CCW/Home Defense 380 opinions

[Rastus]

My old lady wants to get a Sig P232 due to its size/weight for carrying as well as fit to her hand.  I wanted some input on whether or not this is an appropriate caliber for personal protection (CCW) and home defense.  I personally have a Hi-Point C-9, and would love to have a 1911 .45.  Please give input and opinions pro or con (in reference to the .380.)  Thanks.........

First, she needs to shoot a gun to know if it is good for her.  That having been said, if she can't shoot before purchase then she must be confident in the gun to shoot it well...to my mind anyway.

.380 for the home...OK..if you have thin walls and don't want to hit a close neighbor.  Good for ladies carry, my wife carries a Kahr PM-90 in 9 mm.  .380 is really a 9mm short...I think with premium rounds it is OK.  The first gun my wife carried was a Browning BDA with 13 rounds in .380.....so there you go.

For home, I still like the FN Five SeveN round because it will do the job and not overpenetrate like a 9mm ball or other pistol rounds.  The 5.7x28 is high velocity, small and built to go away.  As far as what the other guys say about accuracy, I did not see the test parameters, but my wife's BDA and my PPK are as accurate as any pistol.  The short site radius hurts.  If you have time and a rest I lobbed the little .380 rounds in a 5 gallon pail lying sideways at 150 yards.

Then again, wheel guns are real guns as they say.  The Ruger GP-100 series is a really nice and smooth gun for a woman...if not heavy.  At home that gun filled with .38 Special Gold Dot rounds is very pleasant for women to shoot.  The Gold Dot is built for short barreled weapons like snubbies and with a 4 inch barrel the recoil is light and the powder is gone hence reduced flash.  Women really do like this combination for shooting.