 for christmas. I dont have any problem getting ammo for it at good prices to boot. Parts are out there if you need them. I know a couple of well qualified gunsmith's if I run up on a part I cant replace myself. By the way, the accuracy of the cz82 is crazy.
 
Although not the best caliber for self defense, it's the biggest caliber that offers a true pocket pistol platform, that is IMOP.

Often my son never has his carry weapon with him, I ask, do you have your gun? he says no, I ask why? he says it's too bulky, so rather than not carrying any thing, it's better to have a .380 in your pocket, than a 9mm or .40 sitting at home in your safe.

I bought a Kahr P380 for just that reason, when I dot want to carry a PM9 or M&P40C in a holster, I'll throw the .380 in my front pocket.

Many carry PM9's in their pocket, to me it's too big, doable, but not practical for me.
 
To me, any gun is better than no gun. My theory is that the sight of the pistol alone will deter most people, and connecting a few rounds of JHP sure wont feel good.

Im from the school of I will only cary something if I forget its there. Anything I can slide in my pocket( most .380's and some small 9mms) is what i want to cary. Caliber size is an afterthought to me.
 
Back when I owned a .380, 20+ years ago, the 9x18 Makarov wasn't really an option. Makarovs, and other firearms that used that round, were still collector's items and ammunition was hard to get. Even then, the ammo that you could buy was ball type and probably corrosive IIRC.
Today, I wouldn't consider a .380 because of the compact 9mm's that are available. Likewise, I wouldn't use a 9x18 because I don't see it as being much of a step-up from the .380.

Just my $0.02.
 
At one time the .380 was the go to pistol for compact easy to conceal weapons. I own some really nice Colt, Walther and Browning .380s. With the advent of the PM9 I seldom carry a .380. I don't slide a PM9 into my pants pocket, but the little bugger practically disappears in my waistband with a good IWB. I would buy a .380 because they are fun to shoot until you get down to the LCP, P3AT size. The only .380 I would consider getting these days would be the Kahr P380. It would be a handy drop in the pocket pistol for that quick run to the store, but more importantly it's a well made subcompact pocket pistol that would be worth owning just because. That's really all the reason one needs.
 
JCP281:
To me, any gun is better than no gun. My theory is that the sight of the pistol alone will deter most people, and connecting a few rounds of JHP sure wont feel good.

Im from the school of I will only cary something if I forget its there. Anything I can slide in my pocket( most .380's and some small 9mms) is what i want to cary. Caliber size is an afterthought to me.
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Very well reasoned! Agree 100%.
 
I use my P238 as a pocket option when my Kimber UC II or other IWB gun won't do.

I have yet to find anything above a 380 caliber pistol that does not look like a tumor, especially when sitting down. Back-pocket is an option I've tried and realized you need a deep pocket so the gun won't show from the top and when sitting down, well its literally a pain in the ***.
 
I purchased a Bersa Thunder .380 last week and will be ordering a CZ-82 this week. I bought the Bersa for eventual pocket carry and to convince my sister to upgrade her "purse gun" from a .25 to the .380. I am ordering the CZ-82 to compare to the Bersa for myself and as a potential pocket carry pistol. Both will take turns as the glove box gun (thank you MS laws).

From what i've seen, the two pistols are almost identical in size and basic appearance, though the Bersa will be a bit lighter in weight. The CZ-82 does hold a few more rounds than the single-stack version of the Bersa Thunder .380 (the version i purchased).

I tried the Bersa out Saturday and was very satisfied with the accuracy and recoil. Front pocket concealability is great for me with the lil Bersa.
 
I dont know if this is what you mean by
Recoil for a pocket gun.
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but this is my perception it:

Using "recoil" as a deterrent for something that is going to only be used in a defensive roll, when fight or flight instincts are going to be in heavy effect is just foolish. If your life ever depends on your pistol, the last thing your going to notice is felt recoil.
 
Using "recoil" as a deterrent for something that is going to only be used in a defensive roll, when fight or flight instincts are going to be in heavy effect is just foolish. If your life ever depends on your pistol, the last thing your going to notice is felt recoil.
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If you've ever had to physically defend yourself, you'd know that the more imminent the threat is, the more wild shooting tends to become. Added recoil tends to exacerbate an already prevalent difficulty of keeping your sights or aim on target; especially with a weapon that has low weight, low capacity, short sight radius, low profile/ugly sights, and increased difficulty controlling successive shots.

The question of recoil in small-framed pistols is certainly not a groundless criticism or consideration regarding choosing your personal defense weapon.

~LT
 
If you've ever had to physically defend yourself, you'd know that the more imminent the threat is, the more wild shooting tends to become. Added recoil tends to exacerbate an already prevalent difficulty of keeping your sights or aim on target; especially with a weapon that has low weight, low capacity, short sight radius, low profile/ugly sights, and increased difficulty controlling successive shots.

The question of recoil in small-framed pistols is certainly not a groundless criticism or consideration regarding choosing your personal defense weapon.

~LT
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I dont know about you guys, but if a bad guy is far enough away from me where i have to use my sights, im beatin feat and running the other way. The way I invision 99.9999% of the situations to where I need to draw my pistol, is a close engagement less than 5 feet away. Ill never see the sights. Within that distance, your going to have to work HARD not to hit your target given a point and shoot scenario.

When your talking .380 your talking deep concealment, small frame, tucked in a pocket (usually). If your not going to cary it like that, the .380 is pointless and a larger frame can easily be substituted for IWB cary. Recoil should not even be considered IMO.
 
The way I invision 99.9999% of the situations to where I need to draw my pistol, is a close engagement less than 5 feet away.
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The most useless and dangerous thing in your defense arsenal is the way you always thought defending yourself would go, when it doesn't.

Be prepared to defend yourself in every reasonable event you can. I don't consider taking time to aim properly unreasonable.

~LT
 
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