Having a hard time... a 9mm or a .380?


K

KDHORTON88

New member
I'm trying to choose a concealed carry weapon. A little background; I am a mother of a toddler with one on the way. I am not SUPER proficient with handguns though my husband is (he is law enforcement). He typically shoots with a .40 or .45 though, and as I am trying to choose a concealed carry weapon for myself neither of those would be a good fit for me.

I plan to carry everywhere. I've never shot a .380, only 9mm (Ruger LC9 and Glock 17). I would love the stopping power of a 9mm but I am just not sure I can comfortably conceal and carry a 9mm gun with chasing around and carrying a toddler and an infant. Typically, my husband is with me and carrying, but for the times he isn't I definitely need something.

Can anyone tell me more about .380s? Models, preference, recoil, malfunctions, shooting long range, etc. It is not a requirement, but I REALLLLLY would prefer something with a manual/external safety with always having my small children with me. I would prefer to carry on my person, which would help the safety issue, but it would just put my mind more at ease with a manual.

Thanks in Advance!
Kaytee
 

You'd have to go to the range and try some out. What is right for us may not be right for you. You'd be surprised that one in a certain caliber feels better than another in that same caliber.
 
I bought my wife the S&W bodyguard as that is what she wanted. Her big thing was something with the slide safety and though I liked the Sig, the .380 felt good to her after shooting. Have shot 1000 to 1500 rounds through it with 0 misfires. My only gripe is the laser that comes standard on it.

I hope that helps.

Robert
 
Ruger Lcp .380 is small and way to use. A little snappy most .380 are because of their size. I would only recommend .380 in a small package like the bodyguard or Lcp. 9mm try a glock 19 or cz 2075 or p06. I know plenty of women that like those choices
 
My wife likes her G26. I originally bought her a Bersa Thunder 380 CC. She wasn't satisfied that the 380 would have enough stopping power, but didn't think she'd be able to handle a 9mm until she found the G26. But tricolordad is absolutely right that what works for someone else won't necessarily work for you. Do everything you can to shoot a gun before buying it. The input and advice of others is great, but nothing will ever be as good as trying the gun out at the range.
 
My wife loves her smith and Wesson .38 j frame, she is small figured and has no problem carrying it, yes it has a little recoil but she handles it well at the range, plus it's light and hammer less so nothing to get snagged on
 
my friend has a nice ppk .380 easy to conceal good on recoil and really ez to rack too i take it to the range sometimes i like it better than my browning .380 as far as recoil and conceal ability .....best wishes welcome to the forum and happy holidays too
 
LC9 is a great choice. Just bought one for my girlfriend and its actually smaller than her walther pk380. Personally I hate .380. More expensive than 9mm, less powerful, and in my opinion more prone to malfunction due to the fact that most .380s are blowback operated instead of recoil. If you're comfortable with the 9mm I'd definitely go with it. You get more power for the same ammo capacity which is a rare trade off. LC9 also has a manual safety (as well as a mag. drop safety which I'm still on the fence about.)
 
Sig P238 or P938.

Depending on your size, shape, and comfort, different firearms will work. Those are my suggestions, see if you can go rent them somewhere.
 
I have a Bersa Thunder .380 and have fired 500+ rounds with no malfunctions. It is easy to conceal and I carry it loaded with Hornady Critical Defense or Corbon Pwrball ammo. Trust it completely.

Also have a Ruger SR9c I carry, another very good gun, you might check them out also.

:dirol:
 
tricolordad said:
You'd have to go to the range and try some out. What is right for us may not be right for you. You'd be surprised that one in a certain caliber feels better than another in that same caliber.
Click to expand...

Thats good advice.

All I can add is that a 9mm is generally preferred because of the available of ammo.
 
I would go with a 9mm. The 380 is also called 9mm kurz (short) it uses the same diameter bullet but in a lighter weight. A 9mm loaded with 115gr. bullets will serve you well, great velocity for maximum expansion with only a slight increase in recoil. As stated before, look into the Sig 938, very nice handgun and very concealable and it has the manual safety you want. The beretta nano does not. Also a very good idea to fire them before you buy to make sure this is what you want. Good luck in your search!
 
KDHORTON88 said:
I'm trying to choose a concealed carry weapon.
I plan to carry everywhere. I've never shot a .380, only 9mm (Ruger LC9 and Glock 17). I would love the stopping power of a 9mm but I am just not sure I can comfortably conceal and carry a 9mm gun with chasing around and carrying a toddler and an infant. Typically, my husband is with me and carrying, but for the times he isn't I definitely need something.

Can anyone tell me more about .380s? Models, preference, recoil, malfunctions, shooting long range, etc. It is not a requirement, but I REALLLLLY would prefer something with a manual/external safety with always having my small children with me. I would prefer to carry on my person, which would help the safety issue, but it would just put my mind more at ease with a manual.

Thanks in Advance!
Kaytee
Click to expand...

Just can't beat a Bersa .380 FireStorm or Bersa Thunder .380... virtually identical except for the shape of the trigger guard. Totally easy to conceal with a Remora holster. Fixed barrel makes it one of the most accurate .380s on the market; one of the most reliable handguns made; Priced lower than the big names. Great safety/decocker; DA/SA. Won't trade my Bersa for anything.
 
One of my son's got a Ruger LC9 9mm for himself and a Ruger LCP .380 for his wife recently. After my daughter-in-law shot them both, she took his LC9! I'm going to buy the LCP .380 from him and he's going to get another LC9 9mm for himself. I also have a Ruger LC9 and in my opinion, it's pretty hard to beat as a concealed carry pistol!
Link Removed
 
The LC-9 is a decent weapon, good power, good size for concealment, and once broken in and your comfortable with it make a nice size carry gun. and if you do not plan a lot of range time you should be good to go. problem is the gun is very light and the snappy recoil, so it would not make a plesant target gun...........
 
My wife and I went to the range last week to find her a carry gun. She was pretty set on a 380 because that's what everyone told her to get and she couldn't handle my 9mm Taurus PT99.

We went to a range that charges by the day rather than by the hour and has a flat fee for gun rentals (pay the rental fee, shoot all the rental guns you want). We shot at least 20 guns, probably more and spent a good 5 hours there. She did most of the shooting and I just advised and observed most of the day. We were there for her to find a gun, so she did 90% of the shooting... Revolvers, full frame pistols, compacts, micros... Everything. The staff was also quite helpful.

To our surprise, my wife fell for the Beretta PX4 compact 9mm. Even she was surprised. It fit her, holds 15 9mm rounds, and she put all 15 in a 5" group having shot almost no handguns prior to that day. (she certainly shot more handgun that day than all previous times combined... She's more of a 12 gauge shooter normally). She didn't like ALL the 9mms, but that one hit the goldilocks zone for her.

We also tried on a couple of holsters and found one she liked.

She actually thought the 380s were too small and snappy and had a hard time controlling... And after she saw the price difference between 380 and 9mm ammo she was glad that 9mm worked for her because we could buy a lot more ammo and practice more making her even more effective and comfortable.

The moral of the story is GO TRY SOME GUNS AND FIND WHAT WORKS FOR YOU. Nobody can tell you what's best. You have to see for yourself.

The PX4 has a manual safety that decocks the hammer so you have several options if you want to carry safety on or off with DA first trigger pull.
 
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