"Fish Hard, Sleep Well and Work Less"

I figure the extra power of the .357 magnum will help penetrate heavy Winter clothing. Variety is the spice of life

or a Kimber Custom II .45.

Just depends on what I have to cover up with. Soon I'm getting the Ruger LCP.

I amy also toying with the idea of getting either a Kimber Ultra Stainless .45

or the Kimber RCP.....I just can't decide.

It isn't a sick person who stabs someone 47 times to kill them.
It is a sick person who counts the stab wounds on the corpse.

www.accucull.com

It isn't a sick person who stabs someone 47 times to kill them.
It is a sick person who counts the stab wounds on the corpse.

But if I had to choose, I'd take competence over caliber anytime. And if you can have both...even better! Which is why I'm going to be getting a Kimber RCP .45 for off duty.

It isn't a sick person who stabs someone 47 times to kill them.
It is a sick person who counts the stab wounds on the corpse.

In the past, I would have agreed that a .380 ACP as a poor choice for self defense. Previously, the only bullets available were FMJ or old technology JHP loads. The recent development of extremely compact .380's (Kel-Tec P3AT, Ruger LCP and similar guns) have caused the ammunition industry to rethink a few things.

Ammunition companies such as Hornady, Speer, CorBon and Federal have developed some excellent self defense bullets for the .380 ACP. A modern .380 JHP bullet is on par with the energy developed with a standard pressure .38 Special. However, with the .380 the shooter has around 7 rounds on tap while the revolver shooter is stuck with 5 or 6 rounds.

I've test fired several modern bullets into wet phone books and found they all penetrated deeply and expanded fully. I would not feel undergunned if carrying any of the following bullets in my .380: Hornady Critical Defense, Speer Gold Dot, CorBon DPX and Federal Hydrashock.

Of course there's other JHP bullets out there, but I just haven't tested any of them.

I've shot several Deer that have been wounded by encounters with motor vehicles. I have yet to witness a single Deer that required a more than a single shot to put it down. All shots were fired into the heart and resulted in a quick death.

So, in conclusion... does a .380 perform on equal ground with a .45? Nope... not by a long shot! Is a .380 perfectly adequate for self defense/ back-up use? Yup, you bet it is!

I've seen it too often where folks want the biggest, baddest gun they can get. They carry this large caliber, large capacity gun for awhile and then realize that it's heavy and bulky and uncomfortable to carry. They begin leaving it in their duty bag, their car, their locker or even back at home. Now, what good is that gun doing you now? The best gun for backup or self defense is the gun you're able to carry every day. For many people, that gun is a .380 loaded with modern ammunition.

Sorry for the long post.

Another thing you have to consider. Killing someone is not the same as stopping someone. While the 22 might kill someone, how long are they still in the fight?

If you have to shoot a BG then you want him to stop right in his tracks. I'll stick with the service calibers. 9mm, 40 cal, 357 sig and 45. With modern ammo can stop the bad guy much faster than a 22.

LOZman

or

H&K P7 9mm

I wouldn't work for a department that didnt allow the carrying of back ups.

Who said their department won't allow back-ups? If you were referring to my previous post...I stated that my department won't let us carry .380s as back-ups. They will however allow larger calibers.