The lowly .380

[oldcorpgunny]

Another question here please.

Don't most of the European police carry and shoot a .380 pistol and ONLY the military owns/shoots 9mm in Europe or did I remember an old story or post incorrectly from here or in my general WWWeb gun links?

I know that they carry and shoot different rifle calibers from what I remember.

Thanks again.

Cate

Most of my family live in Western Europe and Great Britain. My cousin, the retired "Bobby" informs me that most agencies have "up gunned" to 9MM because of the abundance of weaponry and ammo through NATO.

 

[oldcorpgunny]

I conceal carry either a Key-Tec .380 or a Ruger in .380. As I've stated too many times on this forum, I'm a fat guy and it's hard to conceal a Block on my person. The little "mouse" guns work well in my "Belly Band " holster. I am also an excellent shot with the little fellows. Besides, if I were to be unexpectedly jumped by a thug, the little .380 will function perfectly as hollow point suppositories.

 

[Wombat of Doom]

I conceal carry either a Key-Tec .380 or a Ruger in .380. As I've stated too many times on this forum, I'm a fat guy and it's hard to conceal a Block on my person. The little "mouse" guns work well in my "Belly Band " holster. I am also an excellent shot with the little fellows. Besides, if I were to be unexpectedly jumped by a thug, the little .380 will function perfectly as hollow point suppositories.

I'd rather shoot them out of a gun than insert them as suppositories personally, but hey, whatever floats your boat.

 

[oldcorpgunny]

I'd rather shoot them out of a gun than insert them as suppositories personally, but hey, whatever floats your boat.

Ha! I should have said "High velocity suppositories!"

 

[Laughingman]

Most of my family live in Western Europe and Great Britain. My cousin, the retired "Bobby" informs me that most agencies have "up gunned" to 9MM because of the abundance of weaponry and ammo through NATO.

Most of the 32 and 380 acp users transitioned in the 1990s. Italy municipal police were probably the biggest users of them. Still some holdouts in the far east, Various Japanese enforcement agencies issued sig 230/232 series pistols to plain cloths officers. I've seen a photos of Japanese MHLW agents (similar to the DEA in practice) clearly armed with Beretta Cheetah Series pistol.

Are bobbies largely famously unarmed (except for North Ireland)? The British do love there mass surveillance though...

 

[oldcorpgunny]

Most of the 32 and 380 acp users transitioned in the 1990s. Italy municipal police were probably the biggest users of them. Still some holdouts in the far east, Various Japanese enforcement agencies issued sig 230/232 series pistols to plain cloths officers. I've seen a photos of Japanese MHLW agents (similar to the DEA in practice) clearly armed with Beretta Cheetah Series pistol.

Are bobbies largely famously unarmed (except for North Ireland)? The British do love there mass surveillance though...

My cousin has since retired from the Metropolitan Police Force in London. He swore that he wouldn't carry a firearm and it seems that he never did. Yes, they were the ones that were famous for being unarmed. He took me into Scotland Yard once, to visit with some of the cops there. They all seemed amazed that Americans had so many firearms.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Some 9mms are almost as small as the small 380s, Fe sig p938 vs lcp ii. Weight is a lot different between those two though.

if u want really small, a NAA revolver in 22 mag is better than nothing at all If u can't carry anything else at the time.

 

[Laughingman]

My cousin has since retired from the Metropolitan Police Force in London. He swore that he wouldn't carry a firearm and it seems that he never did. Yes, they were the ones that were famous for being unarmed. He took me into Scotland Yard once, to visit with some of the cops there. They all seemed amazed that Americans had so many firearms.

Ironically the RUC/PSNI was one of the most militarized police forces in Europe. Machine Guns, MRAPS, you name it they have it. I believe in the course of 30 years they lost like 300 officers (mostly to IEDS).

 

[Member 52301]

My cousin has since retired from the Metropolitan Police Force in London. He swore that he wouldn't carry a firearm and it seems that he never did. Yes, they were the ones that were famous for being unarmed. He took me into Scotland Yard once, to visit with some of the cops there. They all seemed amazed that Americans had so many firearms.

Hello,

Did your cousin carry a LE type of a baton or wooden club of some type?

Was he anti gun for only when he was working - on the job as a peace officer or was he 'anti gun' all of the time for all of his life or in a specific age range?

Did he carry a pocket knife on him as a peace officer or when he was off work when the UK was not so ANTI KNIFE?

Thank you.

Cate

 

[Shelbybr]

Hi!
I have an Indian Arms .380 with a 36xx S/N.

I've been told there was only a thousand were made but the serial number is more than that. Now I know there were custom serial numbers so that appears to be true. I've learned more about this gun in this thread in the last 20 minutes than I ever have. It seems to be a well received model. It's a great little gun and it's a lot easier to pack than my Colt .357. I'm a revolver girl but this is a nice combination of size and power.

It came to me through a slightly weird set of circumstances. My late husband was given it by his ex wife, who was given it by her abusive ex boyfriend. I need to take it down to the police station to see if the S/N is clear. I can only imagine how that will go. Is there a place out there where I can get it traced WITHOUT potentially getting arrested? I've possessed a stolen gun before and it's a good thing I had a receipt from the seller to protect me. The ATF got involved and I DON'T want to do that again.

Thanks for reading about my little woes.
Shelby L.B.

 

[JohnnyMac]

Hi!
I have an Indian Arms .380 with a 36xx S/N.

I've been told there was only a thousand were made but the serial number is more than that. Now I know there were custom serial numbers so that appears to be true. I've learned more about this gun in this thread in the last 20 minutes than I ever have. It seems to be a well received model. It's a great little gun and it's a lot easier to pack than my Colt .357. I'm a revolver girl but this is a nice combination of size and power.

