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I've got 2 .380s and 2 9mms. Since I wear shorts just about year round, I mostly carry my S&W Bodyguard .380 in a DeSantis pocket holster. I'm not a huge .380 fan, but the Bodyguard does feed hollow points well and shot placement is pretty good so long as I practice some and don't let myself get too rusty. The other .380 is a little Kel-Tec P3AT mouse. Jams all of the time except when using FMJs. It is mostly just a paperweight now. When I'm out I also have a Ruger LC9s 9mm that I carry in the car along with the S&W Bodyguard on my person. With two mags for each gun, I feel pretty comfortable protection-wise.
 
Back to the thread title: It is only a lowly, sub-caliber cartridge until you are shot with one. And most armed thugs ("most") turn into real sissies when you reach out and connect with them first. In essence, they are armed bullies who shrink away when opposed.

Not "all" of them, obviously. Career criminals, druggies, mentally ill are some of the exceptions.
 
Not to be argumentative but I'm gonna have to test these stories of small calibers bouncing off of wood next range day.
I wouldn't put a lot of stock in bullets bouncing off of hard wood. Not saying it didn't happen- I've seen it myself- but bullets do weird things sometimes. I could easily see a knot or hard spot in a piece of hardwood stopping a pipsqueak caliber bullet, but I'll bet that wood is a lot harder than a person.

As to bullets doing weird things; I was once out shooting with friends, a very long time ago. I was talking to a friend with my back turned to the firing line. Another friend was shooting a .44 Mag revolver. I felt something tap me on the shoulder, and turned but nobody was there! I looked down on the ground and picked up a very warm .44 cast bullet. It had bounced off of the hard, sun-baked clay backstop!

Another time was when I had just bought my M1 Carbine. I was a teenager, bought it at a garage sale back in the '80s. I set up some milk jugs in front of some old stumps, and blasted away. As I was cleaning up the jugs, I heard a rattle and found a little 110gr FMJ bullet inside one. I remember thinking about how the old war stories about the carbine being an underpowered junker must be right, if it couldn't even go all the way through the jug!

It was only later that I realized another explanation was more logical. I most likely hit the ground in front of the jug, which soaked up most of the velocity before it hit the jug.
 
I bought an Indian Arms .380 in '78 while stationed at Parris Is. SC. That was my carry pistol for the next 41 yrs. The only reason I chose it over the Walther PPK was that the Indian Arms was the only stainless steel pistol offered at the time. Finally gave in to modern convention and replaced it with a SIG P365. I did NOT feel under armed with the .380 tho.
 
Do any of you own a GLOCK - G42 in .380?


How do you like it for a small conceal carry pistol?

What factory ammunition do you like the best for this Glock model?

Two or three top favorite brands and in what grain? FMJ or HP?

I am thinking about this for my husband.

He usually carries a Glock in 45acp 95% of the time or his Beretta Bobcat Inox in 22lr at his gym.

Thank you.

Cate

This is my primary carry gun when I am wearing a reasonable amount of clothing (more than T-shirt and shorts). I love the gun, it is very reliable with Hornady XTP (critical defense or american gunner) which is my carry load. For practice, I have never had a problem with 95g ammo from Winchester, Remington, American Eagle or Fiocchi.

When I need a mouse gun for very lightweight clothes, I used a Ruger LCP with a Hogue grip.

For me weight and size is the critical factor. Yeah, I would love to carry 9mm or 45acp, but I am not going to totally overhaul my wardrobe to carry those calibers. That is my personal choice. Others have different priorities.

I have no problem hitting a 8" target at 40 yards (the length of the action range I normally practice at) with the G42, and I can easily conceal it under anything except a T-shirt and shorts (and in those situations I have the LCP).

FYI, I have the Beretta Bobcat in 22lr also, it never sees the light of day anymore because I actually prefer to carry the LCP in super lightweight clothing situations.
 
Never had any issues with .32 ACP or .380 ever bouncing off wood, but I have seen it with the puny .25 ACP. I'd throw rocks before I ever depended on a .25 ACP for protection!
My brother in law had one he kept around the house for protection, and I kept telling him to get a bigger caliber, but he didn't. He and my sister lived in N. Portland then, and one night after midnight someone came knocking at their door. I wouldn't answer my door after midnight unless I knew the person, but he did. He had the .25 in his hand, and down by his side when he opened the door. The guy forced his way in, and he shot him in the face at point blank range!
The guy turned and ran away, seemingly unharmed! Later the police got called to a local hospital for a gunshot wounded victim, and it was the same guy. The bullet entered to one side of his chin, and followed his jaw line up, stopping just below his ear. They surgically removed the bullet, and stitched up the entry and removal holes. Pretty pathetic round for self defense, and my bother in law replaced it with a 9mm shortly afterwards.
 
How much bigger and thicker is a G42 over the LCP?

I am sure there are tons of YouTube videos physically comparing the G42 against the LCP.

IMO, The LCP is truly a pocket gun but the G42 is just a little too big for me to fit in my front pocket.

With a DeSantis holster the LCP looks like a wallet in Polo shorts. But the G42 is conspicuously large, too large for a wallet.

But in a IWB holster the G42 disappears under anything more than a tshirt. I usually carry under a short sleeved button down shirt like a Tommy Bahama. Since it fits loosely, it never prints.

Recommend that you visit your local gun store or a Cabela's to look at the two guns side-by-side so you can determine for yourself as YMMV.

Both of these are so easy to carry (size and weight) there's never any reason to leave the house without one of them. I have not found a 9mm that I am willing carry day-in and day-out, so that is why I stick with the lowly 380.

