These people think the 9mm shoots magic bullets and the 45 is just slow and heavy. You will need to take this under consideration when deciding on which caliber. Let us look at several of the popular options. Ballistics Definition: The study of the movement and impact of an object that is thrown or shot from a weapon. A .380mm cartridge is a light-weight, straight-walled, and rimless pistol ammunition developed by American firearms designer John Moses Browning. I can tell you from personal experience that it is extremely hard, if not impossible to concentrate on shot placement when the adrenaline is riding high. Gotta love the hypocrisy that some (NOT ALL) 9mm fanboys exhibit when it comes to this very debate compared to the same debate over 9mm vs .45ACP. Even the lowly .22LR round can travel a mile after leaving your rifle. In other words, the best self-defense caliber is the one you are willing to carry daily, regularly train with and practice situational awareness with whenever it’s drawn from your holster. The .380 ACP (9×17mm) (Automatic Colt Pistol) is a rimless, straight-walled pistol cartridge developed by firearms designer John Moses Browning.The cartridge headspaces on the mouth of the case. My wife carries a 9 mm because that is HER preferred round. Depending on the style of concealed carry, you may want to choose the more nimble 380 over, the more substantial, bulkier 9mm. The front serrations provide a tactile surface choice when operating the slide with wet or sweaty hands. I personally carry my .380 as a backup carry weapon, although I have no issue as a primary one, either. It can hold a maximum of 5.3 grains of water. The higher priced guns are generally tighter tolerance and highly accurate range competition guns. Both were designed for semi-automatic handguns, both use a projectile that has a diameter of 355/1000 of an inch, and with modern bullet designs, i.e. The .380 ACP grew in popularity as a self-defense cartridge for many smaller handguns around the world. Breaking News Alert: Facebook Bans American Gun Association Group for Free Speech. But if you only have to spend $12 on a box of ammo, you’ll be able to go to the range much more frequently because it’s more affordable. .22 caliber, 9mm & .40 caliber / Photo by Silvester. Testing 380 vs 9mm. Check out this bone test video by Langley Firearms Academy about the difference in the impact of a 9mm and .380: Finally, no matter what caliber you choose to defend yourself with, you own that shot the second the bullet leaves the barrel. Ballistics include things like the velocity of the projectile, penetration, and expansion. When you train more, you gain more accuracy. A typical load carries roughly 3 grains of powder that propels a 95-grain bullet at 845 fps to produce 151 ft.-lbs. The 380 is more comfortable to control when firing numerous shots. However, when we’re looking at shootability between the 9mm and the .380, the 9mm loses this round. 380 vs 9mm price. MATERIAL CONNECTION DISCLOSURE: You should assume that this website has an affiliate relationship and/or another material connection to the persons or businesses mentioned in or linked to from this page and may receive commissions from purchases you make on subsequent web sites. As a result, it doesn't require the same spring rate to send the slide back into battery. It is easy to forget that we were all at one time “newbies”. Instead, it has to do with the guns that chamber it. Loaded with all the features you expect from Glock, and this handgun is ultra-compact and easy to shoot. https://twitter.com/Angel72Vega/status/1029681618615717888. The correct answer is a broad one that may differ from one shooter to the next. All the ammunition used is standard pressure The most important thing for a newby is to not allow a clerk to tell them to base a buying decision on their hottest seller or what is popular, with the newest features, i.e. Getting ready to go to 9mm @work due to cost, still 50 rounds a year qualifications, woefully innacurate qualification amount for law enforcement annually. Ballistics are important, but then again, so is recoil, confidence, ability, price, and penetration. And be able to place a round where you want , most self defense is 7ft,to 10 max, so practice is very good to do and placement very important and cal, doesn’t matter if you can’t place your shot where it needs to be. It is impossible to take physics out of the equation. You will fall back on performing default patterns most of which you will not be aware that they are there, and you will NOT remember performing them, providing you live through the experience. The 9mm projectile is more likely to travel completely through someone than the .380 ACP ammo (or any of the other more popular self-defense rounds ). 380 revolver the other day cheap, have it in my pocket as a backup. I was trained at an extremely young age, so I succumb to the trap very easily. I think the standard Lehigh round is sufficient. Both calibers offer superior performance and self-defense. With a wide range of guns offered in both calibers, the decision comes down to the individual purchasing self -defense. 9mm vs .38 Special – Conceal and Carry. The new Lehigh rounds are also very good. RELATED: The Curious Case Of The Over-Penetrating Round. One of the problems with the 380 is you get excellent penetration with no expansion, or you get good expansion with less penetration. In answer to some obvious confusion here about JB-007’s “Walther” sidearm’s caliber “lack of power” remark by ‘Q’ in the movie, in his books Fleming originally armed Bond with a Beretta .25 (6.35mm) pistol prior to changing to the .32 (7.65mm) Walther PPK in Dr. No. ; OAL refers to the overall length of the loaded round. You don’t even need a holster for concealed carry if you get creative. The .380 vs 9mm ballistics is not the only comparison to consider. The following ammunition cartridge ballistics information and chart can be used to approximately compare 9mm Luger (Parabellum) vs .32 Auto (7.65mm Browning) ammo rounds. .380 vs 9mm. It doesn’t mention the type of bullet used: Full Metal Jacket, Lead/Lead point copper jacket/Hollow point. Trigger . I am