Don't Buy This Caliber! | Gun Cranks
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- Опубліковано 13 січ 2025
- Our resident Gun Cranks - Brent Wheat, Tom McHale & Roy Huntington talk about the "almost" calibers: .25, .32, and .380 as self-defense rounds. Are they useful for personal protection, or will they only get you killed? Tune in and find out what the guys think!
More info here mentioned in the video: americanhandgu...
When I carry a 380, which is rare, its a well worn Colt Mustang Pocket Light. It's stuffed with hard cast lead, flat nose truncated cone +P 380 ammo, loaded for deep penetration. . The flat nose supposedly bites into bones and blood vessels rather than glancing off or pushing them aside. I carry it hammer down, safety off, muzzle up, with nothing in the pocket otherwise. When drawing, I hook my index finger in the trigger guard, pull the weapon from the right front pocket, thumbing the hammer back while my fingers bring the firearm into firing position. Its deadly fast, and to me, safer than appendix carry.
Not fond of 380, but it'll do in a pinch. With this ammo, I can reach in deep and touch the bad guy where his important life bits are.
I remember reading in American Handgunner about the “live goat” tests of the 1970’s or early 1980’s where the .380ACP scored 1 shot stop (assuming killed the goat but I don’t recall) 75% of the time. From that point on I always accepted the .380ACP as a viable self defense option. Maybe not my first choice but usable if needed.
Hi Chata. It’s since been shown that “test” never occured. In my own research, other than a “report” sent out at the time by an anonymous sender (I received one in the mail) there are no records and nobody who has ever come forward saying they either participated in the test or knew it to be true. But I do agree, I think the .380 with a good bullet is sure better than a rock! Roy
So long 4 a Beretta or a Browning m84 380!! Hoped for a Surplus one sadly only 32 ACP's N my price range. Guess will settle for a Bersa 380 saving up for the 13 shot model not the 7 rounder !
Fun stuff. Years ago I shot a .25ACP at a Jim Beam 1/2 pint bottle copper jacket stuck on the front side and the lead cracked the back.
I investigated a burglary where the suspect shot a family t.v. with the victims Raven .25. The pistol round was wedged in the screen
Most .380 could be a little snappy not only because of its size but because most of them are blow back. There are others .380s that are locked breech and are more pleasant to shoot like some mini 1911s of Colt, Llama and Star.
I’ve got an LCPII also. Very accurate and easy to shoot/hit with out to 7-10 yd.
Also, the Browning 1911-380 has a 4 1/4” barrel (though shorter versions are available) and that gets quite a bit more, ballistically, out of the cartridge. An excellent little and very light gun.
I’ve heard 380 bounces off T-shirts:)
I have a Hogue grip which is specifically made for the LCP (it’s actually pinned to the weapon) helps considerably with recoil and grip.
My .380 LCP has been in my pocket every day since the gun was first released. Usually it is there as a back up to a j-frame .357 magnum or .38 special but also when I am carrying a full size Glock. It's my "always" gun. Always with me no matter what I am doing. It's not any snappier than an airweight j-frame. It's very reliable. But I don't bother with hollow point bullets in it. I carry eirher Hard Cast Buffalo Bore or just ball ammo if BB is not available. Penetration and well placed shots are all I reasonably hope to achieve with it, not expansion.
Just tuned in to Guncranks after reading a plug for FMGPubs’ UA-cam channel in January ‘21 issue of Guns magazine. Great discussion. And you guys don’t sound like knuckle draggers at all. You’d be surprised at him many non-gun people think anyone who has guns is sub-human.
I’ve been shooting & carrying Underwood ammo with the same solid copper fluted projectiles for the past year or so. Those bullets remind me of an end mill. Even at a modest 800 ft/sec those bullets are spinning at about 60,000 rpm. No wonder they tear stuff up. Make a mess of a watermelon, I’ll tell ya!
Really enjoy listening to you folks.
Regarding the 380... note that it was good enough for Gavrilo Princip on June 28, 1914 to do-in Ferdinand & Sophie... and subsequently start WW1. He used a Browning FN model 1910.
Try finding a .25 acp to buy in the first place. I have a Beretta 950 cool and fun, but 380s are the same size now days.
I have all of the cool calibers as well as firearms to use them in. I have 22 LR, 25 ACP, 32 ACP, and 380 ACP, as well as a ton of larger calibers.
I have an older LCP that is carried when the choice is nothing or a three-eighty. Normal EDC is a 340PD loaded w/+P.
TY 4 good intel !! Been a fan of FMG b4 U were KoooL TY alot
More to recoil then weight. I have fired locked breach .380 autos and I have fired heavier blow back pistols and blow backs recoil more then lighter locked breach guns
No mention of Bill Jordan the Border Patrol Officer and Combat Marine who championed the .380 as an equal to .38 Special
Equal when equal results occur.
