Crunching the 380 — A ballistics analysis (Part III)

OK, here I am again with another self-blog post. Again, too much to just quote my article, so I'm requesting people go travel to my free and very slow Azure WP site to go read it.

It's still not a caliber wars post; this is still the .380 ACP and not proselytizing to people who instead (or additionally) elect 9, .40, .45, 10, or whatever. Please enjoy; this is the end of this series unless an odd inspiration strikes.

Thank you for your latest post. Again, I think that that .380 ACP (Browning 9mm Short) and the .32 ACP both don't get the respect that they deserve.

I am 71 years old I remember growing up and waiting each year for the Winchester catalog along with the Sears Christmas catalog. In the old Winchester catalog they use to discuss which cartridge was good for hunting what kind of game. In those days a .458 Win Mag was for Elephant and rhino. A .375 H&H was for Cape Buffalo (and in a pinch Rhino and Elephants). A .338 Win Mag for Lions and Grizzly bears. Today people hunt elk & moose with .375 H&H and .458 Win Mag. The animals are not getting tougher. Shooters are enamored with extreme power, not good shot placement and the ability to make a followup shot.

Not that many years ago the .32 ACP was a standard police and military round in Europe. I once read that that caliber put more people into cemeteries in Europe than any other round. The .25 Auto Baby Browning was a favorite of the French Resistance in WW2. The .38 Special was the preferred police round for many decades in the US.

I feel that a .380 Auto (with a spare magazine), in the right hands, is suitable for self defense.

Now back to an earlier post of yours, I would like to add a couple clarifying comments.

“......There’s are many to choose from. In the tiny size like LCP you might like the Pico (latest iteration has a 6lb spring) although from the study I’d only go with that size if pocket was the the only option. In the 3”+ group you might like a G42, Bersa, PPK(/s)?........”

I like pocket carry. I make my own leather holsters of my design and they contain a spare magazine that fits easily within my front pocket.

Tiny Pocket pistols (sometimes called mouse guns) have some serious issues that the shooter needs to understand. The first is that to make them small enough and light enough for pocket carry, you have to push the limits of the physics of semi-auto pistol design.

Specifically, small pistols require compromises in design. You have limited amount of energy available for controlled recoil operation of the action and slide. You also have a light pistol with not much surface area to grip. When such a pistol fires and you absorb some of the recoil with your arm or wrist the action may not reliably work.

The same caliber in a larger gripped and heavier pistol will have no such problems. Often times the stove-piping and failure to fully eject or failure to feed problems are referred to a operator error or “limp wristing.” It is not a problem of wrist strength, it is one of making sure all the recoil energy is transferred to operating the action and slide.

When recommending small pistols, practice and ammo selection becomes critical. Some pistols when at the edge of their recoil limits can have difficulty with feeding a fresh cartridge into the chamber depending on the ogee of the bullet.

Thank you for sharing your research.

I agree with your comments. The people who say "caliber xyz isn't powerful enough" oddly enough never volunteer to get shot by one. ;-)

My "usual" carry is a 9mm single stack S&W Shield. I've occasionally gone big, full sized 1911 in 45 ACP. Not because I wanted more power, I just really like that firearm and like to take it out for a spin once in a while. My wife typically carries her 5 shot 38 spl revolver or her 9mm (a mid-sized double-stack semi-auto). Finally, yes we have the 380 LCP. As others have said, there is basically no excuse for *not* carrying this. It is small, light, and easily concealable in any clothing with more material than a speedo.

Being small and light it has snappy recoil. That's just the nature of the beast. The slide is hard to manipulate because they had to go with a fairly stiff spring and it is small and doesn't have good texturing/grip surfaces. (something I could probably have improved by a gunsmith I suppose). As you point out, they are perhaps less forgiving to the operator. The LCP has had more FTE/stovepipes than all our other semi-autos combined. Not for me, but my wife and one of my kids typically will experience one or two on any given visit to the range. So sure, it isn't perfect, but it serves a purpose and fills a niche. If I come across another small single stack 380 I like I might pick it up. But the LCP is good enough for the few times I carry it that replacing it isn't very high on my list.

Re: the 32 ACP. I have my Uncle's old officer's service sidearm - a Colt in 32 ACP. He carried it all over the world and never owned any other handgun. It's a nice firearm, though I've never fired it. I only clean and maintain it for sentimental value.

One of Mrs Ls favorite carry guns is an old CZ-82 I got from a C&R dealer for $200 a few years back. It’s chambered in 9mm Makarov and it’s one sweet shooting little pistol.

Ballistically speaking it’s a .38 Spl which is plenty of power to stop a threat. Hornady actually makes a load with their FTX bullet in that caliber.

It conceals easily, functions very reliably, and we won’t weep bitter tears if it’s taken as evidence like we would over one of our Kimbers.

I should have bought half a dozen of them when they were available.

LOL.

Thanks again.

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