.380 ACP vs 9mm: The Concealed Carry 9mm Showdown
The most recent post from Ammo.com. Given the recent uptick in threats – particularly from the trans community – there is only one question to ask:
When it comes to picking your next semi-automatic everyday carry (EDC) handgun, two calibers that you should consider are the .380 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol) and the 9mm Luger (9x19mm NATO, 9mm Parabellum). Both cartridges fire the same 9mm (0.355”) diameter bullet, but the .380 ACP has a shorter overall case length and is, therefore, the more anemic round.
Some Internet pundits will proclaim that the 380 ACP does not have enough stopping power for self-defense and the 9mm round is clearly the better choice. While others will counter that the .380 ACP has less recoil and enhanced handling capabilities as reasons for picking the cartridge.
No matter how you slice it, the 9mm is clearly the more powerful cartridge; however, does this mean that you should completely disregard the .380 ACP for your next CCW pistol?
Decidedly not!
We’re going to take a detailed look into the origins of each handgun cartridge, their advantages/disadvantages, and the criteria you need to consider when buying an EDC handgun in either caliber.
What is .380 ACP? Browning’s Concealed Carry Prodigy
The .380 ACP was developed by John Moses Browning and was introduced in 1908 by Colt. The .380 ACP is also referred to as the .380 Auto, 9x17mm, 9mm Browning, 9mm short, and 9mm Kurz. However, in the context of this article, we will stick with .380 ACP and .380 Auto.
Colt marketed the cartridge in its new Colt Model 1908 Hammerless Semi-Automatic as a self-defense round. Since its release, the .380 Auto has become a very popular cartridge for use in semi-auto subcompact pocket pistols.
Browning designed the .380 ACP with a blowback mechanism in mind. A blowback recoil mechanism is one that uses the rearward motion of the cartridge case to cycle the slide of the handgun.
When a round is fired in a blowback pistol, the resulting gas pressure pushing back on the case will be enough to cycle the handgun. Blowback pistols are very simplistic in design, which makes them less expensive than a locking barrel design like those used in the Glock 17, Smith and Wesson M&P, and Sig Sauer P226.
A blowback action is typically very accurate as the barrel can be fixed to the frame. Several popular blowback handguns include the Walther PPK, Ruger LCP, Bersa Thunder or Firestorm .380, Beretta 84, and the Sig Sauer P230.
For a blowback pistol, most of the recoil energy is absorbed by the weight of the slide and the recoil spring. Therefore, blowback pistols usually utilize lower muzzle energy and muzzle velocity ammo as anything larger than a .380 Auto would require a heavier slide and recoil spring, making it less than a locking barrel system.
However, there are several locking barrel .380 ACP pistols, such as the Kel-Tec P3AT, Remington Model 51, and the Glock 42.
Prior to World War II, there were five European countries that adopted the .380 ACP as their service pistol ammo: Italy, Yugoslavia, the Netherlands, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary. After WWII, most of these countries opted for more powerful 9mm pistols.
However, the .380 ACP remained in service for numerous European law enforcement agencies well into the 1970s. Again, being replaced by the 9mm Luger (are you seeing a trend?)
In the United States, the .380 Auto was never adopted as a law enforcement or military caliber and has been primarily relegated to personal defense pocket pistols.
What is 9mm? The Self-Defense Standard
The 9x19mm Parabellum was designed by the Austrian gunsmith Georg Luger in 1901. Luger derived the 9mm Parabellum from his previous design, the 7.65x21mm Parabellum.
In 1903, he presented the 9mm Parabellum to the US military for consideration at the Springfield Arsenal. However, the 9mm was not adopted by the US military until much later and was instead picked up by the German Imperial Navy and Army in 1904 and 1908, respectively.
The 9x19mm Parabellum is also referred to as the 9x19mm NATO, 9mm Luger, or simply the 9mm.
After World War I, the 9mm Luger became one of the most popular handgun cartridges in the world for both military and law enforcement. However, the United States was late to the party as it clung to the idiom, “Bigger is Better” and our beloved .45 ACP until the 1980s with the adoption of the Beretta M9 Service Pistol by the US Army.
The popularity of the 9mm Luger really exploded in the United States during the 80s and 90s with the introduction of reliable semi-auto pistols, such as the Glock 17. The 9mm has become synonymous with law enforcement and home defense for its high magazine capacity, stopping power using jacketed hollow point ammo (JHP), and low overall cost per round.
There is no denying that the 9mm Parabellum has become the self-defense round of choice for many CCW permit holders, but is it the right choice for you? Let’s compare these two 9mm caliber pistol cartridges.
9mm vs 380: The Difference Between .380 and 9mm
Although the .380 ACP is often referred to as the 9mm Short and both the 9mm Luger and .380 ACP fire the same diameter bullet, they are very different handgun cartridges.
In the following sections, you’ll see how the 9mm Luger outperforms the .380 ACP in almost every category. However, that does not imply that the 9mm is the best everyday carry caliber. Let’s find out why!
.380 vs 9mm: Recoil
This is one of the few categories where the .380 ACP is superior, and it is a big one! Felt recoil for a .380 ACP is approximately half that of 9mm Luger. That’s huge, to say the least!
However, you’ll hear 9mm fanboys from gun stores to message boards state that the 9mm Parabellum has very low, manageable recoil. Often in the same breath, they’ll refer to a .380 Auto as a mouse caliber.
So, does that reduced recoil make up for the .380 Auto being considered an anemic round? I’m going to go out on a limb and say “Yes”.
Let me explain!
In any personal defense situation, shot placement is the key to walking away alive. Or to put it another way, “A 9mm in the hand is consid