.380 Ball for Self-Defense round

[MAUSERMAN]

Here are my pics. My 92fs,84fs,3032,g19,g26, and bersa380

[Badgersmilk]

http://usrange.org/smf/index.php?topic=2780.0

I'd got curious about the two and had to go looking.  I'm a pretty avid Ruger fan, but geesh!  Holy copy cat Bat Man!

"The Ruger target has two more shots in it, because the Kel-Tec broke while shooting this target"

[Badgersmilk]

Magnum Research has a .380 for the "Ugliest gun" files.  $450...

[ranger351w]

 It's a run what ya brung world. To big probably not brung. I "always" brung Either a pf9 or p380. You can use your cannon ya did not or could not brung?

[MikeBjerum]

Not having a .380 anymore I have skipped over this thread until today.  I had a Kel-tec, but it was never comfortable to me.

My main carry gun is a Gov. 1911, and my secondary/backup is a S&W 442-2 in .38 special + P (j frame airweight).  I use Federal hydra-shocks in both.

One thing I have learned through the years is it is all about shot placement.  Whether you are talking about hunting or self defense you want to put the lead in the right place, as needed as much as needed.  I have dispatched a 350 lb sow with a cheap .22 lr for a single shot fast drop, several .22 lr that did bring death after a few minutes, a .45 acp that took multiple shots, and .45 acp that I thought just knocked her over but she was dead on her feet.

It has been said on here that the worst carry gun is the gun you don't carry; that a .380 in your pocket is better than a 12 ga at home; etc.  I don't care if you carry a 500 x frame, if you don't put the bullet in the right place it will do no good ... alright, with a 500 you could probably get by with just showing it in many cases, but wheter it is a .22 or a .45 the bullet in the right place will do the job. 

Also, don't expect the "quick kill" that Hollywood had conditioned us to.  You need time to bleed out, and anything hitting vessels will cause this ... eventually.  The other thing we count on, and this is where size matters, is the shock of being hit, and hit hard.  This would be Mr. Potterfield's "knock down factor."  However, people will keep approaching and even get back up after initial shots.  Medical examiners, solders and officers will verify that we need to protect "our space," because even after we connect with lead the bad guy can cover a lot of ground before dropping over.

Buy quality ammo, use it in a good gun, practice with your gun, be ready at all times, and pray you never need to use it.

[Sponsor]

[shooter32]

Buy quality ammo, use it in a good gun, practice with your gun, be ready at all times, and pray you never need to use it.

+1
Great advice m58!!!!!!

[Badgersmilk]

Not having a .380 anymore I have skipped over this thread until today.  I had a Kel-tec, but it was never comfortable to me.

My main carry gun is a Gov. 1911, and my secondary/backup is a S&W 442-2 in .38 special + P (j frame airweight).  I use Federal hydra-shocks in both.

One thing I have learned through the years is it is all about shot placement.  Whether you are talking about hunting or self defense you want to put the lead in the right place, as needed as much as needed.  I have dispatched a 350 lb sow with a cheap .22 lr for a single shot fast drop, several .22 lr that did bring death after a few minutes, a .45 acp that took multiple shots, and .45 acp that I thought just knocked her over but she was dead on her feet.

It has been said on here that the worst carry gun is the gun you don't carry; that a .380 in your pocket is better than a 12 ga at home; etc.  I don't care if you carry a 500 x frame, if you don't put the bullet in the right place it will do no good ... alright, with a 500 you could probably get by with just showing it in many cases, but wheter it is a .22 or a .45 the bullet in the right place will do the job. 

Also, don't expect the "quick kill" that Hollywood had conditioned us to.  You need time to bleed out, and anything hitting vessels will cause this ... eventually.  The other thing we count on, and this is where size matters, is the shock of being hit, and hit hard.  This would be Mr. Potterfield's "knock down factor."  However, people will keep approaching and even get back up after initial shots.  Medical examiners, solders and officers will verify that we need to protect "our space," because even after we connect with lead the bad guy can cover a lot of ground before dropping over.

Buy quality ammo, use it in a good gun, practice with your gun, be ready at all times, and pray you never need to use it.

Well said.  With this single post you could end most of the threads that have ever been posted, and at least a thousand of the petty arguments on this forum!  Congrats!

[cooptire]

Buy quality ammo, use it in a good gun, practice with your gun, be ready at all times, and pray you never need to use it.

That about sums it up for any gun/caliber combination. Well said!

[yankeefist]

I liken stopping a human with a 380 to shooting an elephant with a 303 British
it can be done and it has been done many times , but those who knew what they were doing used only solids

if a given projectile in 380 can be made to expand enough to make a larger hole than a solid it will have such limited penetration as to be unreliable for reaching something of consequence

I have never soiled the barrel of my 380 (or my 32 b4 it) with an expanding bullet. channeling a little Koramojo there

[fightingquaker13]

I don't care who you channel. The name of the game is reliabilty first, stopping power second, accuracy third. With either a 9mm or a .380, I'm not not holding my breath for a one shot stop with a well aimed head shot. If I have time to line that up, I probably didn't have to shoot as a civilian the majority of the time (outside of my home). This stuff about take down at range, penetration (which often factors in windshield glass, hollow frame doors etc. as in the FBI's 12" minimum [how many people are 12" thick?]) and all is very useful, but it was designed for LEOs. Their job is to move towards the gunfire. Ours is to move away if circumstances (family members etc) permit. In our case its going to be fast and dirty and close. If you make a 15 yard head shot you're going to have some 'splainin to do, unless there were hostages present that you were related to or were at immediate risk. What we are looking for is what an old gunsmith I occasionally used to visit described as a "go away gun". As in go the f@#k away! Center mass and empty the mag unil he is no longer a threat. I like hydyra shock and  TAPs and am considering gold dot, but my second round is WWB ball, becauseI know it will feed and fire.
FQ13 who knows a Glock is perfection, but still wants to know that second round will feed