Would You Trust Your Life With a .380?

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Simple question: Would you trust your life with a .380?

I'm not interested in: if you can carry a bigger gun, then carry one. I just want to know if you, personally, would feel safe carrying a .380 only.
 
I frequently do. One of my normal carry guns is a little LCP that disappears into my front pocket. I operate on the theory (and it may be a bad theory) that VERY few self-defense situations actually require serious, hard hits to the bad guy. In fact, a large percentage of defense situations in which the CCW carrier has actually needed to draw were resolved without having to fire (i.e. bad guy backs down and threat is removed). Another large percentage of situations are resolved when a shot is fired and the bad guy retreats either after a missed shot or after being hit with a round that doesn't immediately put him down. That leaves relatively few situations where the confrontation has ended due to the round's ability to incapacitate the bad guy. Therefore, I am taking a mathematically reasoned risk that my little .380 will protect me in the majority of situations I could be in.

Now, that may not be the right decision for everyone but it fits my needs.
 
I would not feel safe carrying any pistol if I KNEW I had to use it. If the .380 we are discussing is the option you are going to carry and become more competent with then it is the right one for you. I have carried .380s before and not felt anymore under gunned than when I was carrying a 10MM.

A long gun is better than a pistol
Any pistol is better than no gun
 
Yes and no
Statistically speaking I'm not super high on the risk factor. I'm a big dude, I have no mortal enemies and I don't spend a lot of time doing questionable activities that would get me into danger. I hope like all members on here to live to 105 years old and never to have to use a handgun for anything other than fun but I know thats not up to me. I would have no problem carrying a 380 if I knew with 99.999999% certainty that it would go bang. With that being said if i knew that i was going to get shot at tomorrow I'd bring my 870 and AR with me and leave the 380 at home.
 
Well I don't routinely carry so since I often trust my life to nothing, I guess I would answer yes.

But for home defense, or those occasions when I do feel the need to carry a pistol, no I would not choose .380 Auto. Nine millimeter Luger or 38 Special +P would be the minimum for me.
 
Simple question: Would you trust your life with a .380?
Click to expand...

People ask this sort of question all the time and I think they are considering the problem from the wrong angle. It isn't whether or not a person trusts their life with/to a .380, but if they trust their own shooting skills with a .380. A .380 will do the job. That should not be in doubt. All that is required is for the shooter to do his/her job which may require a bit more precision to be as effective as some larger calibers.
 
No. I don't trust .380. I don't see the round doing well in ballistic gel tests. If it does expand, it does not penetrate reliably to +12".

Modern 9mm is about the perfect carry round for small, concealed carry guns with 3" barrels and there are many good guns in this chambering.

Lucky Gunner .380 ammo tests (Hornady 90 Grain FTX Critical Defense is the only round out of 20 tested that performed satisfactorily. ie all expanding and penetrating to +12"):
http://www.luckygunner.com/labs/self-defense-ammo-ballistic-tests/#380ACP

ShootingTheBull410 .380 ammo tests:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgNSGOEQko_MjOCGyqlMTiM2njdQQRbdg

Tnoutdoors9 .380 ammo tests:
https://www.youtube.com/user/tnoutdoors9/search?query=380
 
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