New S&W 380

[sjf911]

Originally Posted by cgarr

So my 44 isn't going to make the guy fly across the room like in the movies?

Only if you fly across the room first; Newton's third law of motion.

[targa911S]

Originally Posted by tabs

HUH??????? Both the PPK and PP were originally 32 caliber and 22 Caliber, being introduced in 1929..only later came the 380 and those were far and few between before 1950.

An RPKESQ...AND YOU MISSED THIS OPPORTUNITY TO CORRECT SOMEONE....you must be slipping?

yes of course you are right. I was only thinking of my PP which was .380. I am humbled by your greatness.

[vash]

my brother killed someone. first thing he said, "movies are full of ****". the guy dropped in his tracks.

i have killed many racoons with a .22. they also drop in their tracks.

how long do you suppose the average home shooting is? less than 7 feet? a .380 would hurt like a mothereffer. honestly, i want bigger than my current 9mm. a .45 would be great. i just need to line up my "want" purchases, and prioritize them. new compound bow, or new glock? keeps me up at night.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by m21sniper

There are documented instances of people taking multiple .50BMG hits and not going down. Multiple 12 gauge buckshot or slug hits and not going down, and just the other day i saw a documented case of a man getting hit IN THE HEAD by a 14.5mm AP round (DOUBLE the muzzle energy of .50BMG!) and not dying.

Well there are always exceptions and no one says that there are any guaranties, just higher probability of a desired outcome.

There is no magic bullet, and "stopping/knockdown power" is actually a complete and total myth. Even at point blank range, standing on one foot, full power .308 (7.62 NATO) rounds will not knock you even 1 step back. I can prove this with video, if anyone is interested.

Who said anything about knockdown power? Stopping power is the rounds lethality potential. And most of us (I hope) understand physics, = and opposite and all that.

I would much rather have an 8 shot .380 that has a safe for every day carry DAO mechanism than i would a 9mm Glock that is statistically the most likely firearm on earth to be involved in an ND/AD event.

What's more, a .380 LCP is a much, much smaller gun than a Glock 26/27. There are times when you can carry an LCP that you'd have to leave the Glock at home or in your car- forcing you to be unarmed. Murphy dictates that it is at that time, that you will need your spoon to begin with.

My neighbor, like you is a big fan of the 9mm and thinks it's a good well rounded home/self defense option for a variety of reasons. Cheap so you are likely to put in more range time. Good lethality augmented by typically higher rounds per clip.

His particular profession precludes him from using it. They found that shooting thru windshields was a problem. Not enough consistent penetration, too many rounds glancing off.

[m21sniper]

Originally Posted by cgarr

So my 44 isn't going to make the guy fly across the room like in the movies?

Originally Posted by cgarr

So my 44 isn't going to make the guy fly across the room like in the movies?

No, it lacks the kinetic energy to even forcibly knock him back so much as one step.

Let me find a video....

Ah, here we go:

Man Shot with a .308 From Point Blank | SplodeTV.com
(In that video the man also shoots himself in the chest with a .44 magnum)

[vash]

Originally Posted by m21sniper

No, it lacks the kinetic energy

not kinetic energy...momentum (mass times velocity)

[m21sniper]

Momentum it is then. In any case, there's no such thing as "knockdown power," it is a myth.

Stomach Monkey, the gun you should look into is a Rohrbaugh 9mm. SLIGHTLY larger than an LCP, with a good, safe DAO trigger design. As long as you can afford $1k for a pocket pistol, it's probably the zenith point of design at this time.

Here's one next to a Kel Tec P3AT(the KT .380 is virtually the same size as an LCP):



If i could afford one i'd consider one for sure, but $1k for a pocket pistol is just plain out of my price range.

One thing i'll say, after having owned one, IMO, the Kel Tec pistols leave a lot to be desired when compared to any of the latest .380 autos on the market. They are made of much cheaper materials, they have really shoddy fit and finish, and they have other little issues- like constantly ejecting magazines when carried with the belt clip- that just drove me nuts. The KT's work, but they are as cheap as they are for a reason, and the reason is their lack of quality when compared to Rugers, Smith and Wessons and the like.

I gave my P32 the full "fluff and buff," replaced all the springs with Wolff overpower springs, and added a CT laser, but i still was not ever able to solve the ejecting magazine issue even after replacing the button and spring and shaving it almost flush with the frame. My friend's P3AT does the same thing, as do/did my uncle, brother and cousin's P32's. Most of us have since replaced our KT's with other guns, or want to.

