Prior to the late 1990s, many 9mm pistols weren't very concealable. In previous eras, this was a real concern. Therefore, they'll dress around a larger gun because they know they will shoot it well and there's less of a chance of ammunition failure. However, others favor a balance of efficacy and ease of carrying. That's why a comfortable, and effective, concealed carry holster is so important. Some people favor ease of carry above all other things a gun you can easily keep on you is one you likely WILL keep on you, after all. 380 pistols, which means they are very easy to conceal and carry every day. 380 in terms of easiest to carry and conceal. 380 ACP has proven to be effective in real-life defense situations IF the shooter chooses a quality bullet and does their job as a marksman.380 VS 9mm PistolsĪs a general rule. 380 ACP is already a slow round, that means ammunition selection is critical. Since hollow point ammunition is velocity-based – meaning that it needs a minimum speed to expand in the target – slower bullets tend to fare poorly. The longer the barrel, the greater the velocity the bullet achieves when leaving the barrel. 380 pistols are made with very short barrels, usually shorter than 3 inches whereas most 9mm pistols have a 3-inch barrel or longer. 380 vs 9mm debate concerns ammunition performance. However.everything is not necessarily equal.Īnother part of the. 380 ACP definitely kicks less when everything is equal. 380 ACP produces roughly half the recoil force of 9x19mm Parabellum. It won't tell you what it feels like, but gives you a rough idea of the difference between two cartridges when you calculate recoil force from a gun of the same weight. Felt recoil is subjective, but recoil energy – the sheer physical energy sent back into the shooter from the gunshot – is calculable and thus quantifiable. The reason, of course, is that 9x19mm has a longer case, which holds more powder and therefore propels the bullet to faster velocities. Garden variety 9mm, on the other hand, is a 115-grain projectile that travels at about 1130 to 1150 feet per second from the muzzle, with about 320 to 350 ft-lbs of energy. Granted, there is a lot of variation depending on the loading, but that's what garden variety. 380 ACP load is a 90-grain projectile, with muzzle velocity somewhere between 900 to 1000 feet per second, and around 180 to 230 foot-pounds of energy. 9mm is faster, and hits harder, and is generally held to be more effective.though it does produce more recoil in a pistol of equal size. 380 vs 9mm ballistics.well, aren't really close. 380 ACP was a moderate round of moderate size, easy on the shooter but also small enough for use in an easily concealable pistol.

45 ACP, which was more for a service pistol role. Browning designed a number of small, concealable pistols that could be carried discreetly in a pocket or holster in concealment, and several cartridges for use in those pistols including. ACP stands for Automatic Colt Pistol, as Browning worked for Colt at the time. 380 ACP caliber in 1908, expressly for self-defense purposes. It would later be adopted by.most militaries and police forces across the entire globe. 30 caliber pistol bullet (though at an impressive velocity) in the DWM Parabellum pistol, which – of course – was commonly referred to as a 'Luger.' The 9mm, or more accurately 9x19mm Parabellum, was designed by Georg Luger in 1902 at the request of the German military, who wanted a larger round in the service pistol that Luger had designed for them. 380 vs 9mm are a quite different, though they occurred close to the same time. On the other hand, plenty of micro 9mm pistols are available that are barely any less concealable than many. Ultimately, the importance of caliber has been overblown to a degree with quality ammunition and good marksmanship. In other words, is the tradeoff of a weaker round worth it in terms of ease of carrying? 380 vs 9mm for self-defense is largely due to a concern with concealability vs potency of the ammunition. The reason anyone tries to decide between.

9mm vs 380 vs 45