Options for .380 Autos?
- Thread starter BillyBats
- Start date
Very few .380s in current production. You can probly find a waltherpp or ppk in .380 with a restricted length barrel. If your very fortunate you might come across a Beretta Cheetah 86 with tipup barrel in .380. However most .380s are older surplus.
I was more curious because I saw the ammo on sale at Bass Pro. But I never really seen any 380 pistol at any retailer except the two I mentioned .
It's a cute little cartridge alright lol. Why isn't it popular ? Sounds like it's very popular for CC in the states ...oh look I think I just answered my own question.
Eaglelord17
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Sault Ste. Marie
You can also find FN-1922s in 9mm Kurtz (.380).
From my limited understanding on the matter, its not very popular for that even, really. It is widely considered the absolute minimum for a self-defense round, and why would you want to carry the minimum when a 9mm is more powerful and has a better selection of both guns and ammo available. The only advantage of the 380 is tiny guns that are too small to use 9mm - and THAT is why we don't have many around up here, all the popular 380s have prohib length barrels here.
Excluding myself , they all think only the police and army should have guns . So no lol.
If you are a 12(6) then you can buy a prohib .380 ACP of which there are many and they are cheap.
Still alive
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
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- Rainy mosquito infested part of BC
You gonna show him your AMT?
OP, the .380 is a fairly unpleasant round to shoot as it kicks surprisingly hard for a little round ( not surprising since the guns that shoot it are usually tiny!) and, yet, has lousy terminal ballistics ( again, short barrel lengths!) A baby 9mm may kick just as much but at least the round has more oomph and better bullet designs.
The .380 is usually a back up gun, when it is carried.
My fave is the Browning/Beretta BDA. It's a bigger gun with a double stack mag. Unfortunately still a 12(6).
I don't find it unpleasant in my DA Astra Constable (upper photo) nor even in the much smaller SA AMT Backup (lower right).
I find most of my buddies like shooting them too and very little "Walther Bite" despite what I've read on the Web.
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380 can be very comfortable to shoot, it depends on the size, weight, and design of the gun. In the case of geologist's AMT Backup, it is fairly heavy for such a small gun. A common (prohib) 380 in Canada is the Beretta 1934, and they are quite comfortable to shoot. It all comes down to the particular gun. No one thinks that .38 Special is overly powerful and in a full size 6" 357 Mag revolver it's quite mild. Fire that same 38 in a lightweight Model 37 snub-nose, though, and it packs quite a kick.
380 is not very common in Canada, since nearly all guns manufactured in that calibre fall into the prohibited class due to their barrels being 105mm or less. Only what was imported before the late 90's is even allowed in Canada, and then only allowed to be owned by people with a 12-6 license (or those inherited 12-7 guns).
The advent of more compact 9mm guns (which are significantly more powerful) has meant that 380 is not very popular any more. The advantage of 380 is that it can be used in a blowback operated gun, whereas most 9mm's require some form of locked breech. The flipside is that blowback guns use the mass of the slide to slow down the cycling of the action, meaning that the guns tend to be heavy for their size/power.
Pretty much the only 380 options for a non-12-6 licensed individual (other than inheriting one) are the Browning 1911-380, the Baikal MP-71 (which I don't think are being imported anymore) or an ex-prohib that has had a longer barrel installed.
380 is not very common in Canada, since nearly all guns manufactured in that calibre fall into the prohibited class due to their barrels being 105mm or less. Only what was imported before the late 90's is even allowed in Canada, and then only allowed to be owned by people with a 12-6 license (or those inherited 12-7 guns).
The advent of more compact 9mm guns (which are significantly more powerful) has meant that 380 is not very popular any more. The advantage of 380 is that it can be used in a blowback operated gun, whereas most 9mm's require some form of locked breech. The flipside is that blowback guns use the mass of the slide to slow down the cycling of the action, meaning that the guns tend to be heavy for their size/power.
Pretty much the only 380 options for a non-12-6 licensed individual (other than inheriting one) are the Browning 1911-380, the Baikal MP-71 (which I don't think are being imported anymore) or an ex-prohib that has had a longer barrel installed.
I owned a makarov in 9x18 which for all intents and purposes is identical to your typical .380 and it was a joy to shoot. I really have no idea why I sold it. Those little pop guns can be very accurate and lots of fun.
