multi purpose handgun suggestions?

[Ken45101]

The 380 is widely thought to be a minimum caliber for personal defense.

I wouldn't trust a .380 except under the most stringent needs for concealment. I wouldn't say that .380 is "widely thought" as adequate beyond the expectation that in most self defense situations no shots are fired.

But the OP was asking for a "multipurpose gun" and the little .380s don't meet that need.

I have handguns in most of the calibers. I have a nice Sig P230 in .380 but I've only carried it once. I consider a .357 or a .45 to be a more adequate self defense round.

Ken

 

[Soundguy]

Sure.. I'd rather rely on a .45acp as a defense gun.. but the sad reality is.. thet smaller guns like 32 and 380 are being carried due to concealment issues.

My average carry gun is a sig p230 in 380 acp... considering the size of the round.. that lets you look at 9x19, 9x18, and 9x17. 9x19 is widely used in law enforcement here .. 9x18 (makarov) was a typical german police round... 9x17 isn't a monumental leap down in power.. looks like the calibre is quite sufficient..

A .380 with good ammo.. like hydrashocks can put out balistic numbers better than generic ammo of slightly larger ammo.

As you point out.. in many cases no shots are fired.. thus the 'lower' caliber weapon seems to work out just fine.

In any case.. it's kind of a hair split as to effectiveness... people loosing vital fluids drop... don't matter much if that is 1 shot from a .45 or 7 shots from a .380.. if the end result is it stops the attack.. you are good to go. the extra 6 trigger pulls amount to what in the big picture?? (thats right.. it amounts to nothing! )

I'd rather have a .25acp vs no gun at all in a defense situation... and I'd say the .25 acp is the all time worst caliber.. maybee even worse than 22short..

soundguy

 

[Dargo]

One pocket gun that has not been mentioned here is the new Ruger 380 ACP. It was introduced about a year ago...and flying off the shelves since the intro.

Let's just say that I own 'a few' firearms. Although I strongly prefer my Kahr PM40 because of it's power, I find that the even smaller and lighter LCP is easier to just drop in my pocket. I'm also more likely to wrap it in bubble wrap, put it in a zip lock bag and toss it in the glovebox of one of my Jetskis than a $600 Kahr. I won't own any 'junk' firearm, so that eliminates many of the small pistols, but it doesn't eliminate the Ruger LCP.

 

[Podunkadunk]

Dargo,
I have a Ruger LCP. Got it last April/May timeframe right after they came out to the public. It's a great shooter and I've never had a problem with it except with Corbon HP's. I think I need to polish the feed ramp, because they seem to hang up there and cause me problems. Now, I keep ball ammo in it. I've shot it many times up close and personal on a piece of brinell 500 steel. It hits hard and I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of it.

Anyone thinking it wouldn't dissuade an attacker inside of a 10 ft. radius of you is dead wrong. There is nothing wimpy about it in an up close and personal scenario! It would definitely let the air out of an assailant's "tires" and deflate any further hostility. Would it be my "go-to" gun in my home? No, of course not. But when I'm out and about, you can bet your pretty new tractor that it's in my pocket.

Like you quoted above, it's a perfect "pocket" defense weapon. It's small, lightweight, hits hard, 6 shots (7 with full mag. and if one's in the chamber) and extremely discreet. Sure, I'd like to be able to carry my Glock 23 everywhere I go, but sometimes the weather and my corresponding clothing options won't allow it. Ruger hit a homerun with the LCP and it's here to stay!

Multi-purpose handgun it isn't, but a great CCW personal defense weapon it is. ANY quality-made, reliable pistol that fires everytime is better than no pistol at all in a life-threatening up close and personal, defense situation. Only someone with a "sheeple" mentality would argue the point.

Podunk

 

[SkyPup]

I've had a great SIG P-232 .380 Stainless Steel for a number of years, it is a sweet handgun.

Never has had a FTF, FTE, jam or missfire ever on any kind of round.

My friends Walther PPK chokes on virtually every load except FMJ .380, so I would NOT recommend one of them as a backup or main CWP carry gun.

I reload the .380 cases with Hornady's 90 grain XTP hollowpoints with 4.0 grains of Unique powder for some truly impressive firepower (same Hornady 9mm .355 90 grain XTP hollowpoint in my 9mm takes 7.0 grains of Unique for comparison).

My favorite carry gun that is in my pocket more than any other firearm is my old pre-ban Baby Browning .25 ACP, I rarely leave home without it and it shoots like nobody's business at close ranges.

 

[Ken45101]

Anyone thinking it wouldn't dissuade an attacker inside of a 10 ft. radius of you is dead wrong. There is nothing wimpy about it in an up close and personal scenario! It would definitely let the air out of an assailant's "tires" and deflate any further hostility.

Well you could be right about the "dead" part.

Sorry but there is no handgun round that will reliably do all that unless you damage the CNS (spinal cord), which .380 is unlikely to penetrate deep enough to hit, especially with a hollow point.

