Ballistics question- .380 vs 9m and .38

[jaybet]

Being a bear of very little brain and too lazy to look things up, what is the conventional wisdom about .380 vs 9mm vs .38 Sp?  They are all of similar diameter, but for some reason I've always thought of .380 as less powerful or effective as either 9m or .38? Anybody have facts, experience, innuendo, or unfounded predjuice that would shed some light on this subject?

[TSB]

9 X 19 Luger wins in muzzle velocity and muzzle energy, followed by the 9mm Kurz (.380) and lastly the .38sp with closely weighted bullets.  It may vary somewhat based on the manufacturer but that's what my research has shown.  Barrel length will play an important role as well....

Federal 9mm 124 gr - 1170muzzle/345 energy
Federal .380 90gr JHP - 1000 muzzle/200 energy
Federal .38sp 110 gr JHP - 943 muzzle/217 energy

[Dharmaeye]

Many variables, eg barrel length.
The following will put things in more perspective:

http://www.handloads.com/misc/stoppingpower.asp?Caliber=0

[cody6.0]

I can't be really specific but when I had my SR9 and LCP out at the same time plinking and such I always found myself saying "wow that didn't do much" when comparing 9mm damge/penetration to 380auto.

[tombogan03884]

I can't be really specific but when I had my SR9 and LCP out at the same time plinking and such I always found myself saying "wow that didn't do much" when comparing 9mm damge/penetration to 380auto.

I'm not surprised, .380 has about 1/2 the powder of a 9mm, that's why it's also known as 9mm short or Kurz.

[Sponsor]

[jaybet]

Now we're getting somewhere....380 is a 9mm short.."Kurz"... I know a guy who's family name is Kurz...does that mean they are, y'know, short?

[TSB]

Off the net...

"Introduced by the Belgium firm FN in 1912, the 9mm Browning short is one of several pistol cartridge designed by John Browning. In some European countries, this cartridge has also been designated as the 9mm Kurz and 9mm Corto, but in the United Sates it goes by the name of .380 Automatic or .380 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol)

Although the more powerful 9mm Parabellum has enjoyed greater popularity over the years, thousands upon thousands of autoloading pistols have been manufactured in .380 ACP. Many American and foreign arms makers have offered or continue to offer compact pistols in this caliber including Colt, Savage, Remington, Llama, Star, FIE, Browning, Walther, and Beretta. Various European police departments have adopted the .380 and it has even gained status as a military cartridge in countries such as Sweeden, Italy, and Czechoslovakia.

In the United States, the .380 ACP is classified as a cartridge best suited for self defense. This is as it should be simply because the pistols available in this caliber aren't designed for sporting use. The .380 cartridge is powerful enough for taking varmint sized game cleanly at close to medium ranges, but the relatively poor accuracy of most pistols in this caliber limits its effective range to about 15 short paces."

[cody6.0]

Wow it's almost funny to read the last two paragraphs and wonder if they are speaking about the same round. The second paragraph ends with talking about the 380 being used for police and military use then a few sentances later it is called a good varmint round.

[TSB]

I watched a police dash cam video last year of a cop trying to subdue a large man, probably twice the cops size and weight.  The cop tried and tried to slow this guy down and finally resorted to pulling his 9mm service pistol and shooting the perp.  The video clearly showed three rounds, center mass from about 12" away and they did absolutely nothing to slow the progress of the perp.  He continued to beat the living snot out of the poor cop!

Personally, I'll keep the .45 ACP for defense....if I ever (God forbid) have to use it, the perp is not getting back up!

[jimbob_texas]

The .380 will be less powerful - it's a shorter case, and most pistols chambered for .380 are very short-barrel firearms. The 9mm is usually found in 9x19, but there are longer variants like 9x21 and 9x23, mostly in Europe (at least for competition guns).  115g and 147g bullets are most popular.  The .38 special is the same diameter, but it's typically a revolver round, with a much larger (longer) case than the other two.  Load data is all over the place, and is a good indicator of what you can expect with respect to performance for each round.