Most of the experts say that the 38 or 380 is the absolute minimum a person should carry. I find that interesting because the 38 is superior to the 380 by a significant margin. If a minimum is picked for an auto cartridge it should be the 9mm. It's a hell of a lot closer to the 38 than the 380.
A while back I compared the more common cartridges, mathematically. I used momentum, energy, optimum game weight, power factor, surface area, etc.
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About a year ago I created a spread sheet to calculate a comparison of the various, most popular cartridges for self-defense. I used the bullet weights and maximum velocity for each weight found in my reloading manuals for the raw data. For each cartridge and bullet weight/velocity I calculated energy, Taylor index, power factor, optimum game weight (normally used for hunting), and momentum factor. Momentum factor is something I created using the momentum divided by the cross sectional area. For like bullet design, this should give a relative indication of penetration. The cartridges were 25acp, 32acp, 380acp, 9mm Para, 38 special, 357 Mag, 40 S&W, and the 45acp. Since different bullet weights are available, and it's not known what an individual will choose, I averaged them per cartridge.
The rankings of the 3 cartridges in question are:
Energy - 9mm >375; 38 special >306; 380 >165
Power Factor - 9mm >137; 38 special >135; 380 >86
Taylor index- 9mm >6.9; 38 special >6.9; 380 >4.4
OGW- 9mm >35; 38 special >28; 380 >9.6
Momentum factor- 9mm >39; 38 special >38; 380 >24
Average score of all cartridges calculated:
357Mag >167; 40 S&W >137; 45acp >126; 9mm >118;
38 special >103; 380 >58; 32acp >40; 25acp >26
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2 comments:
.380 is completely anemic and really only exists because some people won't sacrifice any comfort to be armed. I guess it's better than nothing, but there's a heck of a lot that's more effective than the .380. Just don't pick a .32 instead. A friend of mine once said "If somebody shoots me with a .32 and I find out about it, I'm gonna be pissed!"
Awwww c'mon now. . .the little 380 ain't all that bad! Judging by standard Wal-Mart loadings (not that you can find 380 in Wal-Mart anymore), the 38 Special doesn't have much on the 380. You can definitely use heavier rounds with the 38, which are usually anemic too, but admittedly there are some pretty hot loads out there now. With that said, now that the 380 has become more popular for carry, like the 38, better ammo has become available. Check out Buffalo Bore's 100 grain hardcast at well over 1000 fps from the little Kel-Tec.
I agree that the 9mm is a better round, but the minimum for an auto cartridge is the one in your jeans at the moment when you need it. I point to Caleb's DGU with a mighty .25 auto while his 9 millimeetah was on his desk.
The 380 will never replace my 1911; but I can't help but notice when I'm out to lunch with a friend and I rode in his car, the 1911 is in my truck, while the little beastie 380 is with me at all times. It's way better than a stick!
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