The reason the LCP looks thicker in the butt than the G42 is due to the Hogue grip. It is what makes it a much easier to shoot gun. With that grip, I have no problem putting a box of 380 through it at the range. Without it, 2 magazines and I am done. It is that "snappy" without the Hogue grip. And that is Talon grip tape I put on the G42 (really helps). The LCP is so small that Talon tape wasn't enough for me. Really happy with the Hogue grip on the LCP. I highly recommend it if you are going to CC it.

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Never had any issues with .32 ACP or .380 ever bouncing off wood, but I have seen it with the puny .25 ACP. I'd throw rocks before I ever depended on a .25 ACP for protection!
My brother in law had one he kept around the house for protection, and I kept telling him to get a bigger caliber, but he didn't. He and my sister lived in N. Portland then, and one night after midnight someone came knocking at their door. I wouldn't answer my door after midnight unless I knew the person, but he did. He had the .25 in his hand, and down by his side when he opened the door. The guy forced his way in, and he shot him in the face at point blank range!
The guy turned and ran away, seemingly unharmed! Later the police got called to a local hospital for a gunshot wounded victim, and it was the same guy. The bullet entered to one side of his chin, and followed his jaw line up, stopping just below his ear. They surgically removed the bullet, and stitched up the entry and removal holes. Pretty pathetic round for self defense, and my bother in law replaced it with a 9mm shortly afterwards.

I agree with you that the .25acp is puny and generally inadequate, but (devil's advocate) it did the job, didn't it? It stopped the attack and they caught the bad guy. I'd call that a success. :D

And no, I don't carry one either, but it just goes to show the point made by the article linked previously; as inadequate as they are, the pipsqueak rounds can and do work much of the time. It also seemed to indicate that the .380 is on the lowest end of what you'd ever want to actually rely on.
 
Never had any issues with .32 ACP or .380 ever bouncing off wood, but I have seen it with the puny .25 ACP. I'd throw rocks before I ever depended on a .25 ACP for protection!

Many years ago there was an officer in I believe Whatcom County shot in the forehead at very close range with a 25ACP. He returned fire and killed the suspect. The 25ACP round basically embedded slightly into his skull but did not penetrate. A short-barrel 25ACP is almost useless (and I'm not sure anyone makes a 25ACP with a barrel longer than 2.5" or so).
 
Many years ago there was an officer in I believe Whatcom County shot in the forehead at very close range with a 25ACP. He returned fire and killed the suspect. The 25ACP round basically embedded slightly into his skull but did not penetrate. A short-barrel 25ACP is almost useless (and I'm not sure anyone makes a 25ACP with a barrel longer than 2.5" or so).
That had to sting.
 
My perspective on what dinky bullets could do what was after seeing the scans of a failed suicide attempt by a patient who shot himself in the mouth, the bullet bounced off the hard pallet, mushroomed perfectly and tore through the neck and went halfway through one of the cervical vertebrae and stopped, touching but not damaging the spinal cord. It did a lot of damage.

By could do I also do not mean will do. I just mean what is theoretically possible. The gun in this case was a Jennings.22
 
I'm curious then, do we tend to see the same thing happening with .22lr pocket guns? My understanding is the ballistics of the two are nearly identical from a mouse gun as all of the figures for .22lr's much higher velocity come from firing from rifle barrels.
 
I think it was the moderator Andy who said before that bullets do funny things when they hit flesh.

My thought is you will see lots of weirdness from gsws. Things that just plain shouldn't work that way. I would not count on my hard head to stop a .25.
 
I think it was the moderator Andy who said before that bullets do funny things when they hit flesh.

My thought is you will see lots of weirdness from gsws. Things that just plain shouldn't work that way. I would not count on my hard head to stop a .25.
I've heard the same thing, many times. Low-powered guns like .22lr CAN kill, and often do, but you can't count on them to do so reliably.
 
I think it was the moderator Andy who said before that bullets do funny things when they hit flesh.

My thought is you will see lots of weirdness from gsws. Things that just plain shouldn't work that way. I would not count on my hard head to stop a .25.


Get to know me better.
You'd swear my skull is thick enough to stop a .357. :s0108:






As to mouse guns?

I know they're not power houses.
And I don't used them for carry.

But mouse guns are a guilty pleasure of mine.
Please tell me I'm not the only one?
 
I've heard the same thing, many times. Low-powered guns like .22lr CAN kill, and often do, but you can't count on them to do so reliably.
Growing up I had a friend who frequently killed tarantulas with a .25 he was a big dude with serious arachnophobia. Best use for a .25. Now I own a few .25s & the 1908 is hilarious suppressed.
 
Get to know me better.
You'd swear my skull is thick enough to stop a .357. :s0108:






As to mouse guns?

I know they're not power houses.
And I don't used them for carry.

But mouse guns are a guilty pleasure of mine.
Please tell me I'm not the only one?
You should have heard the jokes about my skull fracture in 2010. I am a stubborn character. I only know one person more stubborn. She is 7 and calls me daddy.
 
I think it was the moderator Andy who said before that bullets do funny things when they hit flesh.

My thought is you will see lots of weirdness from gsws. Things that just plain shouldn't work that way. I would not count on my hard head to stop a .25.

They do indeed. Especially FMJ rounds. I've seen a few photos of people hit by multiple rounds of 9mm where it hit bone/skull and just traveled around it under the flesh. Certainly not pleasant, but definitely not immediately incapacitating.
 

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