It came to me through a slightly weird set of circumstances. My late husband was given it by his ex wife, who was given it by her abusive ex boyfriend. I need to take it down to the police station to see if the S/N is clear. I can only imagine how that will go. Is there a place out there where I can get it traced WITHOUT potentially getting arrested? I've possessed a stolen gun before and it's a good thing I had a receipt from the seller to protect me. The ATF got involved and I DON'T want to do that again.

Thanks for reading about my little woes.
Shelby L.B.

Welcome to the forum Shelby! Sounds like that .380 would have some stories to tell if it could talk. I'd try here before taking to the cop shop.... Good luck!!

HotGunz Stolen Gun Database

HotGunz Free Stolen Firearms Database. Check a guns serial number to see if it is stolen or report your missing gun absolutely free!

www.hotgunz.com

**EDIT** @Moderators - might move her post to it's own thread?

 

[po18guy]

HotGunz only lists those which have been manually entered into their proprietary database.

 

[Shelbybr]

Thank you! I didn't find anything there, but I've had it for a while. It's mostly stayed at the house but I'd like to keep it in my truck or purse now. I don't have any paperwork on it, of course. It's probably fine, I'm just being cautious. I can get a hold of the ex wife, but not that ex boyfriend. Getting arrested is not on my 2020 plan.

 

[po18guy]

Hi!
I have an Indian Arms .380 with a 36xx S/N.

I've been told there was only a thousand were made but the serial number is more than that. Now I know there were custom serial numbers so that appears to be true. I've learned more about this gun in this thread in the last 20 minutes than I ever have. It seems to be a well received model. It's a great little gun and it's a lot easier to pack than my Colt .357. I'm a revolver girl but this is a nice combination of size and power.

It came to me through a slightly weird set of circumstances. My late husband was given it by his ex wife, who was given it by her abusive ex boyfriend. I need to take it down to the police station to see if the S/N is clear. I can only imagine how that will go. Is there a place out there where I can get it traced WITHOUT potentially getting arrested? I've possessed a stolen gun before and it's a good thing I had a receipt from the seller to protect me. The ATF got involved and I DON'T want to do that again.

Thanks for reading about my little woes.
Shelby L.B.

Welcome from the land of evil spirits! Quite a story. I remember the Indian Arms 380 - a clone of the Walther PPK, but, as noted, in stainless steel. F.Y.I. HotGunz only lists those which have been manually entered into their proprietary database.
Useless trivia: You are exactly as far from Kansas City as you are from Jacksonville FL. A good bar bet there...

 

[Member 38805]

Not all firearms manufacturers began their serial numbers with "1" and went forward. Some started with "100" and some even started much higher and went forward. So it's often the case that serial numbers can be higher than the total number made. Especially so for gun makers who offered multiple models, and often began each model with a different serial number range to help them know immediately which model a customer had.

 

[crstrode]

.25 ACP was the original EDC for James Bond.

Then he moved on to a .32 Walther PPK.

He used a Smith & Wesson 38 special backup for heavy duty work.

" The Beretta 418 is also a contender for the favourite pistol of James Bond in the first five novels of the series by Ian Fleming. Bond's pistol is described as "a very flat .25 Beretta (the model number is never specified by Fleming) automatic with a skeleton grip," (i.e. side grip panels removed - frame only), and a threaded barrel to support a silencer.[3] At the end of the fifth novel, From Russia, with Love, Bond is unable to draw the Beretta at a critical moment when its silencer catches on the waistband of his trousers and is very nearly killed as a result. This incident leads to an order from his superior officer, M, to start carrying a new duty weapon in the opening chapters of the sixth novel, Dr. No. Major Boothroyd, the MI6 armorer and "the greatest small-arms expert in the world" in M's opinion, insists that Bond trade it for a weapon with more stopping power. Bond is issued a 7.65mm Walther PPK,[4] and a Smith & Wesson Centennial Airweight revolver for situations where he needs more power than the PPK can offer. "

 

[LarryMo]

To add to the Indian Arms story, I bought mine in 1978 and it was my EDC until I acquired a Sig P365 last year. I got this gun at a gun shop on the highway just outside of Parris Is., SC, where I was stationed. I remember wanting a smaller belly gun and it fit all my requirements, especially being stainless, body sweat being a big problem on guns in SC. I had a chance to look over the large assortment of .380s at the time and considered the Walther PPK the best of the lot. Stainless steel pistols were a rarity at the time due to galling, so the IA filled the bill perfectly. Also, with the serial number of 005000 I was hooked. It wasn't until years later I learned that the owner of IA was somewhat of an eccentric and numbered his production guns on some unknown whimsical system. I must have gotten an early to mid-range model since I also learned they were only in business from about '77 to somewhere in '79. This is such a close clone of the Walther that I have had repairs with parts and even presently use Walther magazines.
At any rate, I guess that shows I'm with the camp defending the lowly .380 as a viable self-defense round. BTW, the IA never had a problem with galling.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

45 cause there aint a 46

 

[Ura-Ki]

.45 Colt, because not all men are created equal!

 

[WEE]

For those of you who have watched "Homicide Hunter" with Joe Kenda, of the Colorado Springs PD, his one comment about 32 and 380 ACP was something like this: "People shot in the chest with the small caliber guns are usually found dead on site. The bullet enters the rib cage, doesn't have enough power to get out, bounces around and liquefies the insides of the victim."

Works for me!
Kimber Mico 380