380 vs 9mm recoil

Gatehouse

Gatehouse

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Never shot a 380 but it usually uses a lighter bullet and smaller case, so I assume less recoil ?

Some of my clients find a 9mm too much, but still want to shoot something a bit bigger than 22LR. 380 ammo seems pretty available and not super expensive, so maybe it will work? Or is the recoil just not that much of a drop down from 9mm? I've had some small Asian women come out recently and the 9mm is just too much for them even from a full size 1911.
 
There are not too many standard size, non prohib .380 ACP guns around anymore. The last .380 I shot was a PPK and I got hammer bite pretty good from it!
How about .38Spl with light 148 gr target wadcutter loads? In a K or N frame revolver, the recoil should be quite manageable.
 
Depending on what you get, most 380s are lighter than 9s and because it's such a wimpy cartridge quite a lot of manufacturers go with straight blowback instead of delayed blowback, as a result some 380s are actually more snappy than 9mm.
 
Hmm I was afraid of that. Never paid much attention to the 380 but I do recall the small guns and snappy recoil comments. :)
 
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I shoot an fn1922 in .380, which is an older, heavier steel gun, but quite compact. Straight blowback. I find it very light recoiling. Certainly more than a .22, but less than a 9mm. Could you run reduced loads in the 9mm and still get it to cycle?
 
.325WSM said:
Any 22wmr auto's out there? A little extra bang and satisfying muzzle flash......
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That would be the Kel-tec PMR-30, lightweight as well for some extra pop.... :)
I wonder how the grip would feel to a smaller shooter?

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I once had a copy of a PPK in .380, and while it didn't smack you, it lifted your hand on firing due to the light gun weight. IIRC the load was 90 @ 800. The .380 is perhaps the best cartridge for a true hideout gun, and hideout guns by definition are pretty small, so recoil will be noticeable, but not like a .38 or .357 snubby.
 
If you handload, use heavier lead bullets (135 to 147) with 3.3 gr of Titegroup. Very soft in the hand.

If you don't handload,contact the local custom ammo re-loader, and order a couple thousand rounds of down-loaded ammo.

I shoot 380 in a number of guns and they all kick as hard or harder than a 9mm.
 
You need to take note that most 380 guns are fixed barrel so yes they actually recoil harder or same as 9mm. I have fired a Makarov in 380 and it's harsher than my glock. Now.... .32 ACP would have been nice but we all know what happened to it. I suppose if one could find a 380 in short recoil type pistol then yes it would be better.
 
I'll let you know after I get my Browning 1911-380 .
Eta is June this year and I'll be shooting it ASAP after it arrives . I love my 9mms but really love that compact size of the 1911-22 , so I preordered the 380 .
Can hardly wait for it to come !
 
Still alive said:
Agreed!
Anyone know if the baby Browning 1911 in .380 is a prohib?
What other current production commercially available .380s are available in Canada? I'm drawing a blank here.
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If you mean the new Browning 1911-380 , then no , they are not prohibs . The older " baby browning " if I recall , is a Prohib . I looked around and no one seems to be making a 380 semi that is legal here except the Browning , although there are a few that are made for ccw in the states . They fall into the pocket pistol category and from what I've gathered , the recoil is quite large as these are teeny guns .
There's the no longer produced BDA that has a loyal following and was apparently a great gun .
 
Thanks Dagmaar,
Yes, I meant the new 1911-380. I handled them at SHOT this year but thought they were all 4" barrels only. They look exactly like a scaled toy model of the real 1911!
The Browning BDA was a beautiful gun. The workmanship on them was fantastic. Ironically, their one criticism at the time was that the gun was too big for a .380!! It had a beefy grip due to the double stack mag. Now 20 years later, people will sell their first born for such a small gun!!
 
Still alive said:
Thanks Dagmaar,
Yes, I meant the new 1911-380. I handled them at SHOT this year but thought they were all 4" barrels only. They look exactly like a scaled toy model of the real 1911!
The Browning BDA was a beautiful gun. The workmanship on them was fantastic. Ironically, their one criticism at the time was that the gun was too big for a .380!! It had a beefy grip due to the double stack mag. Now 20 years later, people will sell their first born for such a small gun!!
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I wouldn't mind getting my hands on a BDA in 380 , that's for sure . The browning is 4.25 inches , which just squeaks it into the " restricted " category .
Also interesting is that this gun is recoil operated , which is definitely different for a 380 , as any I've heard of are blowback operated like all of the micro pistols in this calibre . Smaller calibres have traditionally been blowback operated but Browning designed this one to be pretty much identical to their bigger 1911s , just scaled down . The one thing against it in the recoil category is that it's lightweight what with all of the polymer parts . I prefer a steel gun as I find that weight really makes recoil acceptable , but what the hell , I jumped at the 380 when one of our dealers offered the presale , as I just like the .22 version so much .
 
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