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Specifically from 3-4 inch barrels.
The 73 gr .32's tend to tumble, the 95 gr .380's tend not too.
The hotter common loads for each get about 1000 fps.
I wonder which penetrates things/dogs/people more or if there is no appreciable difference?
I sure wish I had a piece of land to shoot miscellaneous stuff on!
Boy, you and me both.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron3
FWIW, Charles Askins didn't think there was enough difference between the two to go with the fewer rounds of the .380 back before hollow points were a thing. Even today, hollow points are iffy in those chamberings.
I don't think a person is going to know the difference between .32 and .380 ball. Terminal ballistics is a voodoo science at best (and so fun to debate!), and the difference between the two rounds is marginal - even the permanent crush cavity is in question due to the rounded bullet profile. I like my .380 PPk, but find the .32 PPk to be a much softer shooting pistol.
If it's an issue of pocket guns, I'd use whichever you find to be more reliable. Bigger is hard to argue with, but so is increased capacity. Pick which you prefer, then use it to back up a good 9mm. :cool:
Thanks.
I agree. The difference is slight.
Although many video's of others' testing has the .380 penetrating just a little more. But often staying nose-straight, too.
I guess it doesn't matter. I like .32 in blow-back guns a lot more.
I carry a Beretta Cheetah .32. It's a joy to shoot and very reliable. I considered getting a .380 barrel or another Cheetah. But not only are they expensive; I'd have to buy mags and ammo for it. I have so many calibers as it is I hate to have to stock yet another one.
Oddly, though, the .380 holds more round than the .32. (13 instead of 12).
I would not trust either but if forced to carry either I would carry ball in a .380 given those two choices.
C'mon, I know you, like me, don't trust any pistol bullet. Or anything else when it comes to a lethal encounter.Quote:
Originally Posted by Alaskapopo
But yea, .380 ball would be best out a Beretta Cheetah. But dang, more mags and another caliber to stock...
.380 does knock steel down just a hair better.
I saw a new .380 Cheetah for $599 at a gun show recently. I knew I should have bought it. Can't find them at that price on the Web.
I've had the opportunity to examine a few humans who had been shot with (probably, per witnesses or shootee) pocket guns. Some exited, none appear to have expanded, most were found as lumps just under the skin on the far side of the wound. I feel that slow moving, round nosed bullets have a tendency to veer off in flesh when encountering a junction between different types of tissue, such as bone and connective tissue, while flat noses or hollowpoints tend to drive straighter. This is anecdotal, though. There are many types of tissue between your skin and vital organs; some are tougher or stretchier than you might expect.
The ammo quest guy got decent penetration results from some of the XTP .380 loadings he tried, and your results could be better than his. Faster loads were better, IIRC, and Cheetah barrels are longer than the one he used. You might also consider Underwood/Lehigh solid copper loads because they are not roundnose. Its the first load I would test for function if I carried a .32.
A lot of people have been killed by pocket pistols, but you need to manage your expectations for terminal performance. I've been looking at Cheetahs also, because I am switching to DA/SA in my go-to pistols. I need something to fill the single stack position in my lineup and will probably buy an 85 or .32 equivalent. The triggers on the Cheetahs I have tried seem very good, stock.
Always essential to note death and stopping the threat, are unrelated technically. I knew a doc who was an ME who was convinced the .25 was a good choice for SD and CCW because he saw so many dead bodies with .25 holes in them. I pointed out him he had no idea if the person had beaten the owner of the .25 to death with their own empty gun, then died a mile down the road of blood loss.Quote:
Originally Posted by 1168
Will,
I absolutely agree.
I never had a .32, and I gave up the .380 argument when 9mm parabellum wins it every time.
My girlfriend was a dedicated .380er until she saw that 9mm practice ammo was actually cheaper in most cases, and the additional power did not translate to significantly more recoil. I remember an epiphanous trip to Wally World: and it seemed like there were three times as many flavors of 9mm as .380 and IIRC every single load of 9mm was less expensive than roughly the same thing in .380.
She's a 9mm convert just like me now.
Personally the smallest I will go is a 5 shot J frame with +p 38 special such as the Speer 135 grain Gold dot. But I understand every ones needs are different. I use a Glock 43 as my deep concealment gun.
Pat