There are plenty of documented police encounters where a half dozen hits of 9, 40, or 45 didn't accomplish what you stated that .380 would do. Some have even bit hit ten times and kept coming. Especially if someone is loaded up on drugs or alcohol, they won't even notice being hit (TV is not the real world) and they can do a lot of damage to you long before any of your shots take affect.

As for the "10 ft. radius" you quote, it is well documented that a skilled attacker with a knife 20 feet away can get to you before you can get a shot off, much less stop them.

But on the other hand, it is estimated that over 90% of all defensive uses of a handgun result in no shots fired and a .380 will certainly work for those situations. I do agree that a .380 in the hand is better than a .44 home in the safe.

Ken

 

[Soundguy]

hmm.. eyes, nose.. mouth.. throat.. seems easy to hit major parts of the CNS ???

in the end.. large leaks that drop blood pressure cause unconsciousness FAST.. muscle ( excluding heart ) and gutshots don't take people down fast... break a pipe and or phone lines.. and you got them... plenty of big pipes on the human body that a .380HP can EASILLY get to..

soundguy

Well you could be right about the "dead" part.

Sorry but there is no handgun round that will reliably do all that unless you damage the CNS (spinal cord), which .380 is unlikely to penetrate deep enough to hit, especially with a hollow point.

There are plenty of documented police encounters where a half dozen hits of 9, 40, or 45 didn't accomplish what you stated that .380 would do. Some have even bit hit ten times and kept coming. Especially if someone is loaded up on drugs or alcohol, they won't even notice being hit (TV is not the real world) and they can do a lot of damage to you long before any of your shots take affect.

As for the "10 ft. radius" you quote, it is well documented that a skilled attacker with a knife 20 feet away can get to you before you can get a shot off, much less stop them.

But on the other hand, it is estimated that over 90% of all defensive uses of a handgun result in no shots fired and a .380 will certainly work for those situations. I do agree that a .380 in the hand is better than a .44 home in the safe.

Ken

 

[Soundguy]

I've found a few semi's that choke on anything but FMJ.. things like WC and HP have some feedramp problems.. though usually only in cheaper guns.. of which I try not to have..

soundguy

I've had a great SIG P-232 .380 Stainless Steel for a number of years, it is a sweet handgun.

Never has had a FTF, FTE, jam or missfire ever on any kind of round.

My friends Walther PPK chokes on virtually every load except FMJ .380, so I would NOT recommend one of them as a backup or main CWP carry gun.

I reload the .380 cases with Hornady's 90 grain XTP hollowpoints with 4.0 grains of Unique powder for some truly impressive firepower (same Hornady 9mm .355 90 grain XTP hollowpoint in my 9mm takes 7.0 grains of Unique for comparison).

My favorite carry gun that is in my pocket more than any other firearm is my old pre-ban Baby Browning .25 ACP, I rarely leave home without it and it shoots like nobody's business at close ranges.

 

[Ken45101]

hmm.. eyes, nose.. mouth.. throat.. seems easy to hit major parts of the CNS ???

Easy? You must be quite a marksman under pressure if you can reliably hit those small targets under pressure. 99% of trained police officers cannot. Remember, you are not calmly shooting at a paper target on a Sunday afternoon. You have someone attacking you and he isn't standing still.

in the end.. large leaks that drop blood pressure cause unconsciousness FAST

Definitely not fast enough to stop him from killing you too.

I suggest anyone interested read an FBI study on handgun wounding factors
The Gun Zone -- FBI Handgun Wounding Factors and Effectiveness

 

[Podunkadunk]

Well you could be right about the "dead" part.

Sorry but there is no handgun round that will reliably do all that unless you damage the CNS (spinal cord), which .380 is unlikely to penetrate deep enough to hit, especially with a hollow point.

There are plenty of documented police encounters where a half dozen hits of 9, 40, or 45 didn't accomplish what you stated that .380 would do. Some have even bit hit ten times and kept coming. Especially if someone is loaded up on drugs or alcohol, they won't even notice being hit (TV is not the real world) and they can do a lot of damage to you long before any of your shots take affect.

As for the "10 ft. radius" you quote, it is well documented that a skilled attacker with a knife 20 feet away can get to you before you can get a shot off, much less stop them.

But on the other hand, it is estimated that over 90% of all defensive uses of a handgun result in no shots fired and a .380 will certainly work for those situations. I do agree that a .380 in the hand is better than a .44 home in the safe.

Ken

Well, it sure beats the heck out crying "help me, help me". Of course you could give your cell phone to the attacker and maybe, just maybe, the 911 operator can talk him out of doing whatever he was going to do to you or your family.

Wow, nice stats! I'll start toting a knife around! They sound a lot more deadly and efficient than a pistol!

Or better yet, I'll just go baaaaaa baaaaaa, tuck my tail between my legs and wait for him to finish what he's doing...cause lord knows he could be on some mind altering drug and I really wouldn't want to piss him off !

No thanks, I'll take my chances.

Podunk