Because a barrel has a bigger capacity than a cup of milk.
What gun can you use best? The 380 EZ allows me to get the most accurate shots including follow-up shots. Either that or the P365-380 are my CCW choices usually using mostly solid rounds. I recently bought an LCP Max for times I need to pocket carry. I can hit with it and am getting better. Underwood Extreme Defender or Penetrator. I have a 100 gr hard cast flat nose and a Federal 70 gr non-lead flat nose. The LCP Max handled all the rounds I ran through. Each of my 380s runs everything I've put through it. I often shoot my self-defense ammo during every shooting session to be sure I can hit accurately. I wanted the P365 but the 9mm was getting too difficult after 2 1/2 years of shooting it for my nerve-damaged hands. The 380 version fits the same in my hand with a round I can handle with follow-up shots. Full-size guns kept at home are 9mm. With my EZ380 I can get rapid on-target follow-up shots. I'm getting much better with my EZ 9mm as well, with less recoil than micro 9s. I'm 70 and only started concealed carrying 3 years ago. I've carried a knife for all my life and started with a cane 20 yrs ago. My cane handle is part of a deer antler with one long tip and a blunt side.
What does XTP stand for
I have TWO S&W "J frame" revolvers in 38.
They are plenty accurate with the kinds of ammo that I put through it.
Something like a 380 shield EZ like be a fantastic house protection gun also.. easy to shoot light recoil.. and the 380 is much less likely to penetrate multiple walls putting other people at risk...
mouse guns, like the .32 P-32 and P3AT .380, are better than a sharp stick. EASILY concealable, and poke holes in things.
After watching for a while I got curious and counted up the number of different handgun cartridges I have and it turns out to be 19.
What kind of Frisbee? A Disc Golf Frisbee can be hard as Chinese arithmetic.
I shot an old American 70s sedan with a .25 ACP FMJ and that sucker penetrated the driver door, both door panels, and left a nice ding in the passenger door. I was rather shocked. However, the same ammo bounced off an old semi-truck tire. Oh well.
As Jeff Quinn might say, "I don't know anybody made of Frisbees, Car Doors, or Tires."
However, if .25 ACP was worth a damn, you'd think John Browning would've made a... wait... never mind...
First time I fired my little Taurus TCP 380.. I did not have a firm grip on it.. the muzzle jumped up and the slide bit me! I learned right away just have a real firm grip and you will have no problem with the recoil of a 380 and a small lightweight polymer gun... In my Kel-Tec p32 gen 1 I carry Hornady xtp... In my Taurus TCP 380 I carry corbon DXP all copper hollows .. in my 11 oz Smith 342 air light 38 special I carry Federal HTP +p hollows
I don't want to be hit by baseball or 380
P.S. I am well beyond the fascination with modern ammo or modern anything. Nobody wants to walk in front of a 36 caliber round ball and they rarely do it twice.
Gotta be a video out there, "How many frisbees to stop a .500 S&W magnum?"
Women in my life do VERY well w/ the P-32
Have a bunch of .25 acp
I think field reports should be weighed against science. I think its fair to say that if 1 shot from a 380 stops a bad guy, he definitely wasn't looking for a fight. Conversely, there are plenty of stories wherein 5-10 rounds of 9mm don't immediately stop the bad guy. There are plenty of guys arguing for the "potential" effectiveness of mouse guns. I think we need more people arguing in favor of carrying big iron and adapting to the gun, rather than making the gun adapt to you. I would consider a Glock 23 in 40 or 357 Sig to qualify as big iron, FYI.
Well, I won’t argue with you about bigger guns. But having “a gun” all the time usually means something easy to carry. As far as the .380 goes, the Black Hills Honey Badger .380 ammo I carry in a back-up Ruger LCP MAX penetrates around 14” in gel, which is about the same as an effective 9mm load. So if both are 9mm carlibers, I have trouble seeing why the .380 would be “worse” than the 9mm? Roy
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣you guys are funny!! & ya know what yer talkin' about!
At least someone thinks so Rod! Roy
Meh, 380 is overkill. 😇
But seriously anything short of an RPG has limitations. Sometimes the mega-lauten-blaster is not the best approach.
A 30-30 is all you ever need for deer hunting 😂😂😂
Sure…if you have one. I don’t, my deer rifle is a Swedish Mauser Model ‘96 in 6.5 x 55. Made in 1915.
Ok the line starts to the left... all those that poo poo 💩 the .22 LR stand there, poo poo 💩 the .25 ACP stand there, and the real haters of .32 ACP stand there... anybody gonna be there when the shooting commences 😂😂😂😂 MY EDC is either a .380 or a ..410 / 45 LC
full size 380 even full size 32 was good in 1920 they worked , steel full size