curious about your information regarding the stubby, rounded .380 ACP fmj over-penetration you refer to. This improves your odds ,try this it works only one shot,then work up when you learn to hit what your aiming at every time,I shoot from 500 to 7 yards very well with this standard. I for one will stay with my 9mm and 45 unless carrying the 380 is needed for deep undercover. Best to everyone. The .38 Special is a rimmed, centerfire cartridge by Smith & Wesson. I carry a .45 or .40 as primary CCW was carrying a S&W 36 but +P ammo tends to destroy them, since I picked up a. Shoot them both at the same velocity at a block of gelatin. The 32 ACP vs 380 ACP power competition goes to the larger cartridge. Please note, the following information reflects the estimated average ballistics for each caliber and does not pertain to a particular manufacturer, bullet weight, or jacket The FMJ rarely (yes, RARELY) even makes it to the line. Weaker practice round ammo will get the self-defense job done, but higher grain or hollow-point round will be more effective. I mean, when you think about it, when was the last time you saw anyone advertising that they want to get shot in the chest with a .380 or a 9mm? M&P 380 Shield EZ . Instead of rehashing semiautomatic pistol caliber wars (380 vs 9mm, 9mm vs 45), how about some more interesting caliber wars that include revolver calibers or pistol-caliber carbine calibers? At its most basic, it’s reasonable to conclude that the .40… Instead, it has to do with the guns that chamber it. There are some ways in which discussing "380 vs 9mm" favors .380 ACP, but it has little to do with the caliber itself. The strength of the person wielding the pistol may be a deciding factor in the purchase of the handgun. Hi Point Carbine 45 vs 9mm. The best concealed carry gun holds plenty of ammo and shoots … The .380 ACP is not to be confused with the .38 ACP 9mm Makarov, 9mm Parabelleum, or the 9mm Ultra. So what’s the difference between .380 and 9mm ammunition? In this article I will be comparing two kinds of similar but very different handgun calibers: the 9×19 Parabellum and the .357 SIG. The .380 ACP is not to be confused with the .38 ACP 9mm Makarov, 9mm Parabelleum, or the 9mm Ultra. I carry a Glock, because is very reliable and eats reloads, cheap range ammo and while my carry ammo is premium hollow points, it always functions properly, regardless of loads. The higher pressure from the 9mm helps balance both better. When it comes to magazine capacity comparing standard length magazines the 5.7x28mm has the advantage due to its smaller case diameter. Today, we are comparing two options: 380 vs 9mm. Compare the dimensions and specs of Springfield 911 380ACP and Springfield 911 9mm. The clothing or barriers between you and the target and the characteristics of the cartridge. However, there are a few calibers that are equally popular and suitable for their individual purpose. Keeping that in mind, it’s unfair to place the .380 up against the 9mm and ask which is better. However, due to the popularity of the 9mm caliber, 9x19mm is typically $0.05 to $0.10 cheaper per round. All the ammunition used is standard pressure I have never heard of dangerous over-penetration from a .380 ACP in over 25 years of shooting, studying and training. The 9mm Luger beat the 380 to the world’s stage by approximately six years. The G42 Subcompact .380 Auto is another excellent Glock weapon for concealed carry. Origins of .38 Super vs. 9mm Colt introduced the .38 Super cartridge (left) 27 years after the 9mm (right) first made its appearance. It was introduced in 1908 by Colt, for use in its new Colt Model 1908 pocket hammerless semi-automatic, and has been a popular self-defense cartridge ever since, seeing wide use in … Placing faith in an inadequate round can be a fatal misplacement of your faith, much as playing with rattlesnakes can also be a fatal misplacement of faith; not much different than someone who takes a blow up kiddie raft on a real river rafting trip thinking they will be okay because they have practiced with it, a lot. You could argue that felt recoil is less in some platforms, but with a slight reduction in recoil comes a significant reduction in terminal performance, magazine capacity, and in many cases, reliability. 380 vs 9mm stopping power is comparable when looking at the above penetration information. It is narrow enough with the right amount of firepower behind it to cause over penetration. When comparing 380 ammo vs 9mm ammo, you would think the cheaper choice would be the 380, since there are lower costs in raw materials. .380 vs. 9mm, ugh caliber wars, well not exactly. Cons: Anemic. Since the introduction of these two cartridges, the 380 Auto vs 9mm luger, they have been in a caliber war for use as a self-defense weapon. From those more than 30 years in ER, I learned that any caliber can kill you under the right circumstances, but in my experience, the people who died from a single .22 round were destined to die that day, If the round had not killed them, something else would have. The .380mm has since been widely used in smaller handguns. I’ve recently set my eyes on the Zenith Tisas Fatih 13 , a shameless copy of the Beretta 84FS Cheetah , itself a 13-round semi-auto pistol chambered in .380 ACP. You should not rely solely on information contained in this email to evaluate the product or service being endorsed. Handgun Caliber vs. SAO Pocket Pistol . .380 vs 9mm ballistics…well, aren’t really close. Calibers: 9mm Luger . Something that many shooters never even think about is over penetration. 32 ACP is less powerful than the 380 ACP, for all its curses and blessings. vs. Smith & Wesson . The gentle recoil allows you to control multiple shots better at a closer range with the 380. The .380 Auto features the same diameter bullet as the 9mm and the same diameter case, yet it is shorter at 17mm in case length. For example, the Ruger 57’s standard magazine holds 20 rounds. How the cartridges stack up The debate over the most effective handgun caliber is as old as time itself. This story leave out many facts, and I am a Certified NRA Handgun Expert. We Will Not Suppress Your Political Content!