380 Auto Revolver - Concealed wear is more popular than ever. People are buying personal defense weapons as well as ammunition faster than ever before. The two most common self-defense weapons are the .38 caliber specialty revolver and the .380 ACP small semi-automatic pistol. Let's take a look at these two calibers and see which is the better choice: .380 vs. .380. .38 Special.
Right off the bat, rather than comparing .380 to .38 Special, compare .38SP to 9mm. However, this 1) has been done, and 2) there are more similarities between the .38 Special and the .380 ACP than you might think.
380 Auto Revolver
For example, the Hornady Critical Defense Lite 90 38-grain specialty bullet travels from the 2-inch barrel of a revolver at about 900 feet per second. Hornady Critical Defense 90 grain 380 ACP ... about 900 FPS from Glock 42. Two bullets of the same weight and same muzzle velocity but different calibers.
Taurus M380, Revolver, .380 Acp, 1.75\
A compact, lightweight revolver like the S&W AirLite is easy to conceal, but can be harder to shoot.
First, let's look at the most commonly used platforms for rounds. For the regular .38 Special, the most common launcher is a small, compact, lightweight revolver. These are good concealed guns, but tend to have poor scopes and heavy triggers.
Likewise, the most popular .380 on the planet is the Ruger LCP, which has a poor scope and a heavy trigger.
Both calibers have easy-to-shoot options. For the .38 Special there is an excellent 3" Luger LCR with good sights and a good trigger. In .380 ACP, the Glock 42 stands out. The S&W Shield EZ and Beretta 84 are also easy to shoot. All this tells us that choosing a platform is a shuffle.
Glock 42 Semi Auto Pistol
If the platforms are basically equal, it comes down to contribution. Instead of relying on anecdotal reports, we can turn to science.
Independent ballistics testing has shown the following results for 5 common types of .38 Specialty ammunition fired from a 2" barrel:
A note on all these numbers: these loads are not fun to shoot with a small gun, and in the hands of new shooters they can actually cause serious accuracy problems.
If we were choosing based on numbers alone, the 38 Special is the clear winner, offering acceptable penetration and some expandability.
Ruger Lcp Max .380 Acp
The .380 ACP seems to have no penetrating power when inflated, and pierces like a laser beam when not inflated. However, keep in mind that special .38 caliber bullets that offer good penetration and some spread also punish the shooter. It takes a special guy who wants to fire more than a barrel full of Golden Saber +P through a Ruger LCR, but that's what it takes to get a good enough gun to put those bullets where they should go of. Also, special .38 bullets can miss sights, as many modern snub nose revolvers still have fixed iron sights that are adjusted for 158 grain round lead bullets.
What if I told you there was a third way to make the 38 Special the clear winner here? Here's what we've discussed before: 148 full-grain brush cutters. Most small fixed scope revolvers fire these bullets into sights where they have minimal recoil and provide adequate penetration. No, they don't swell, but most importantly, they're easy to shoot and hit stop fights.
The .380 ACP has no full propeller equivalent, giving the shooter the option of punishing JHPs with insufficient penetration or FMJs with the risk of over-penetration.
At first glance, the .38 Special and .380 ACP appear to be very similar cartridges. But the .38 Special has advantages in bullet selection and terminal performance. While the .380 is undoubtedly a capable bullet, it cannot fill a void. For me and many others, the .38 Special is still my go-to personal defense tool, and it's super easy to hide.
Webley & Scott .380 Automatic Pistol
Pink 380 revolver, 380 auto loader, taurus 380 revolver moon clips, holmes hobbies revolver 380, 380 revolver reviews, taurus 380 revolver, taurus 380 revolver holster, 380 auto, taurus 380 revolver for sale, taurus ultra lite 380 revolver holster, 380 auto holster, blazer 380 auto
0 Comments