![[horse]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/026.gif "Beat a dead horse [horse]")
I would never rely on any .380 round for self defense. I remember drgrant saying something before about the .380's minimal expansion even with JHP's. IMHO, this is one of the most valuable pieces of info on NES:
The fact that the bullet is only 90 grains and has a muzzle velocity under 1000 feet per second only holds true to the weakness of the .380. Here's another good example. A 90 grain bullet has roughly 190 ft lbs of kinetic energy. A 115 grain 9mm bullet has roughly 383 ft lbs and you can get it up to 440 ft lbs by using a +p bullet (if your gun can withstand that pressure.) If that doesn't sell you on 9mm or above I don't know what will. I mean the 9mm has more energy at 150 yards than the .380 does at the muzzle.
I had a .380 and sold it because I could never find ammo for it and when I did, it was around 17$ on the low end. Sure you can find some 13$ boxes sometimes but it would be steel cased and I would never put those in my gun.
Long rant end.
![[wink]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/002.gif "Wink [wink]")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-H9M6cZGd18
I suggest you watch this.
.380 is not where it was 20 years ago. Is it the ideal self defense round? HELL NO.
But this is the round that comes in guns that you can stick in your pocket and forget about, NEVER have to worry about getting made in, and generally requires none of the PITA stuff that goes hand in hand with SD CC on an every-day basis.
I don't leave my house without a gun on my person. Sometimes, especially in winter or fall or spring, this is no biggy. In summer when I have to wear special clothing just to conceal my 40, 45 or 9mm, it's a pain in the ass to carry, particularly when I'm "only going down to the corner store."
.380 will stop the vast majority of attackers, most of the time with proper shot placement. So will 9mm. I'm not making this stuff up, this is the result of police and civilian SD experience.
First off, you'd better realize that a significant number of attackers will run like Hell just at the sight of ANY gun.
For those that won't, there are precious few that will be able and willing to continue an attack with two, inch+-wide holes in their thoracic cavity to a depth of 10-11 inches. That's the kind of wound that the .380 with proper defensive rounds produces.
Yes, I train my students with failure to stop drills. But those drills are for people who will be equally unfazed with .357 Sig, 10mm or .45 ACP as they will from a .380. The idea that caliber (unless it's something ridiculous like a .40 grain .22 that misfires every 10 rounds) makes all that much difference is silly until you get to the edges. At the edges, I've seen as much FTS from .45 as I have from 9mm. Personally I havecome to the conclusion that:
A: Shot placement is king, period, end of story
B: any round capable of dealing an inch-wide hole to a depth of 9 inches or more through clothing is sufficient for almost all comers. The guys that won't be stopped by 9mm won't be stopped by the same number of .45 in the same places. This is why we practice head-shots.