[RPKESQ]

Originally Posted by tabs

HUH??????? Both the PPK and PP were originally 32 caliber and 22 Caliber, being introduced in 1929..only later came the 380 and those were far and few between before 1950.

An RPKESQ...AND YOU MISSED THIS OPPORTUNITY TO CORRECT SOMEONE....you must be slipping?

Pot calling the kettle black.

[Rot 911]

The thing I like about my LCP .380 is I can slip it into my front pocket with its holster and it looks like I am carrying a wallet. If I carry something larger I will need to make sure, in this hot weather, to have a long enough shirt on to cover the weapon/holster. If not, then I can't carry that weapon. The LCP can go with me everywhere, easily. For all you naysayers on the stopping power of a .380. Let me shoot you and you tell me how it feels. Of course you probably won't be able to tell me because you will be dead.

[m21sniper]

The best modern .380 auto ammo (on paper at least) is far more effective than WWII issue US GI .45ACP ammo....a round that has a "legendary" status as a man-stopper.

Here's that glock look alike .380, but with the DAO trigger i was looking at. It's from "Diamondback Firearms."

If glock made their guns with this trigger instead they'd have a heck of a lot fewer detractors...and accidental shootings.

Diamondback Site


This pistol is about the same size as the S&W or the Ruger. Feels pretty good in the hand, and has a nice trigger pull. The action seems to be identical to the glock. Besides the trigger, it seems to be a clone. If so, extreme reliability is probably to be expected. No CT laser for it yet though.

However, me personally, until i hear a lot of good things over several years about a new gunmaker, i stay away. I do notice again though- it has real sights.

The S&W .380's are going for $389 on a couple different web sites, but appear to be backordered on all of them. If i didn't so hate the laser setup, i'd consider one.

[Buckterrier]

I know it's old school but as soon as I get my license from the fine state of Ct, (8-10 weeks, GRRRR), I'm getting a blued PPK in .380.

[jyl]

$389? That seems pretty inexpensive, compared to buying another 380 and adding a laser. If that's the street price, S&W will clean up. I've owned the stock on and off, so I kind of pay attention to this stuff.

[campbellcj]

Not exactly pocketable or very pleasant to shoot, but it sure is purty. (The pic is not mine but just like it.)

[porsche4life]

My theory on .380 is this.... Sure its not the most effective round.... But... Its better than not having a weapon at all... And I'm not going to lug a .45 around on the off chance that at some point I might have to draw it... I'm a small guy.... Something small is what I need... Something I can easily conceal.

[campbellcj]

I don't know if there is any real-world validity to this, but "they say" it can be helpful to alternate between FMJ and JHP rounds. Ball, hollowpoint, ball, hollowpoint... As Sniper said there are some really hot .380ACP loads out there now, like the Corbon stuff. I figure it would slow-down even a 400lb psychopath on angel dust enough for me to duck and run.

[m21sniper]

The Corbon DPX seems to widely outperform all the other tested rounds in these gel tests:

GoldenLoki.com

It gets about .2" more avg. expansion than any of the other rounds tested, and 10.9" of penetration, which is really nice for a pocket pistol caliber. (the tests were performed using a KT P3AT). The solid copper bullet has a very effective cutting petal design as well.

This is a DPX round recovered from gel in the tests linked to above:



I would personally just load the clip with all DPX rounds. 11" is plenty of penetration, and that kind of expansion is better than a lot of 9mm and .357 magnum loads. For instance super hot 9mm +P+ Cor Bon Powrball loaded at 1475fps only gets about .64 cal expansion and penetrates a little over 12" in the tests i remember seeing.

Almost identical performance even though the Powrball has something like 2.5x the the muzzle energy, 20% more mass, and about 500fps more velocity.

That little .380 DPX round hits way above it's weight in gel.

[jyl]

I will load my magazine w/ alternating depleted uranium bullets and explosive bullets. Surely they make those in .380. Oh well, I guess it's the Corbon then.

[campbellcj]

I believe the Corbon DPX is what I have. Sadly it's been a long time since I got to play spoons. The range down the street from me closed-down a while back and I have not had time or motivation to venture somewhere else, yet.

[m21sniper]

Apparently Cor Bon has seen all the gel test results too. The freaking .380 DPX rounds are going for about $2 each if you include shipping in the price of 1 box of bullets.

Still, cheap life insurance if you ask me.

[porsche4life]

Looked at pk380 and sig 380 today at academy.... Just in the case obviously... they wouldn't get them out b/c I'm not 21 (azzhats)