Lots of variables and in the end it's the shooter that makes the difference. The article seems to focus more on a lady that has a weak grip and the 380 is all she can handle. Special situation as I read it, and she's going with what works best for her, not others. If you can handle a higher caliber, why not use it? I've read to many ballistics articles to convince me the 380 is close to the 9mm much less 40 and 45 calibers. I read a very involved analysis written by a forensics expert that had viewed literally 1,000's of postmortem gun shot victims. He drew the line at 40, didn't like the 9mm results much less 380. From what he reported, there's quite a difference between ballistics gel and the actual human body especially when clothing and bones are factored in. Modern self defense cartridges make a lot of difference. But I'm still inclined to go with "bigger the caliber the better". I'm comfortable with 9mm, but to me the small 380 semi autos don't give me a warm fuzzy feeling. Often a 380 or even 22LR will get one out of a situation, but not always if the BG is high on some crazy substance.
Comfort level to shoot regularly, control/ability to follow up with some predictability and comfort, and, wait for it... Placement, Placement, Placement. Ultimately, any caliber that is carried and accomplish all of that is better than the biggest caliber in the wrong hands or not carried.
To me the one thing that gets overlooked the most in these discussions, yet is ultimately the most important point to be addressed, is how one will react in a life or death situation. All the general training in the world cannot replicate an actual incident when you come right down to it. We can train and prepare and basically, hope we do it right. But one never knows. Very much like "buck fever" experienced by a hunter, when the moment comes, will we be able to perform that which we have learned? I've stared down the barrel of gun a couple times and it ain't fun. Neither time was I armed and both times I was able talk and "escape" w/o incident. Frankly I was happy I wasn't armed in either case, 'cause I honestly don't want to shoot anyone. I will if it's life or death, but I won't pull only as a last resort. Being a 6'-4" male helps and keeps me from being a prime target. A lesser physical target doesn't have my advantage so their strategy is different. But no matter the physical size, escape without having to pull a weapon should be the first priority. If escape is out of question, the ability to pull and shoot as quickly and as accurately as possible is the point we're needing to prepare for and will decide if we survive. What I'm saying is, carrying a 380 because it's small and comfortable to shoot doesn't give me a warm and fuzzy feeling about the ability to shoot in a life and death situation. We argue ballistics when we should be discussing the ability to act under duress. The "Ultimate Bottom Line" so to speak, is the indian, not the arrow.......
The wife went from the Ruger 380 LCP to Sig Sauer 938 to Ruger 22 LCR all equipped with Crimson Trace Lasers. Her's was a comfort issue. She is a pretty fair shooter but the pain from the recoil of the 380 being as small as it is and with a small grip or the larger recoil of the 9 mil even though she had more grip control was too much for her. She can deliver 6-8 rounds out of the LCR in good groupings and doesn't fear the pain from the recoil. Decision made for her. I know all of the negatives of this but the back of the mind fear of pain did result in her not wanting to shoot and would have surely been there in a threatening pressure situation. Yes I do wish she could use the 380 or 9 mil but .22LR self defense ammo delivered on target is a deterrent and threat stopper. Personally I carry a Sig 938. Much more comfortable for me to shoot than the smaller 380 LCP. I never did consider the 380 too small a punch to get the job done. Most everything I read and answers to questions I asked before purchase stated it was a more than sufficient caliber for self defense. Of course I am a relative neophyte in all of this.
I really am not a fan of the 380 simply because most 380 pd guns have a really bad recoil. I would think many women would hate the recoil of the light guns in 380. As far as ability to stop it isn't really much less than a 9 mm IMO. People talk about needing a 12" penetration but why when the heart and most organs are only a few inches in? More people are killed with a 22 than any other gun from what I have heard. If a 22 cal gun can put 5 shots accurately in bad guy before the bigger cal can get 2 off accurately then the 22 could be more of a man stopper IMO. 380 has always been more expensive and often harder to find these days. I don't even own any 380 guns now.
I carry a 380 because I always have it on me. I have a Glock27 which I also carry but due to its size, I don't always have it on me where as the 380 is always in my pocket. I am disabled and in a wheelchair so I am not going to out run any one or fight anyone.
Guys I got this thread back on track... Thanks for participating on the topic of the OP ... All cleaned
